India’s tryst with ethanol

When I was in school, I learned about how Brazil transitioned to largely using ethanol-blended fuel for its automobiles, as it could source it from sugarcane, which grows in abundance in Brazil. Given that India has always relied excessively on imported petroleum products to power its automobiles, I had wondered then why India, which, along with Brazil, is among the top two sugarcane-growing nations in the world, shouldn’t follow suit?  Doing so would not only have shaved off billions from India’s import bill, but it would also have made it less susceptible to geo-strategic blackmail like the one it finds itself subject to on account of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

​While India is trying to pivot away from its reliance on imported oil by stepping up domestic oil exploration and encouraging the widespread adoption of EV technology, it is in leveraging its natural advantage of being home to one of the largest agriculture-based economies in the world and making a move to biofuels like ethanol that it may find true energy security. While oil is messy, polluting, expensive, and causes global warming, the EV industry is heavily reliant on Chinese imports, making it a potential security nightmare. Besides, EVs or electric vehicles are non-polluting only if the electricity used to charge them is produced in a non-polluting way. With most of India’s power plants being coal-powered, going for large-scale adoption of EVs might not help fight the raging pollution levels across the Indian urban landscape. The advantages of using ethanol are many. These include, among other things, better engine performance, higher fuel efficiency, and the kicker being ensuring the energy security of the nation.

Photo by Atlantic Ambience

​India’s ethanol journey

 India embarked on an Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme in the early 2000s and has gradually enhanced the ethanol component in the fuel mixture from 5% to the present 20%. A 10% target was achieved five months early in June 2022, and an even more impressive 20% target was achieved by July 2025, an incredible five years ahead of schedule. The government caught on with the potential of using ethanol as a game changer at a particularly fortuitous time, given how global warming is having a visible impact across the length and breadth of India, and the tumultuous global geo-strategic landscape is impacting the nation’s ability to secure its energy needs.

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The Path Ahead

One of the biggest hurdles in the adoption of ethanol-blended fuel in India is the large number of old vehicles that may not be entirely suited to running efficiently on it. The newer vehicles have no such issues. As a matter of fact, automobile manufacturers in the country should look at making flexible fuel vehicles like they have for years in Brazil, capable of running on variable proportions of a petrol-ethanol blend. Brazil even has vehicles that run on pure ethanol, comprising 95% ethanol and 5% water.

​It is heartening that major Indian automobile companies have stepped up to the plate with their plans to foray into the exciting world of flexible fuel vehicles. With the government planning to extend the same incentives that it extended to EV manufacturers to flexi-fuel vehicle manufacturers soon, the future for rapid adoption of such automobiles seems to be quite bright. In the meantime, it is important that the required fuel dispensing infrastructure be developed and people be made aware of the benefits of using flexible fuel vehicles, also known as FFVs.

​Making a move to an ethanol-blended fuel dispensation does have its critics, who argue that the fuel is not compatible with a large number of old vehicles used in the country. Then there is the whole argument about the diversion of food crops like rice and maize towards ethanol production, which might impact the hard-fought-for food security of the nation. Other possible problems could be in the shape of using sugarcane and other water-intensive crops in the manufacturing of ethanol.

​However, given the vastness of India and the natural resources it possesses, these are not deal breakers, and solutions can be worked out that adequately address these concerns. India’s tryst with ethanol has been a fruitful one, and continuing down this path will help the nation secure its energy needs for all times to come.

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The Indian Wellness Industry is Growing and How

 

Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/stacked-of-stones-outdoors-289586/

India, the birthplace of yoga, the millennia-old system of achieving physical, mental, and spiritual wellness, is rightfully seeing a huge rise in the formal wellness industry. That a land which always emphasised that the purpose of life was to strike the right balance in whatever one undertook in life, should now prioritise personal well-being over mindless “growth” and accumulation of material assets, is something that signifies a homecoming of sorts.

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People have come to understand that the conventional approach to healthcare and wellness, which often involves expensive treatments and healing, is all very well, but adopting a preventive, wellness-oriented lifestyle may help them lead fuller and healthier lives. India, with its traditions of yoga and ayurveda, which evolved from the soil of this land, is best suited to evolve a wellness culture that combines the ancient wisdom of the land with the best modern scientific practices in the realm of health and wellness.

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Given the growing awareness of lifestyle diseases resulting from modern, fast-paced lifestylesit is not surprising that the Indian health and wellness market achieved an impressive market size of $156 billion in 2024. This figure is expected to reach as high a figure as $256.9 billion by 2033, representing a CAGR growth of 5.3% in the 2025-33 time period.As a matter of fact, India is poised to benefit substantially from the growing international wellness tourism industry as well, which is expected to reach $1.3 trillion in size this year.  

