Browsing: AI

Many have debated when venture capital became a big deal in India. Some think it was in the 1990s after new policies were implemented, some say it was somewhere in the late 2000s and others say it was the 2010s. But, at whatever point it can be pinpointed to, VCs were seen to have the traditional role of a financial backer. But, maybe, in recent times, VCs seem to have become influencers. Not the kind dancing in an Instagram Reel to the latest viral 10-second tune. Maybe, there's a tiny chunk of investors out there doing that. The kind that's shaping narratives for India's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

How did that happen? With the pools of people hooked on to social media platforms & the penetration of the Internet and smartphones in India, VCs seem to have realized that the lava of their words could melt the shackles that hold them back from being brand-builders and storytellers. 

And the need's certainly there. One report outlines that the Indian startup ecosystem attracted more than $150 billion in investments, with FinTech, e-commerce and enterprise tech leading the charge. And India is said to have close to 120 unicorns, as of October 2024. The Shark Tank India-ization of the ecosystem may have meant that more people feel encouraged to drop everything and start their own venture, while not being aware that supposedly, close to 130,000 startups fail every day in India.

So, with the rising trend of VCs as storytellers, can they be the Northern Star for these startups?

What does it take to overturn India’s status quo of education and make it much more holistic and experiential? What…

So, as the world evolves, India’s farmers are increasingly having to deal with the challenges of climate change, unpredictable weather…

What do you do when you have a medical emergency or a disorienting injury? Would it be possible to be…

Ask 50 people you meet what tech has dominated the 2020s so far and many would say “AI”. Since late 2022, with the advent of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, people have been positioning AI as one of the most transformative technologies that could offer opportunities for efficiency, innovation and growth. That being said, AI is not sans its risks, just like many powerful technologies. But, the applications of AI could be so ground-breaking, that when AI systems fail or make errors, the consequences could be significant and costly. Who you gonna blame? The robots? So, who you gonna call? The insurance folks?

Here’s how insurance, traditionally, works. You get a safety net for unexpected events in life. It would protect you from financial losses that could happen and this could be due to accidents, health issues, disasters or other unforeseen circumstances.

So, you pay a regular amount of money called premiums paid monthly or annually. You buy insurance from a company that collects premiums. Many folks pay premiums into a big pool, some of whom would face unfortunate events, for which they would need financial help. At that point, they could make a claim to the insurance company, which the insurance company assesses and if they deem it to be a valid claim, the person would be provided with financial assistance to help cover costs related to the incident. The insurance policy could have certain limits, which is the minimum amount the insurance company could pay and there could be a deductible, which is an initial amount you would need to cover before the company starts paying.

Since late 2022, AI has dominated business discourse, with Satya Nadella of Microsoft remarking that the golden age of AI is underway. And if AI is impacting many an industry, could AI optimize energy production, distribution and consumption? And could this be something that could upend traditional energy paradigms?

Welcome to the AI-powered revolution. Here’s where energy efficiency, productivity and environmental outcomes could get to the next level.

Now, managing a complex energy grid could be too hard for humans alone. AI tech could help grid operators make important decisions instantly. The utility industry is said to provide services like electricity, water and gas to homes and businesses. Tons of data about the power system could be collected. And one of the things AI could be good at is looking at data to create smart solutions.

Sheru’s one such company, where battery swapping stations could give power back to the grid energy: with EVs being used to power grids, offering a platform for renewable power producers to store excess energy virtually.

So, RegTech is one of those revolutions that seem underway. It may be traditionally defined as companies using innovative tech solutions to manage compliance. At the same time, there's been a bit of a shift where policymakers and regulators are looking at the same tech solutions to craft compliance and try to stay updated in a world that refuses to sit still.

Since late 2022, we seem to be in the golden age of AI and some may see AI having some applications in RegTech. After all, RegTech is a blend of regulation and technology.

According to Archana Balasubramanian, Partner - Agama Law Associates, "RegTech is a tool used by companies, particularly in FinTech, to assist in compliance, risk assessment, risk mitigation, reducing penalties, data management, internal policy-making and so on. RegTech is largely AI or ML-based and requires vast amounts of input, some through the system or, in some cases, manually, which helps throw up relevant data points to enhance all of the benefits..."

So, RegTech may be AI-based. But, could it go the other way as well? Could RegTech be used to craft AI policy in India? Not just for use by governments, but by companies as well.

Remember November 2023? That seemed to be a tumultuous time for OpenAI. Co-founder Samuel Altman was abruptly fired over Google Meet, joined Microsoft and, then, returned to OpenAI again. Then, he fired most of the OpenAI Board that had fired him. But, just before Altman was fired, something happened.

A group of staff researchers were said to have sent a letter to the OpenAI Board. The letter was said to be about warning it about a new AI algorithm that could pose a threat to humanity. There was said to be a mysterious endeavour called Project Q* (pronounced Q-Star.) Some members believed that Project Q* could be a significant breakthrough in the pursuit of AGI, which is Artificial General Intelligence. This is a system that isn't good at one specific thing, but one that could do a wide range of things better than people. Some systems are good at something, but not everything. A smartphone could be great at understanding voice commands. But, it may not know how to learn a new language without specific programming.

AGI could create machines that aren't narrowly focused, but could understand, learn and do many things. Much like a human being. It could be a system that could learn things on its own, understand people's needs better over time and adapt to situations without needing specific instructions for each scenario. The idea of AGI is said to be building machines that have the kind of intelligence people have.

