AI-the Harbinger of a Brave New World?

 

Image created with AI (OpenAI DALL·E, accessed via ChatGPT), April 2026.

Is it that far from being a threat to global employment as well as people’s free will and a technology that may end up enslaving and eventually destroying mankind, AI may actually be mankind’s greatest hope, the harbinger of a brave new world?

​Despite all the undeniably wondrous progress achieved by mankind, which today seriously toys with the idea of becoming an intergalactic species, it is not as if mankind is not beset with major problems, many of which are existential ones. From wars and famines to medical issues and environmental degradation that threaten its very survival, mankind grapples with a multitude of problems that it seems unable to resolve. Might not AI be the panacea for all of its ills and problems that it seems both unable and unwilling to resolve?  

​With its ability to save time and enhance productivity and efficiency, AI can not only help be the catalyst for economic growth and regeneration for the world, but it can also offer practical and workable solutions for political, environmental, educational and healthcare issues that may presently seem intractable.

​How can thinking machines make the world a better place?

​Can we and should we trust thinking machines capable of making decisions independent of our oversight and supervision to make decisions that have a profound influence on both our day to day lives as well as our very future? The way that AI is progressing, it is not just engaging in the process of augmenting human endeavour but is actually on the cusp of supplanting it altogether. Is it a fair trade-off then,  if it can make critical decisions that have a bearing on our overall well-being across politics, economics, and healthcare in a highly efficient and expeditious manner?

​Will such an AI technology make the world a utopia or a place where mankind may not have a future and be made to go extinct? Could not the human race leverage the awesome power of AI without becoming its victim? The jury is out on whether AI is the greatest boon to mankind or an unprecedented existential threat.

​Already, there is a demand arising from technology mavens, social scientists, governments, civil society and people at large to regulate and rein in AI in a manner that the possibility of it going rogue is completely ruled out. In any case, leaving AI completely unsupervised runs the risk of not only a loss of control over the direction that it may take, but it also leaves one unaware about how reliable the autonomous decisions made by AI  are.

​AI that is being used currently is far from faultless and can’t really be expected to serve any practical purpose unless there is human oversight on its application. It is, of course, expected to get better and better with time, but it will work out best for humans only if they are equal participants in its journey. AI and humans will have to achieve progress in a collaborative manner and should never be at the cost of the latter. That defeats the very purpose of having AI in our midst.

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Imbuing AI with morality

​The other important aspect is to train human beings to not only learn to effectivley leverage the tremendous power of AI, but to use it for the right purpose. So, it may not be a question about our trusting AI to not go rogue against us, but also about it being used by people who have an upright moral compass. Imagine the havoc it might wreak if it falls into the wrong hands. Also, there is the danger of an AI divide, where those with access lord it over those who either don't have access or can't afford it to the detriment of the latter.

​In many ways, AI will prove to be a lot like money- whoever has it, has power and authority, which could be used for noble and constructive purposes or to further personal agenda, which may be far from noble. While it may possess the potential to make the world a better place, the question is whether that is indeed going to be what that technology will really be used for? Democratisation of AI access is, therefore, going to have to be striven for so that everyone is able to  reap the benefits of this revolutionary technology, which promises to refashion the very world we live in with every passing day.

​AI could indeed be the harbinger of a brave new world, but the question is whether that world would be the one that humans want to inhabit. A super efficient, comfortable and safe world where most, if not all, human needs are met, under the impersonal and emotionally barren reign of machines with super human intelligence and strength might not be what we would like to end up with.  A world where human endeavours are not driven by a sense of wonder and innate curiosity, but by preordained programs of activity to keep us occupied, a la The Matrix, could possibly await us if we meekly submit to the dictates of AI, which has become the arbiter of human destiny.

​Would we have ceded all control to such machines, or would we have them work for and under us? If they surpass us in intelligence, as many are sure they will in the not-so-distant future, would it be possible that they would carry out their agenda instead of ours? We have no idea how beings or entities  who are leagues ahead of us in intelligence and all manner of capabilities would treat us. If we go by our own human experience in this regard, where slavery and colonialism were imposed on the weak by the strong, there does not seem to be much scope for optimism.

From Cave People to Space Farers

 

Image generated using AI (OpenAI / DALL·E), prompted by the author.

Mankind has traversed a fascinating journey from its shaky beginnings in Africa many hundreds of thousands of years ago to the present times of total planetary dominance. From its hunter-gatherer days to its more settled times as agriculturists, and from the dawn of the earliest urban civilisations to the outstanding achievements of modern science that gave it mastery over  land, sea and space, its journey has been an unending saga of incremental and sometimes explosive progress. Mankind has come a long way from coexisting with mammoths and sabre-toothed tigers to having to contend with the spectre of  placing its destiny in the hands of autonomously thinking machines.

