Unriddling Inference
प्रमाणैरर्थपरीक्षणं न्यायः
A flagship conference and IKS hackathon on Indian epistemology, Pramāṇa theory, logic, and artificial intelligence.
A flagship conference and IKS hackathon on Indian epistemology, Pramāṇa theory, logic, and artificial intelligence.
From Pramāṇa theory to modern logic and artificial intelligence — invited lectures, panel discussions, and a philosophy-grounded computational hackathon.
Invited lectures and panel discussions exploring inference, epistemic justification, and reasoning systems across Indian philosophical traditions and modern AI.
View ScheduleA philosophy-grounded computational competition challenging students to build systems of explicit, explainable reasoning.
View ProblemsTwo tracks of invited lectures and structured discussions on inference, justification, and epistemic normativity.
What it means to know, and how inference is grounded in lived epistemic practice.
Formal structures of inferential validity in the Nyāya tradition.
How reasoning is tested, challenged, and normatively regulated in debate.
A synthesis-focused discussion on inferential validity, epistemic norms, and the role of dialectical challenge in sustaining knowledge traditions.
From repeated observation to universal cognition in Indian theories of inference.
When and why inferential cognition qualifies as genuine knowledge.
Situational inference, exceptions, and non-monotonic structures.
A critical exchange on induction, defeasibility, and contextual uncertainty across classical epistemic frameworks.
Inference, justification, and the computational limits of artificial systems.
Why intelligibility is a normative requirement, not a post-hoc feature.
Normative lessons from Indian philosophy for future AI architectures.
Can artificial systems satisfy classical standards of justification, responsibility, and epistemic legitimacy?
Computational Systems of Epistemically Constrained Inference
This official IKS Hackathon invites undergraduate and postgraduate students to build computational systems of inference that go beyond standard logic and machine learning. The emphasis is on explicit reasoning, epistemic justification, and explainability.
All submissions must demonstrate clear, inspectable reasoning behavior. Systems should be grounded in philosophical principles rather than implicit statistical heuristics.
Objective: Build a formal inference engine in which conclusions are produced only when epistemic constraints are satisfied, not merely when logical entailment holds.
Objective: Design an agent that reasons by tracking how it knows something, not merely what it knows.
Objective: Build a system that generates hypotheses only when forced by inconsistency in existing knowledge.
Guidelines for preparing and presenting your research poster at the conference.
Size: A0 — Portrait orientation
84.1 cm (width) × 118.9 cm (height)
Title, Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, References
Title: ≥ 36pt
Body text: ≥ 24pt
Please bring your printed poster and attend the Poster Session (timing TBD).
Common questions about the hackathon and conference.
Everything you need to know to participate.
Two-session online workshop led by Dr. Jyotiranjan and Srinivas Ji, providing foundational context on Indian epistemology.
INR 499
Undergraduate and postgraduate students from all disciplines.
Winner: INR 1 Lakh (subject to finalization) + courses. Runner-up awards to be announced.