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By:

Prasad Dixit

11 October 2024 at 1:09:23 am

The Human Advantage in an Artificial Age

As artificial intelligence grows smarter and more efficient, the real battle may not be about machines surpassing humanity but about whether humans squander the qualities that still set them apart. With the recent news of a Chinese robot beating the human record in a half- marathon, there is renewed debate on how AI could outsmart human beings. Many experts see it as yet another proof of impending disaster as AI takes over most of the jobs in the years to come. This is not the first time when...

The Human Advantage in an Artificial Age

As artificial intelligence grows smarter and more efficient, the real battle may not be about machines surpassing humanity but about whether humans squander the qualities that still set them apart. With the recent news of a Chinese robot beating the human record in a half- marathon, there is renewed debate on how AI could outsmart human beings. Many experts see it as yet another proof of impending disaster as AI takes over most of the jobs in the years to come. This is not the first time when human civilization is facing a technological revolution that has the potential to impact society and economy in a profound manner. There is, however, a crucial difference with AI driven revolution that is often missed out. The first industrial revolution happened because steam engines were invented and it led to mechanization of production. It was followed by discovery of electrical energy and technologies to harness it for mass production. Next wave of evolution was led by computerization and automation in practically all the fields covering both offices and industrial shop floors through mainframes, personal computers, and programmable logic controllers. While all these leaps in technologies are very different in terms of the specific underlying inventions, they all have one thing in common. They were all invented to do things that were humanly impossible to do. One steam engine or electric motor could do the work that perhaps hundreds of humans would never be able to accomplish even with their collective muscle power. Automation of the manufacturing assembly line would deliver speed and accuracy that human beings would never be able to achieve. Beyond Human Technological advances in Telecommunication, for that matter, have simply expanded the range of 'hearing' and 'seeing' far beyond what human vocal chords, ears, and eyes could manage to do on their own. Computers, at its core, are essentially doing the math and calculations at a speed and accuracy that the human brain can never achieve. To add to that, machines using all these innovations in technology would work tirelessly without any fatigue for a duration that human beings would never be able to match. Although AI is yet another highly potent technological innovation, it is not as straightforward as the previous ones. It can absorb and synthesize huge amounts of data that the human brain perhaps cannot do. Ability of AI to answer any question reasonably well using all the global knowledge made available to it, summarize enormous amount of data and text quickly, quickly draw a complex picture based on instructions given verbally, predict a trend, recognize and highlight a specific face in a fraction of a second from millions of faces, write code based on simple English instructions, are all examples where the speed and accuracy of underlying computation is delivering what human being cannot match. However, there are several areas where human beings are trying to improve AI so that it can, some day, match or exceed capability that human beings themselves already have. Examples of this include the ability of AI to completely replace a human driver safely in all situations, understand full context or an intent behind a statement, carry out complex and well-coordinated mechanical activity in response to various unpredictable situations, react appropriately by correctly assessing the emotions at play, integrate generated code appropriately in the existing larger systems landscape, and so on. In such cases, AI is not exhibiting any capability that is humanly impossible to match. On the contrary, AI is trying to catch up with what humans can do easily. In other words, in these areas, AI is trying to become what humans already are. This very aspect separates AI driven technology revolution from all the previous ones. Direct Competition It is often said that AI and humans will co-exist in the future, and people will need to change their ways of working. It is obvious that AI is also going to directly compete with humans in many sectors. Equipment with an embedded chip on-board do compete with humans even today. A case in point is household equipment such as ‘intelligent’ washing machines and dish-washers where robots to do vacuum cleaning and floor mopping do compete with humans offering these services. A human household help can perform these activities far better than what a machine can do. However, given an affordable choice, an increasing number of households prefer machines over human maid services for a reason. Human household help may not always be punctual, sincere, honest, and reliable. But machines are. Uncontrolled emotions, anger, frustration, laziness, indiscipline, absenteeism do affect humans - but not AI driven machines (at least till the time AI itself acquires emotions of its own, and becomes self-aware some day). This aspect of comparison between AI and humans is likely to become far more prominent and consequential as AI driven machines and robots become more and more intelligent and thereby start competing far more effectively with human capability in many spheres. Competition is said to bring about improvement. Just as AI improves itself through continuous learning to mimic human behaviour and actions, human workforce also needs to improve itself by avoiding behavioural issues and inefficiencies referred to above. Otherwise, humans would lose the natural advantage that they still enjoy over AI, and which is likely to continue even in the foreseeable future. Employers or consumers in the labour-intensive service sector will accept AI driven machines and robots with all its known limitations if it turns out to be a better net-net deal in comparison to services offered by humans. This specific aspect has tremendous significance for India. Many Countries from the developed world do not have a young population with reasonably good IQ in required numbers. India, on the other hand, has it in abundance. One could compare it with abundant availability of Thorium or Sunlight in India as compared to the Western world. Consequently, unlike many Countries in the world that have a Uranium centric approach towards nuclear energy, India's approach needs to be centered around Thorium. India's strategy related to renewable, non-conventional, green energy needs to be based on solar power. Indian Context Strategies for adopting AI in the Indian context need to be similarly tailored for the Indian context. India needs to adopt AI in the areas where it clearly has an advantage over humans in terms of speed, throughput, ease of use, accuracy, and efficiency. However, the use of AI needs to be judiciously controlled in areas where AI is trying to catch up with the capabilities of the human mind and body. Several labour-intensive services such as drivers, caregivers for the elderly people, parcel delivery, security guards, maintenance and repair of various equipment, are all examples in that category. Educational policies and overall work culture in the Country needs to appreciate this reality. Just as AI experts are trying hard to 'teach' AI algorithms and improve them through supervised learning, another set of experts need to sensitize and teach humans on how to understand, appreciate, preserve, and further hone the significant natural advantage that they already have over AI. Despite all the technological breakthroughs in AI, in many areas, still, it is a battle that humans will lose only if they choose to. (The writer works in the Information Technology sector. Views personal.)