​It is a fascinating journey of the evolution and rise of a living species from a state of  gritty and brutal struggle for survival in a cruel and unforgiving world to reach a stage where one world is not enough for the ambitions of mankind, which now seeks to be a multi-planetary species. The ascent of mankind is a  unique phenomenon in a universe which is home to billions upon billions of galaxies and planetary systems. If there are life forms more advanced than mankind somewhere who have a more amazing story to tell, one may defer to them, but till such time that we know of such a thing, we have to marvel at what these two-legged animals who walk upright on a rocky planet have achieved in a very short period of time.

​Intrinsic to mankind’s nature has been a questioning and inquisitive disposition that made it try to understand and possibly master and tame phenomena that were easily beyond its pale. It learnt to study the life cycle of edible plants and learnt to grow and harvest them. It tamed and domesticated animals to help plough land  efficiently and pull wheeled wagons across vast stretches of land. It learned to build large boats that could cross oceans, powered by the wind, allowing the discovery of new lands, enabling trade and the exchange of ideas. Collectively, they used knowledge as the frontier of growth, advancing their civilization to accomplish that the planet earth abounds with-motorcars, aeroplanes, computers, modern medical science, space travel, computers and of course, AI.

​The world owes as much to collective effort, as it does to the mad, maverick genius of scientists like Newton and Einstein, intrepid sea-farers like Columbus and Magellan, philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, the first astronauts and cosmonauts, industrialists like Henry Ford and Rockefeller and the harbingers of the technology revolution that has put mankind on a trajectory whose path there is no way of predicting.

We may make Earth a utopia where every individual gets to lead a happy, healthy and fulfilled life, or we may become an interstellar species, all thanks to AI. On the other hand, AI may decide to make slaves of us or totally exterminate us. We could also see a war of survival between AI gone rogue and human beings giving their all in an epic struggle to save their species from thinking machines turned into Frankenstein’s monsters.

​Humans have reached where they have reached because they are a unique species of life. We adapt, think out of the box, and forever strive to push the envelope, consequently notching up the most marvelous of achievements. Surely, we will not surrender our humanity to artificial beings we brought into existence.

Ready for the AI ride?

Image generated using AI (DALL·E by OpenAI), 2026.

AI is going to have, without the shadow of  the slightest doubt, the most profound impact on human destiny since the time that people first learned to harness fire and invent the wheel. The fact that AI is on the cusp of thinking and making decisions entirely on its own without any human supervision or direction means that the future of human life on Earth will unfold in ways that we cannot even begin to fathom.

​The blurring of distinction between breathing and thinking living beings that humans are and machines devoid of life and emotion by allowing the latter to exercise judgment on behalf of the former poses a philosophical dilemma that has never confronted humanity before. We don’t know how AI thought, developing independently of human impulses will evolve. What impact will it have on art, culture, morality and indeed human morality?

​The immediate fear that most people have on account of the dawn of the age of AI is of a loss of employment, particularly the white-collar kind. From coders and writers to doctors, teachers and researchers, everyone fears redundancy when pitted  against super efficient, remorseless thinking machines capable of easily outperforming them.

​The fear of new technology is one that humans have dealt with since the earliest times. Every new discovery and innovation has caused trepidation, nervousness, and fear amongst those who worried that the new way of doing things would impact the old way of doing things that they were used to. Everything from the invention of the wheel and the harnessing of energy to mechanised transport and flying was met with fear and resistance.

 The fact that everything worked out well eventually often hides the immense fear, heartbreak and indeed the destruction of a certain way of life it accompanies. But in the eventual yardstick of what is seen as human progress, the emergence and adoption of new technology seems to have done more good than harm to human existence.

​Where AI promises to be different is in the fact that it may take away the decision making power of human beings by moving away from under their authority and developing agency of its own. To that extent, its further evolution and its impact on human destiny is as unknown as it would be if the aliens took over planet Earth one day.

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 Where is AI taking us?

The rule of the mediocre and quasi- experts

Image generated with OpenAI’s DALL·E based on a text prompt by the author.

There’s an old adage- in the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king (no offence meant to the differently abled). We seem to be living in such times, what with the internet allowing anybody and everybody to hold forth with their expansive views on everything. There is not even a hint of the imposter syndrome, especially among what are termed as Gen Z, as if these are mutants from a faraway planet.

