Indian Express | The colonial era of AI is here — India must chart its own course

The Paris AI Action Summit, with its impressive array of declarations and initiatives, could not mask a deeper geopolitical reality: We have entered the colonial era of artificial intelligence, where corporate sovereignty increasingly trumps national sovereignty, and global governance and ethics have been put on the backburner while still being paid lip service. The final declaration by the real power players— the US and the UK — speaks volumes. They are the tech giants who have effectively colonised the digital frontier.

By Arindam Goswami

Read the full article here.

The Hindu | Implications of the AI Diffusion Framework

India has set ambitious goals for its space programme in the next two decades. These goals hinge on powerful, reusable rockets such as the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)’s upcoming Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV). In addition to the NGLV, India must tap into its private sector to develop more such rockets in order to secure strategic autonomy in its access to outer space.

By Ashwin Prasad

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Firstpost | Paris AI Summit: How Indo-French partnership can be a rule maker for future innovations

As co-chair of the AI Action Summit in Paris, India, under the prime ministership of Narendra Modi, has the opportunity to kickstart a new chapter in global technological cooperation. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has a pervasive impact across different sectors. In that sense, it is a general-purpose technology (GPT), to borrow the term from Jeffrey Ding’s GPT Diffusion Theory, which promises to reshape various sectors. Nations are grappling with both its enormous potential and inherent challenges. Now is the time to come together and collaborate on setting a strong foundation for the years to come.

With its considerable experience in building and running a vast digital public infrastructure, coupled with a workforce that has proven expertise in software development, India could become an important voice in the global AI discourse

By Arindam Goswami

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Firstpost | Creative insecurity: What India can learn from Chinese DeepSeek saga

DeepSeek benefitted from a supportive structural Chinese research and development ecosystem that existed for several decades. Also, Xi Jinping’s vision for a ‘Chinese Dream’ and national rejuvenation is rooted in technological supremacy

By Arindam Goswami and Shobhankita Reddy

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The Hindu | The U.S.’s immigration blocks as a self-defeating path

What do we see in the bustling corridors of Silicon Valley, the research labs of Boston, and the biotech hubs of San Diego? Skilled immigrants do not just fill jobs; they create them. They launch startups, file patents and drive innovation, expanding the very foundation of American employment.

However, to understand this, we need to challenge our most basic assumptions about how labour markets work in knowledge economies.

The debate over H-1B visas in the United States seems to hinge on a seemingly very intuitive argument: that restricting skilled immigration will translate into more jobs for native workers. On the contrary, extensive research has shown that this approach is flawed and, in fact, counterproductive to innovation and job creation.

By Arindam Goswami

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News18 | Opinion | Atal Innovation Mission: Building An Ecosystem For Technological Diffusion

AIM focuses on accelerating innovation; the path to that is not just via capturing first-mover advantage, but also by creating linkages to enable cross-sectoral adaptation of technologies

By Arindam Goswami and Bhaskari J

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Deccan Herald | AI and data centres: Misplaced focus in the energy demand

The narrative linking electricity demand growth to artificial intelligence (AI) and data centres has been exaggerated, diverting attention from more significant drivers of energy consumption. The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) analysis presents a sobering reality check: data centres are projected to account for only about 5 per cent of global electricity demand growth by 2030. This modest contribution is dwarfed by other sectors, yet media coverage and public discourse often inflate its significance.

Read the full article here.

Deccan Herald | Strengthening the IndiaAI mission

As details about the budget allocation for the IndiaAI mission emerge, this is an opportune moment to reassess its objectives for fostering India’s AI ecosystem and to evaluate how the government can achieve these goals. The authors argue that the government should promote open-source initiatives, adopt funding mechanisms that enable the market to evaluate value creation and innovation, and fund research to understand AI risks in an Indian context.

By Bharath Reddy & Rijesh Panicker

Read the full article here.

Firstpost | As AI arms race heats up, India’s role will be crucial

While India may not be competing directly in Graphics Processing Unit manufacturing, its software-centric approach to AI development could redefine the parameters of technological leadership in the artificial intelligence era.

As countries seek to diversify their tech partnerships beyond the US-China axis, India's growing AI capabilities and neutral stance could make it an attractive collaborator.

By Arindam Goswami

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Firspost | The carbon quandary: AI, big data, and impending environmental crisis

AI’s potential in combating climate change is tempered by a sobering reality: Its reliance on power-hungry data centres. Can ‘green AI’ become a reality before it’s too late?

By Arindam Goswami

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Firstpost | Embracing AI: A strategic shift towards software-centric innovation in India

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) landscape is undergoing a seismic shift, driven by a coalition of tech giants and developers rallying behind an OpenAI-led initiative to build software that facilitates switching between different AI chips. As Nvidia’s dominance in AI hardware faces challenges due to supply shortages and high costs, this initiative aims to democratise AI development by reducing dependence on Nvidia’s proprietary software platform, Cuda. This article contends that India, with its robust software development industry, is uniquely positioned to contribute to this transformative shift, and this strategy plays well to India’s strengths and could assist India from a geopolitical perspective too.

By Arindam Goswami

Read the full article here.

