In this issue

Highlights of India Today 15th January 2024: Essays on how AI could affect India by Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai; Union MoS for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics & IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar; Soroco founder and CTO Rohan Murty; G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant; Fractal Analytics co-founder, group Chief Executive and V-C Srikant Velamakanni; Articul8 AI founder and CEO Arun K. Subramaniyan; Chairman, Standing Committee on Finance in Parliament, and Lok Sabha MP Jayant Sinha; Digital Futures Lab founder and Executive Director Urvashi Aneja; Former Chief of the Army Staff Gen. (Dr) M.M. Naravane (retd); Medanta-The Medicity CMD Naresh Trehan; SC advocate and founder, Cyber Saathi Foundation N.S. Nappinai; Microsoft India and South Asia President Puneet Chandok; Technocrat, author and former CEO, Prasar Bharati Shashi Shekhar Vempati; Novelist and filmmaker Samit Basu; Writer, director and producer Arati Kadav; and Professor of Religious Studies, and Director, Veteran Success, Manhattan College, Robert M. Geraci

THE GREAT AI PUZZLE

AI is a term that seems to be on everyone’s radar but also one of the biggest mysteries in public discourse.

2 mins

THE PROMISE OF AI FOR INDIA AND THE WORLD

EVERY TECHNOLOGY SHIFT IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADVANCE SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY, ACCELERATE HUMAN PROGRESS AND IMPROVE LIVES. AI WILL DO THIS ON AN UNPRECEDENTED SCALE AND INDIA IS UNIQUELY POSITIONED TO PLAY A LEADING ROLE

3 mins

INNOVATING TO BEA GLOBAL AI LEADER

THE GOVERNMENT’S FOCUS IS NOT ONLY ON MAKING INDIA A VISHWAGURU IN Al BUT ALSO ENSURING SAFETY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR ALL STAKEHOLDERS

5 mins

REDEFINING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH WORDS

WORDS, THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF OUR COMMUNICATION, HISTORY, AND KNOWLEDGE, ARE NOW FOOD FOR AI’S ‘THOUGHT’. THIS ISN’T JUST A TECHNICAL LEAP. IT’S A FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT FROM THE INFORMATION AGE TO ONE THAT ASPIRES TO KNOWLEDGE

5 mins

CREATING JOBS IN THE NEW DAWN OF AI

THE ASCENT OF AI DEMANDS AN AGILE AND FORWARD-THINKING APPROACH TO SKILL DEVELOPMENT AS WELL AS A STRATEGIC REASSESSMENT OF OUR EDUCATIONAL AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING SYSTEMS

4 mins

HOW INDIA CAN BE AT THE FOREFRONT OF AI

BY FOSTERING PUBLIC-PRIVATE COLLABORATION AND GOVERNMENT INVESTMENT IN AI USE CASES, INDIA CAN TAKE THE LEAD IN THE GLOBAL AI LANDSCAPE. BUT IT MUST ALSO PRIORITISE ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

4 mins

INDIA NEEDS TO INVEST IN AI NOW

TO MAKE AI AN INCLUSIVE TECH THAT LEVELS PLAYING FIELDS, INDIA NEEDS AN INCREASE IN DATASETS WITH REPRESENTATION OF REGIONAL LANGUAGES AND A HIGHER SUPPLY OF ACCELERATOR CHIPS

5 mins

The Power And Perils Of AI-Driven Elections

AI can revolutionise election campaign strategies, personalise voter outreach and even influence public opinion. But the potential benefits come with serious risks that need to be addressed

4 mins

IT'S TIME FOR A RADICAL RETHINK

THE CURRENT MODEL OF AI DEVELOPMENT CONCENTRATES POWER IN THE HANDS OF A FEW COMMERCIAL PLAYERS. WHAT WE NEED IS A NEW MODEL THAT PUTS PUBLIC INTEREST AT THE CENTRE

5 mins

A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

AI CAN PROVIDE THE ARMED FORCES WITH A SIGNIFICANT ADVANTAGE, BUT FULLY AUTONOMOUS WEAPONS POSE A GREAT RISK. IT IS ESSENTIAL TO ENSURE THAT AI IS USED ETHICALLY AND RESPONSIBLY

3 mins

MARCH OF PRECISION MEDICINE

THROUGH ITS ABILITY TO MAKE SENSE OF HEAPS OF DATA, AI CAN TRANSFORM INDIA'S HEALTHCARE LANDSCAPE BY REDUCING COSTS, IMPROVING EFFICIENCY AND FACILITATING PERSONALISED INTERVENTIONS

4 mins

A KEYHOLE PREVIEW OF THE LAWS FOR AI

INDIA HAS TO FIND ITS FOOTHOLD IN EVOLVING LAWS THAT ALIGN WITH SECURITY AND PROTECTIVE NEEDS AND ALSO IN FACILITATING BUSINESS GROWTH BY FOSTERING CERTAINTY AND TRUST

5 mins

THE CO-PILOTS OF THE FUTURE

AI OFFERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DEMOCRATISE ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY AND CREATE IMPACT AT SCALE, SOLVING SOME OF THE WORLD'S MOST PRESSING CHALLENGES

3 mins

THE POTENTIAL LIES IN NICHE MODELS

GIVEN THE GAP IN INDIGENOUS DEVELOPMENT OF AI TECHNOLOGIES AND THE HUGE R&D INVESTMENTS INVOLVED, INDIA’S PATH TO GLOBAL LEADERSHIP WILL NEED A CREATIVE CONVERGENCE OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND PUBLIC-PRIVATE COLLABORATION

4 mins

HERALDING UTOPIA OR DYSTOPIA?

THE THING WITH AI, AS WITH ALL THE 21ST-CENTURY TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS, IS THAT THE THEORY MIGHT BE VERY EXCITING, BUT THE REALITY IS EXTREMELY CHAOTIC

4 mins

Will AI Mean The Death Of Creativity?

If AI Replaces Writers, Filmmakers And Artists, Our Shared History And Humanity Will Be In Danger

4 mins

THE SPLIT NARRATIVE

THE WEST HAS APOCALYPTIC DREAMS ABOUT SUPERINTELLIGENT AI GODS AND IMMORTAL MINDS. IN INDIA, IT WAS INEVITABLE THAT WE WOULD SEE ROBOTIC ARMS PERFORMING ARTI AND GPT CLONES FOR KRISHNA

5 mins

The Hit Machine

Bollywood's most sought-after music composer, Pritam is a multi-tasker who doesn't sign off on an album until he is completely satisfied with it

4 mins

SING ME A STORY

Page-turners from three influential divas

1 min

KARMA COLA

MICK BROWN'S THE NIRVANA EXPRESSIS A REVEALING ROMP THROUGH THE WEST'S SEARCH FOR SALVATION AS IT GOES SOUTH

2 mins

SAVAGING THE CIVILISED

Adam Goodheart's The Last Island is a fascinating and heartbreaking account of the Andaman encounter with the outside world

2 mins

Circle of Life

In Fire on the Ganges, Radhika Iyengar trains her journalistic eye on the Doms, the sect responsible for the cremation of Hindus in Varanasi

2 mins

CELEBRATING AN ARTY MILESTONE

Kolkata’s CIMA art gallery turns 30 and marks the moment with a series of iconic exhibitions, beginning with 12 Masters

2 mins

The Orientalists' Gaze

Two Orientalist works acquired by DAG, which have never been displayed in India before, bring a fresh perspective to their subjects beyond the usual clichés

2 mins

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