DIGITAL DHARMA: NAVIGATING THE ETHICAL AND SPIRITUAL DIMENSIONS OF TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION IN ART AND CREATIVE EXPRESSION

Abstract

This article critically examines how emerging digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality and algorithmic aesthetics transform the process of creativity and raise profound ethical and spiritual questions. The aim is to observe how the logic of dharma, derived from the Indic traditions, can guide the emerging relationship between technology and art towards more elevated, non-violent and spiritually guided pathways. Employing a mixed-methods approach that includes philosophical examination, case studies and practitioner interviews, the paper discusses how technology disrupts and amplifies creativity. Ahimsa, satya, aparigraha, and mindfulness are applied to analyze the moral and metaphysical implications of digital art practice. The core argument proposes ‘digital dharma’ as a paradigm that transcends technophilia and technophobia, calling for an ethically integrated model of innovation.