Destiny Has Taught A Lesson to Uddhav Thackeray

Devendra Fadnavis

We pity on Uddhav Thackeray meeting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis because he had said in his speech that either "I will survive or Devendra Fadnavis will survive”. There was no reason for Uddhav Thackeray to use abusive language in politics. Thackeray hated Devendra Fadnavis, criticized him in uncultured language, and used unparliamentary language for him. “There can be no more unfortunate condition of Uddhav Thackeray than that he had to go to Nagpur specially to meet Devendra Fadnavis.


Though it is the job of the media to guess, there is no question of taking along Uddhav Thackeray, who has left Hindutva. Destiny has shown what happens after extreme hatred and jealousy of a person. Today, Thackeray himself has proved how wrong it is to use extreme hatred and uncultured words in social life.


The Bharatiya Janata Party considers "Commitment to Ideology" as the most important thing in politics. That is why the BJP considers all those who are committed to Hindutva as its friends. However, Shiv Sena (UBT) has distanced itself from Hindutva. Uddhav Thackeray has abandoned the thoughts of his own father who was known as Hinduhridaysamrat means King of Hindu Hearts. The BJP does not consider anyone an enemy, but the Shiv Sena (UBT) itself had said that it suffered losses in its alliance with the BJP. The BJP has always believed in Hindutva. This shows how helpless and incompetent politician Uddhav Thackeray is.


It is not possible for Thackeray's party to bag the post of the Leader of Opposition as it does not have the numbers. But in today's case and situation, it is the Speaker's prerogative to decide whether to appoint a Leader of Opposition or not. The misfortune of the Shiv Sena (UBT) is that they had criticized the Assembly Speaker also in very bad language. The Shiv Sena, which had done Vaunts to remain in power for twenty-five years, is now forced to beg for the post of Leader of the Opposition. They are in such a bad situation. Uddhav Thackeray needs to do serious introspection.


Every worker of the Bharatiya Janata Party comes to politics for ideological battle.so it does not matter whether he or she gets something or not. BJP workers are never upset with their party's decisions. Every BJP worker considers it his or her good fortune to be a worker of such a great party that has emerged from the sacrifice of lakhs of dedicated Party workers.


The story of Uddhav Thackeray’s ego started in November 2019, when the people of Maharashtra voted overwhelmingly to re-elect Devendra Fadnavis as Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena alliance forming the government.


After getting a clear majority, Devendra Fadnavis made a telephonic call to Uddhav Thackeray for support, but Uddhav Thackeray started asking for the post of Chief Minister and did not take Devendra Fadnavis' call.


To respect the mandate given by the people of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis kept calling Uddhav Thackeray but the latter did not pick up his phone and went his separate way. Thus, He insulted the people of Maharashtra and the destiny as well.


Five years later, destiny has taught Uddhav Thackeray a lesson. Firstly, he had to go on his own leaving behind his typical ego to Nagpur for a courtesy visit with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, whom he had insulted in past. Now, It was his turn that he had to request Devendra Fadnavis for his support.


When Uddhav Thackeray was the Chief Minister in MVA government he did not pick up the phones of his own party MPs and MLAs and he had such an arrogance that he would proudly say that I do not pick up anyone's phone calls. A senior Parliamentary and a senior Legislator had informed me in person when I had requested to seek his intervention and audience with him as CM.


Now as Uddhav Thackeray left Hindutva good old friends who respected him too have deserted him. The destiny snatched his party, poll symbol, followers and the voters too from him. Destiny has left him alone with some few people who have no strength. Destiny has made Uddhav Thackeray’s political survival now impossible.


(The author is Chief Spokesperson of Mumbai BJP. Views personal.)

 
 
 

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