“We create artificial boundaries between scientific disciplines, but the reality is one, is unified. So, if you really want to understand the big questions, you have to go outside these boundaries of academic disciplines.”

These were the first words of Prof. Yuval Noah Harari, one of the best-known historians and philosophers of our times in an NTLF2022 session titled ‘Fireside Chat: The Perils and Promises of the Techade,’ moderated by Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog. The session delved into issues ranging from big data, benefits and dangers of AI, skills for industry 4.2, understanding design principles for realising “AI for All,” to some future course of actions required to realise India’s Techade ambitions. 

To begin with

Data is the most important asset in the world. Big data is reshaping humanity, and it is well-known those who controls the data controls the future. This brings us to think about how governments, particularly in India should ensure that they don’t lose control to a few countries or companies and build up monopolies. To that end, Prof. Harari outlined two of the major dangers with big data and artificial intelligence:

• At the national level: Few groups, corporations or maybe a government can monopolise the immense power of data and AI to create a totalitarian regime. For the first time in human history, it’s possible to track everyone every time and to get to know them better than they know themselves. This opens the gate for a ‘digital dictatorship’ that needs to be prevented.
• At the global level: Taking away data will lead to a new form of colonialism i.e. data colonialism. Most of the sophisticated technologies in AI and ML are dominated by a few countries, thus giving them an edge over others and the power to exploit the rest of the world. 

The call for countries is to prevent both these dangers at the same time. To be precise, “Don’t concentrate too much data internally and create a digital dictatorship and also don’t allow too much data to be concentrated outside and become a data colony,” said Prof. Harari.

Humans losing control

“We are very close to the point where humans do not just lose control over life, they lose the ability to understand the decisions that shape their lives”

Tech companies are constantly improving their algorithms and sometimes know our choices before we know them. Amitabh Kant pointed out how these tech companies are expanding their biological understanding and is only a matter of time before they start understanding human feelings, rather than humans themselves, hence giving rise to some serious implications.   

Upholding the concerns of Kant, Harari mentioned: “More and more decisions about our lives will be taken by algorithms that we don’t understand. They understand us but we don’t understand them.”  Take, for instance, a human banker makes a decision not to give a loan on the basis of just two or three data points, but an algorithm can take into account thousands of data points. So, if one wishes to understand the reason behind the decision, the human would not be in a position to deal with thousands of data points. 

Design principles to realise ‘AI for All’

As technology is evolving rapidly and making inroads in our daily lives, the government has a key role to ensure the greater interests of the citizens are protected through responsive regulations, checks and balances and regulatory frameworks. Sensing the need of the hour, Amitabh Kant enquired in a country like India which is shaping its AI strategy for social upliftment for “AI for All,” what are some of the design principles that needs to be taken care of. Prof. Harari pointed to a few parameters:

• Usage of data should be to help and not manipulate
• Avoid too much concentration of data in any one place, whether its govt. or any private body
• Two-way surveillance creates the balance
• AI should enable people to make better decisions 
• Share the data you collect from whom you collected

Taking care of the future workforce

The technological landscape is changing like never before. The advent of artificial intelligence and wider implementation of industry 4.2 solutions are likely to automate the existing processes and systems. Hence, some existing skills will become redundant while many new skill sets will become relevant. Prof. Harari pointed out the pace of change in the job market was never so rapid in history ever, as it is now. It thus requires:

• As the pace of change in the job market is exponential, a second education system for every adult or the workforce is required. This will make transitions smooth, help them reinvent and acquire numerous skill-sets even across professions.
• The need to keep pace with the change will result in a lot of stress. Hence, better psychological support for people ranging from therapy to meditation should be put in place.