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 ProblemsPoster submissions are invited on reasoning, cognition, and knowledge from eastern, western, comparative perspectives or dialogue with contemporary science and technology.
View ThemesFrom Pramāṇa theory to modern logic and artificial intelligence — invited lectures preparing participants for epistemically grounded computational reasoning.
A rigorous introduction to Pramāṇa theory, especially Anumāna (inference), grounded in the Nyāya Sūtra of Gautama and later Navya-Nyāya developments.
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Understanding reasoning as a structured cognitive process and exploring its computational and mathematical formalization using Nyāya-inspired models.
Two 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, postgraduate, and PhD 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.
As part of Unriddling Inference 2026, we invite students and researchers to present posters exploring themes related to reasoning, cognition, and the foundations of knowledge. The poster session aims to create an interdisciplinary space where ideas from philosophy, logic, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence can interact. Submissions may adopt Eastern philosophical perspectives, Western philosophical frameworks, or comparative approaches that bring these traditions into dialogue with contemporary science and technology.
Explorations of reasoning and knowledge systems developed in different philosophical traditions. Posters may examine theories of inference, epistemic justification, and logical analysis in Indian, Greek, or other historical traditions of philosophy.
Studies examining how reasoning operates under contextual constraints and uncertainty. Contributions may explore classical philosophical insights alongside modern approaches such as non-monotonic reasoning and belief revision in intelligent systems.
Research on cognition, perception, and reasoning across philosophical and scientific traditions. Posters may engage with philosophy of mind, cognitive science, neuroscience, or comparative perspectives on knowledge systems.
Investigations into the conceptual foundations of reasoning in artificial intelligence, including inference mechanisms, knowledge representation, explainability, and the limits of machine intelligence.
Interdisciplinary work connecting classical philosophical insights with contemporary developments in computation, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence. Posters may highlight how different intellectual traditions inform modern technological questions.
Studies of philosophical debate traditions and the norms governing rational argumentation. Contributions may explore classical debate systems, modern argumentation theory, or computational models of argumentation.
Research exploring formal frameworks such as logic, mathematics, and computational models to understand reasoning and cognition.
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 500
Undergraduate and postgraduate students from all disciplines.
Winner: INR 1 Lakh (subject to finalization) + courses. Runner-up awards to be announced.