Scroll.in | AI adoption in India: Opportunities and challenges for policy considerations

Artificial intelligence has immense potential to enhance human capabilities and drive growth in several industries. It is projected to greatly improve governance, healthcare, and education outcomes.

However, this potential may not be realised if the building blocks of AI remain concentrated in the hands of a few dominant companies or the countries in which they are located.

The priorities for AI adoption in India can be quite different. Vijay Kelkar and Ajay Shah propose that the toughest challenges for a state – such as the tax system – involve processes that feature a high number of transactions, the need for discretion, high stakes for individuals, and some degree of secrecy. Read the full article here.

CASI | Building the Yard: Policy Considerations for AI in India

Artificial intelligence (AI) has immense potential to enhance human capabilities and drive growth in several industries. It is projected to greatly improve governance, healthcare, and education outcomes. However, this potential may not be realized if the building blocks of AI remain concentrated in the hands of a few dominant companies or the countries in which they are located. Read the full article here.

Economic & Political Weekly | On Regulating AI

The article titled “India’s Approach towards Regulation of Artificial Intelligence: Utilising the International Experience” by Jawahar Bhagwat and S Y Boldyreva (EPW, 30 December 2023)identifies three primary concerns regarding the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in India: job displacement, proliferation of misinformation, and preservation of research integrity. While legitimate, these are not necessarily the top concerns with respect to AI. The article lacks comprehensiveness and portrays AI in a predominantly negative light. The proposed recommendations are likely to substantially impede India’s contributions to the development of AI and severely restrict its ability to use AI for its benefit. Read the full article here.

Moneycontrol | GoI’s Rs 10,000 crore plan for a ‘sovereign AI’ computing infrastructure needs a rethink

The union government has recently announced plans for an ambitious Artificial Intelligence (AI) computing mission with a budget of Rs 10,000 crore. This initiative seeks to create a ‘sovereign AI’ computing infrastructure that can provide computing resources as a service to Indian startups, particularly in the sectors of agriculture, healthcare, and education. AI is undeniably a technology of immense transformative potential with many applications. However, the government's strategy to build the necessary computational infrastructure is not the best use of public funds. The aim of harnessing the benefits of AI for Indians will be better served if the government concentrates its efforts and resources on areas that are not typically addressed by the private sector. Read the full article here.

The Free Press Journal | 2024 Polls: AI Fake News Will Damage Democracy Forever

I am calling it now. In 2024, when several countries around the world — including India and the US — are scheduled to go to the polls, disinformation and fake news generated by artificial intelligence software will bring democratic systems to their knees. The damage is going to be so severe that, in the worst-case scenario, we will have reached a point of no return. Even if we somehow manage to halt the fake news juggernaut (unlikely, but let’s say we do), it will take decades to go back to any kind of normalcy. Read the full article here.

Mint | How to govern the AI industry must be accorded high priority

The manner in which the world’s big artificial intelligence (AI) companies are scaring the world’s governments and asking for regulation reminds me of how incumbent telcos used to push ‘Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt’ (FUD) 20 years ago. We should suspect that the motives are similar: to use regulation to slam the gates shut for new entrants and use incumbency to acquire greater power over public policy. If OpenAI and Google are really worried that their products are dangerous and pose severe, unpredictable risks to public safety, they could stop developing them. It is reasonable, therefore, to suspect that their calls for regulation of so-called foundation models are partly motivated by the desire to lock-in their dominant market positions. Read the full article here.

Behind Beijng’s proposal to regulate military applications of AI

China recently submitted a position paper on regulating the military applications of artificial intelligence to the sixth review conference of the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW).The takeaway from this position paper is that countries should debate, discuss, and perhaps eschew the weaponization of AI. By initiating a discussion on regulating military applications of AI, Beijing wants to project itself as a responsible international player.

Science and State Power in China

In May 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping placed an ambitious proposition before the leaders of the country’s scientific community. He called on them to “aim for the frontiers of science and technology” and emerge as the “vanguards in innovation in the new era.” The overarching objective, he said, was for China to become a “major world centre for science and innovation.” This, for Xi, is one of the “responsibilities bestowed by history” upon China’s scientific community. For him, the development of science and technology is a strategic imperative. It’s what will drive future growth and ensure China’s security, overall competitiveness and global standing.At the heart of Xi’s emphasis on and investment in science and technology, therefore, is the goal of enhancing state power. This perspective is not exclusive to the current Chinese leadership. It is the product of historical debate over the role of science and technology in Chinese society. The origins of this conversation can be dated back to the last few decades of the Qing Dynasty, which ended in 1912. Since then, while strengthening state power has remained the core objective of the pursuit of scientific advancement, each generation of leaders has adopted a different pathway. [Read More...]

How to respond to an 'intelligent' PLA

Advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies over the next decade will have a profound impact on the nature of warfare. Increasing use of precision weapons, training simulations and unmanned vehicles are merely the tip of the iceberg. AI technologies, going forward, will not only have a direct battlefield impact in terms of weapons and equipment but will also impact planning, logistics and decision-making, requiring new ethical and doctrinal thinking. From an Indian perspective, China’s strategic focus on leveraging AI has serious national security implications.Read the full article on the Deccan Herald website.