Everybody is all about swagger and attitude based on thin air and nonsensical ideas and notions. Have you ever tried to have a meaningful conversation with the semi-literates who masquerade as customer service personnel for leading companies and organisations? You are guaranteed to tear out your hair in despair. Then there is the rash of so called influencers spewing wisdom like they know anything other than their own names.

If you happen to live in the most populous country in the world, you can easily rack up millions of simpletons with the brain power of fungi as your followers and have what you imagine are scintillating intellectual exchanges that have the brilliance of a shrub. The TV channels these days seem to have hired what seem to be high school drop outs who are sent all over the world to send in their reports in what is an approximation of English and the most provincial of Hindi.

One of the reasons that run of the mill shallow people do so well in back-end jobs at overseas technology firms is the fact that these require them to be compliant and sufficiently competent to carry out mundane routine tasks according to set guidelines and rules. Such people possess a rudimentary aura that positions them as quasi-experts who can be relied upon to efficiently carry out tasks that many first-world employees would not undertake. This does not take away from the scores of genuinely outstanding individuals from the region, who have made it to the top echelons of some of the best known corporations in the world.

These are the exceptions, we should have had many more of, but instead we are drowning in an ocean of poorly educated (in real terms, not fancy degrees from fancy colleges and universities that sprang up overnight) boors who know very little, but think that they are the salt of the Earth. Talking loudly, dropping litter wherever they please, driving rashly, not respecting anybody’s space, cutting lines, and generally being intolerant to anyone else’s needs, but their own, these legions of nincompoops make even a slightly thinking person wonder if this is what life is about.

Creating a ruckus at concerts, beaches, pristine forests, river beds, and overseas tourist destinations is seen as a birth right by such people, never mind the disgust and contempt with which the world might view them. Do such people ever take time out and question as to what it might take to become distinguished individuals with an evolved and nuanced world view? Maybe they could read real literature from around the world instead of mindlessly doom scrolling on their phones, consuming senseless, mind-numbing, vapid content that progressively erodes their minds of any sense.

Imagining yourself to be the best in the world because you don’t know better is exactly what traps millions of youngsters in soul-sapping mediocrity. They might say all the cool things like they are following their passion and all that, but are they actually? I mean, if you are not willing to put in the hard work required to improve and enhance your worldview and awareness of the real nature of things, you will live out your life not realising how wonderfully diverse the world and its different cultures are. Work on every aspect of your life-how you speak and dress, your table manners, the people you associate with, the kind of content you consume, and your world view. Break away from the quasi-expert/mediocre life trap. 

Is data really the oil of our times?

 

Image generated using AI (OpenAI’s DALL·E), 2026

At a time when the ongoing Gulf conflict makes it painfully clear how important oil is to the world economy, it is perhaps a little off-colour to discuss whether data is all set to replace oil as the be-all and end-all of modern-day living. Clive Humbly, a British data scientist may have come up with the very catchy phrase “data is the new oil” years back, but has his hunch or prophecy come to fruition in the times of what appears to be a veritable AI revolution?

​Looking at the issue closely, things don’t quite seem to be entirely that way. The strain that even the suggestion of an oil supply squeeze puts on the world economy almost makes this discussion moot, but the fact remains that fossil fuels induced climate change and the geostrategic vulnerability that an oil-dependent world faces has made countries around the world, with the possible exception of Trump’s America, increasingly look at harnessing alternative sources of energy with dead seriousness. This ranges from wind and solar energy to geothermal power, nuclear energy and hydrogen fuel.

​Even the fossil fuel-rich Gulf nations are aware that the oil bonanza won’t last forever and have been investing huge sums of money in diversifying away from this hitherto lucrative, but increasingly less favoured source of cheap energy. Given that the world is moving towards a diversified energy regime comprising a myriad of resources, with each nation figuring out its own energy mix that best suits its needs and does not encourage excessive dependency on imported sources of energy, the era of oil dominance will inevitably end in the years ahead.

​This may not happen as fast as many would like, but the process is inexorably on. We may never get rid of oil completely as it is used in a very diverse range of industries, and not just as a primary source of energy. But it won’t be anywhere as important  and indispensable as it is now as a primary source of energy in a few decades from now.

​So what will replace it as the one resource that the entire world will love to have total control over? Many say it is data.

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Why is data important?

​Data is critically important in today's digital age because it allows you to optimally leverage the power of AI and Generative AI- technologies that promise to be the foundational cornerstone of the new age way of working and conducting a business or just about any form of organised activity. That is why a well-formulated data strategy is a necessary prerequisite for any business or organisation that hopes to do perform in an optimal fashion. Does that make data as important as oil, a commodity that nations have gone to war over? 

