Who is Ram Gupta from Galatea 2.2 and what is their importance?

Ram is a "perception researcher." He has emigrated from India recently. His wife writes several books in India and receives acclaim for them. He has a great deal of difficulty getting into the country, perhaps because it is thought he will engage in terrorist activity, even though he is an internationally recognized scholar. He appears not to be upset by the process, however.

Ram is selected as the person who will judge the winner of the contest between human and machine as they sit for a comprehensive literature exam.