There’s said to be an unfortunate conflict in the Israel-Palestine region and it’s said to be one of the worst…

“What a bunch of malarkey. You know the value of voting Democratic. Our votes count. It’s important that you save your vote for the November election. We’ll need your help in electing Democrats up and down the ticket. Voting this Tuesday only enables the Republicans in their quest to elect Donald Trump again. Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday”

That’s the transcript of a robocall of a voice sounding like US President Joseph Biden. And it was said to have been circulated just before New Hampshire’s Democratic primary election in January 2024. “Voice sounding like US President Joseph Biden” is key, because while it sounded like him, it wasn’t him: it was a deepfake and the idea may have been to make sure voters skip the New Hampshire primary. It’s a deepfake that may have been made using AI to create a convincing replication of a voice, which could help manipulate voters and people who may not be cognizant of the deepfake phenomenon.

So, with the advent of generative AI in late 2022, what could this mean for elections? Especially, since 2024 is considered *the* election year, not just any other election year. It’s said that more voters, than ever before in history, would vote in about 65 countries or even more this year. That’s about half the world’s population. So, the potential and risks of AI are something that should, probably, be looked at more closely in such an important election period.

So, could AI engage and mobilize voters? Or would it manipulate opinions, create more division and erode trust in institutions?

Especially when there are said to be deepfake videos of Bollywood performers making the rounds promoting certain political parties during campaigns for General Elections 2024 in India.

According to Sunil Nair, Executive Director at Concept Communications Ltd, “When I met Mr Narendra Modi during his tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat for a project, that’s when I saw the advent of social media and realized the next war wouldn’t be fought on the battlefield, but on the Internet. And that was just a preview. Over time, there’s a profound change in how people think and their basic habits, in terms of how much time they spend on their handheld devices. A survey I came across outlines that people spend 3-4 hours daily consuming content on these devices. And it’s easier to engage with a simple Instagram Reel than to absorb the details of a mutual fund ad; people might remember the Reel but forget the nuances of the mutual fund ad. Many still don’t understand the mechanics of social media. Algorithms scrutinize content for political correctness and shape narratives, with AI playing a pivotal role in these new developments”.

Nair remarks, “On social media, it’s often impossible to distinguish between genuine accounts and imposters of public figures. And while deepfakes might seem like a recent phenomenon, they’ve been around for years, emerging prominently around 2017 or 2019. These are manipulations that have caused significant trouble and confusion. In India, deepfakes are prevalent in the political arena and the problem has become so normalized that people have stopped actively defending it. Deepfakes can drastically alter perceptions, mislead audiences and distort the truth about people, be it positive or negative”.

But, what about blue ticks? Social media platforms, like Meta and YouTube, are said to be labelling AI-generated content. Could that help?

“Blue ticks are now available at a cost, so blue ticks have no relevance today. So, that’s not going to be a differentiator”, opines Nair.

But, what about beyond deepfakes? What’s the impact of AI, then, on the election landscape?

A country, like India, is linguistically diverse. So, maybe, AI could be used to translate a political figure’s speeches in real-time without changing the voice. How about AI-driven real-time translation technology that could preserve their voice and style? Political figures may have a sense of disconnect with voters in countries, like India, which has multiple languages. If a political figure’s primary language is Hindi, it could be hard to connect with a Tamil Nadu base that only speaks Tamil. So, in this case, AI could revolutionize political communication. Yet, some contextual nuances and dialect differences could be missed and a mistranslation could lead to misunderstandings.

Nair declares, “The government operates on four key principles: Hindutva ideology, narrative-building beneficiaries, neo-nationalism and effective outreach to the lowest strata of society. Mastering outreach ensures a political figure’s message reaches every voter in their constituency. AI is integral to this strategy, with creators leveraging it to reach the last mile, given widespread smartphone usage and penetration in India. AI is highly effective in producing compelling content, videos and caricatures. We even run a virtual influencer program featuring ‘Naina,’ an AI superstar and we’re preparing to collaborate with brands. So, every point, in terms of messaging, can be done through AI”.

How about a digital twin of political figures to replicate their persona and voice? Maybe, this could be done by collating all their speeches, viewpoints and ideas. This could engage with constituents in real-time and create a sense of connection and camaraderie and help them understand the political figure’s stance on different issues. That could be a way to augment voter engagement and help engage with candidates more directly, maybe fostering a sense of connection that traditional campaigning may lack. On the other hand, a digital twin could be programmed maliciously to make false promises or spread disinformation.

“A digital twin can be reached to people through social media platforms, like Instagram or WhatsApp. If one can catch their attention for 10 or 20 seconds, they end up opening it”, states Nair.

So, could anything be done from a citizen’s perspective? If people are talking about certain issues and it shows up on their phone or on their feed, could that be curbed or stopped?

“There are voices, groups and companies looking at this option, because it’s taking away productive time. One may be doing something critical and when they see these kinds of things, attention is lost”, states Nair.

What about the actual voting mechanisms itself? Could AI play a role there?

Nair remarks, “It’s a little early to say whether AI could play a role there, so it’s a matter of time. It will play a role, not in the near future, but I think a couple of years down the line definitely. You may not even have to go out of your house to vote, especially when voting percentages have gone down”.

And down the line, could AI increase voter turnout?

Nair asserts, “There’s a case there. India is a large country, where the middle class thinks very differently from the lower middle class. If one is able to bring tech to one’s doorstep and allow them to vote without leaving their house, it could mean a new way of choosing one’s electorate”.

“If technology takes over, what will people do and where will they go from that point? The situation has both pros and cons. Over time, there may be a significant hue and cry. Unemployment stresses the economy and there’s no social security framework, so crime may rise, inflation may soar and the rich-poor divide may widen. And the wealthy will use AI to drive down costs and increase their wealth. But, what about the everyday worker? Yet, the world goes on. India aims to become the world’s fifth-largest economy and AI is going to play a crucial role”, quips Nair.