Given that data centres have been targeted in the ongoing Gulf war, it would seem that it is. Already, nations have moved to ensure that data pertaining to a country stays within their  borders. This quest for data localisation is driven by growing recognition of the fact that data sovereignty is a matter of national security. As a matter of fact, data is increasingly used by state and non-state actors to target competitors and rival nations by way of activities that range from digital espionage to using ransomware and malware to compromise and weaken their opponents. 

That vital infrastructure like power grids, communication networks and stock exchanges are all data driven, lends them to be vulnerable to malicious acts of sabotage by inimical forces. There are many who believe that data as a resource is more valuable than oil in that not only is it not finite like the latter, but it also grows both in volume and value after being processed. Besides, it is a vital fuel (pun intended) for any country’s digital ecosystem. Data’s importance as an enabler of the modern 21st century economy is, in fact more than that of oil.

​Data, one could already say, is right there at the top as a significant asset driving the modern economy. Its importance is not just on account of the fact that it plays a pivotal role in the adoption of AI, but also as an integral component of everything from production processes to logistics and online services. This makes data a crucial part of the value chain across industries.

​Data as a resource has indeed come into its own. Rather than comparing it with oil, nations around would do well to chart out a data strategy that would help them secure their strategic self interest in the best possible manner. Not doing so would cost them much more than what a temporary oil shortage or a hike in its price would. Data is fast becoming more than the oil of our times. It is, in fact, already the lifeblood of our times.

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Building India's Energy Security

Photo by Waldemar Brandt: https://www.pexels.com/photo/rusty-oil-barrels-stacked-3151717/

The ongoing Israeli-US war with Iran has drawn attention to India’s energy vulnerabilities like never before. Though it has ensured a steady supply of petrol, diesel, and kerosene thanks to some smart buying and leveraging its goodwill with the Americans, Russians and even Iranians, the shortfall in the supply of LPG cylinders did cause more than a measure of panic among many households and small businesses, especially in the restaurant and catering segments.

​For all of India’s demographic, economic and military heft, the fact that it imports 89% of its oil and 60% of its gas requirements, respectively, makes the country strategically hamstrung. What makes the situation worse is the fact that most oil and gas producing regions are prone to political and military volatility. The Middle East has always been one of the most potentially unstable areas of the world, with myriad unresolved issues simmering across nations. In this context, the current closure of the Strait of Hormuz by the Iranian regime is a worst-nightmare- come-true scenario for the world oil economy.

If this wasn’t bad enough, the other major oil producer of the world, Russia, had already become a global pariah after its annexation of Crimea and the subsequent full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Buying oil from them attracts the risk of international sanctions and punitive tariffs in the Trumpian era. At the same time, diversifying one’s purchases and sourcing oil and gas from half a world away from the Americas does not seem to be a tenable long-term solution.

​With India meeting only about 15% of its oil requirements through domestic production which is less than the about 27%  in the case of China, its reliance on imports can prove to be its Achilles heel in the global geostrategic sweepstakes. Things are a lot better with regard to gas production, though, with India being able to meet 50% of its requirements via domestic production.

​India needs to work on building its energy security edifice so as to inure itself against global geostrategic pulls and pressures. If it is to achieve its destiny as a global power counted amongst the top three nations of the world, it needs to achieve 100 percent energy security like the US has.

​How to achieve 100% energy security?

​India can and should strive to achieve 100% energy security through a combination of measures. These include increasing domestic production of oil and gas by way of enhanced exploration, increased use of bio-fuels like ethanol and large-scale promotion of clean alternative sources of energy like solar, wind, thermal and green hydrogen. At the same time, nuclear energy should be turned to as a significant component of the Indian energy grid, as it is an efficient and relatively less polluting source of abundant energy. Given that India, like most large economies of the world, is committed towards drawing more and more energy from clean, renewable sources like wind and solar power, there should be enough provision of storing electricity to ensure a steady supply even when the sun has set or the wind is not blowing. A nationwide power inventory system needs to ensure that surplus power regions seamlessly transfer electricity to regions of deficit.

​Though India has abundant reserves of coal, which help it generate most of its electricity, transitioning to greener energy is in India’s interest, as climate change is a big issue impacting the nation’s future well-being. At the same time, the fact that these reserves exist acts as an effective hedge against any energy blackmail India might face in an era fraught with geopolitical tensions.

