Saranyan Vigraham

Saranyan Vigraham

Director of Engineering, Meta

Being Human in the Age of AI

At the intersection of technology and humanity, we find our most important stories.

My work explores how we can preserve humanity, cultivate kindness, and tell meaningful stories in our AI-transformed world. Through both technical innovation and philosophical inquiry, I seek to bridge the growing gap between accelerating technological capabilities and enduring human values.

With experience in technical leadership across Meta and multiple startups, alongside a PhD in Computer Science, I bring a uniquely interdisciplinary perspective to this challenge—one that bridges engineering practice with philosophical foundations. My approach draws from both cutting-edge AI research and ancient wisdom traditions, particularly Indian epistemology and ethics.

The HUMAN Framework

A holistic approach to navigating the intersection of humanity and artificial intelligence

H

Humanity

Preserving human values and dignity in AI development, centering technological advancement around human flourishing and collective well-being.

U

Understanding

Deepening comprehension between humans and AI systems through transparency, interpretability, and mutual learning processes.

M

Meaning

Finding purpose and significance in an AI world, exploring how technology can enhance rather than diminish human meaning-making.

A

Agency

Maintaining human autonomy and decision-making power in algorithmic systems through thoughtful design and empowering interfaces.

N

Narrative

Telling stories that connect human experience across time and technology, weaving together our shared journey with AI.

Research Interests

Exploring multiple dimensions of human-centered AI

Self-Reflective Models

Building AI systems that understand their own limitations and can communicate uncertainty effectively.

Human-AI Collaboration

Designing interfaces and interaction patterns that enhance human capabilities rather than replacing them.

Philosophical AI

Drawing from Eastern and Western philosophical traditions to inform AI architecture and alignment.

Featured Project: Ātma-Bodha

One expression of this research is Ātma-Bodha, a novel language model architecture incorporating Indian philosophical concepts to enable metacognitive reasoning. This project demonstrates how ancient epistemological frameworks can inform cutting-edge AI design, resulting in systems with stronger self-awareness and more reliable uncertainty estimation.

Read the paper

Philosophy & Approach

I believe that the future of AI lies not just in increasing computational power, but in developing systems that can truly understand their own limitations, reflect on their reasoning processes, and integrate insights from diverse intellectual traditions.

Through my work, I aim to create AI systems that:

01

Know what they know — and more importantly, what they don't know — through robust metacognitive architectures

02

Enhance rather than replace human decision-making, operating as tools that extend our capabilities without diminishing our agency

03

Bridge diverse knowledge traditions, drawing from both Eastern and Western philosophical frameworks to create more holistic AI systems

While industry giants pursue capabilities through scale and proprietary techniques, my research explores alternative paths through architecturally innovative, philosophically-grounded approaches that emphasize quality over quantity, and alignment with human values over raw performance.

Let's Connect

I welcome opportunities for collaboration, dialogue, and exploration of these critical questions at the intersection of humanity and technology. Feel free to reach out through any of the methods below.