Given that a lot is set in store on battery power, especially in transportation, India should redouble its efforts to find new domestic sources of lithium and cobalt to help power this transition. Helping the nation achieve 100% energy security is a nation building activity in which the citizenry should be encouraged to build a stake. A great example of this is the rooftop solar installation drive, which allows lay people to contribute to the national security grid.

​100% energy security can be achieved by India if it gets into mission mode. This has something that has to be done if the long heralded India story is to finally see fruition.

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What is trending in AI in 2026?

 

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-shot-of-white-robot-toy-8294606/

AI is dominating everybody’s consciousness in 2026 more than it did in 2025 and the year before that. With people fearing for their future livelihoods and technology behemoths salivating at the prospects of future super profits that make today’s immense earnings seem like peanuts, the world appears to be waiting with bated breath for something hugely extraordinary to occur and change their lives in ways they can’t even begin to imagine.

On the ground, however, AI is a work in progress that one is constantly told is revolutionising every aspect of human functioning, with not all that much to show for it. For all practical purposes, for the average person on the street, life is not really radically different from what it was five years ago. Sure, we have Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and others entertaining the world with their usual bag of tricks, but what we largely see is big talk and even bigger talk about the dawn of a new world order.

In the meantime, AI is apparently making its presence felt, but in incremental and measured steps. The practical roll-out of AI technology is happening all around us, and we would do well to have a handle on what exactly we are dealing with in the real world, instead of anticipating global doom or a tech billionaire’s utopia.  Let us do that by casting a look at what is trending in the AI universe in 2026.

1.      Autonomous AI Agents

One can expect autonomous AI agents powered by Agentic AI to carry out complex tasks like travel bookings, implementing marketing campaigns, managing workflows and coding autonomously rather than simply answering questions. This is going to bring about a paradigm change in the way people deploy AI. Companies, for instance, are increasingly using  multi-agent systems that are all about a number of AI agents working together to accomplish complex tasks. Think of them as always on-duty assistants capable of handling very long workflows over periods of time that can be extended at will.

2.      Multi-modal AI

Multi-model AI has come a long way and is expected to be one of the defining trends of 2026. The ability to process various types of data simultaneously (text, video, images, voice, and sensor data) has made it possible to come up with highly useful applications like real-time video analysis, high-quality video generation tools and AI assistants capable of seeing and hearing. In fact, generative videos are all set to change the paradigm of media productions as well as entertainment, on account of enhanced image generation with the help of text rendering.

3.      Domain Centric AI Models

The preponderance of large generic AI models is yielding place to smaller, more focused and super-efficient models primed to perform industry-specific tasks. These are cheaper to run and have found favour with industries like healthcare, finance, engineering and law. This trend is set to accelerate in 2026.

4.      Physical AI and Robotics Coming Into Its Own

We are rapidly moving into the real deployment of Physical AI or robots, moving on from research into real-world use. The year 2026 has seen the emergence of many humanoid robots, as is evident in the demos by many companies. Boston Dynamics, for example, showcased its electric Atlas and informed the world about its partnership with Google DeepMind that seeks to bring about an integration with Gemini Robotics models. Tesla, for its part, intends to scale up Optimus, intending to enhance production going forward. Robotics is slated to have its day in the sun and become the cynosure of all eyes in 2026.

5.      Focus on AI Security

With AI becoming all-pervasive across industries, the focus is definitely on security in 2026. AI agents being able to access personal data has made it imperative to protect it.  The security of the platforms that one is using has to be foolproof before an organisation goes ahead and shares critical information with them. Special care needs to be taken to ensure that no actions are initiated without express approval. Another way that AI can help strengthen security is to provide better analytics that allow one to pick out trends with regard to incident report data.

6.      More Comprehensive AI Regulation

There has never been any set of technologies that has been as equally anticipated and feared as AI, and with good reason.  AI is simply too powerful a technology to be left unregulated. Unregulated AI can lead to a host of problems in the shape of manipulated data, compromised privacy, and the dissemination of false information. It is no longer enough to have a set of guidelines to prevent AI misuse. One can expect the rules to be enforced with more vigour going forward.

Summary

While AI is amongst the most discussed subjects in the world these days, there is a lot of uncertainty and even anxiety arising due to the unprecedented increase in its adoption across industries. To be forewarned is to be forearmed, and nowhere does this adage apply more aptly than in the context of the AI revolution that the world is currently undergoing. The AI trends of 2026 will decide what shape the changes being brought about will take and how these will impact industry, businesses and society in the near future and beyond. It pays to be aware of how AI is reshaping the very nature of human existence at a pace that is both breathtaking and sometimes frightening. It is in our own self-interest not to fear AI, but understand it and learn how to leverage it to our best advantage.

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