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There are several factors that are propelling this stupendous growth in the Indian wellness industry in particular, which is expected to achieve a market size of $72 billion by the end of 2025. The Indian  corporate wellness market, which achieved a creditable $639.1 million revenue in 2024 is projected to hit $809 billion in 2030 representing a CAGR of 4% in the 2025-30 time period.

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The employment generation potential of the wellness industry too is quite large on account of the growing demand for qualified and experienced professionals who can help wellness companies meet the ever growing demand for their products and services. This is amply demonstrated by the fact that the beauty and wellness segment employs as many as 12.3 million people. What’s more, 66% of such employees are women. Hearteningly, the number of people employed in the sector is expected to grow to about 20.3 million by 2027.

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Furthermore, in light of the growing importance given to personal wellbeing in the post pandemic era, more and more people are looking to India for solutions, given its association with yoga, ayurveda, and a rich age age-old tradition of turning to nature for wellness and good health. Large numbers of Indian and foreign tourists have started taking regular wellness holidays. This explains why the Indian wellness tourism  industry boasted a value of $19.43 billion in 2024, which is expected to reach $29.88 billion in 2031, achieving a CAGR of 6.45%.

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One of the most important reasons for the rapid growth of the Indian wellness industry has to be the massive growth in digitisation witnessed in the country. With a very high smartphone penetration, more and more people are accessing wellness services via healthcare apps and online platforms.

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The government’s promotion of digital healthcare through its Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission has played an important role in raising awareness about the need for a comprehensive digital health approach in the country. It is not surprising, then, that the Indian digital fitness and welfare platforms market is already valued at $1.5 billion.

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The Indian wellness industry is definitely a bright spot on the Indian economic horizon, with plenty of tailwinds to ensure its exponential rise in the times ahead.

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The Indian BFSI Sector is where all the growth is

 

AI-generated image

The Indian BFSI (Banking, Financial Services and Insurance) sector has seen humongous growth over the last two decades, having grown in GDP from Rs. 1.8 trillion in 2005 to Rs. 91 trillion in 2025- a whopping 50X rise in value.[1]Apart from the burgeoning size of the economy and the accompanying rise in consumption of financial services, the greater inclusion of people living in tier II and tier II cities has also given a fillip to the sector, with aspirational spending leading to a lot of the credit growth. The government, on its part, has gone out of its way to ensure that more and more people join the formal banking system via Aadhar and the e-kyc aided simple account opening process. It has also helped put in place a highly efficient Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system to reach funds directly to the beneficiaries in their bank accounts, helping ingrain banking habits in a larger and larger number of people.

The highly successful and transformational digital payments revolution in the shape of UPI or Unified Payment Interface has put India right at the top of the world with regard to real-time payment transactions. Fintech startups have played their part in the growth of the sector on account of their tie-ups with banks, helping the latter make their services vastly more accessible as well as customer-friendly. The BFSI sector has, in fact, been a frontrunner with regard to the use of data analytics and AI to help take its services to the next level. The widespread use of mobile banking is a sterling example of how technology can help improve the reach and efficiency of Indian banks.

Exponential Growth of Credit

The Indian middle classes have taken to credit like never before, allowing banks to achieve double digit growth in terms of credit uptake. This is particularly true for retail loans helping people finance the purchase of houses, vehicles, and even personal expenses. The scope of growth for credit to the private sector is quite good, given that India’s domestic credit to the private sector stood at 55% of the GDP in 2020, which is quite less than the global average of 148% according to World Bank figures. Compared to Chain’s 128% of GDP, South Korea’s 165% and even Vietnam’s 148% India can do much better on this front in the days ahead.[2]

Low Insurance Penetration

As a low insurance penetration nation, the scope of growth for insurance products is immense in India. With a mere 4% penetration in 2023, the sky is the limit when it comes to industry growth. The good news is that the Indian insurance industry already boasts a Gross Written Premium (GWP) in excess of $130 billion and an 11% CAGR (from the fiscal year 2020 to the fiscal year 2023.)[3] IRDAI, the body that oversees the Indian insurance industry, has initiated a number of reforms that have made insurance products much more accessible and easier to understand than they were in the past. The emergence and growth of private players has led to a number of benefits, including a rise in investment and the deployment of technology accompanied by a discernible rise in efficiency. Besides, the more liberal foreign investment policies have made global insurance majors look at the Indian insurance sector with renewed interest.

The Indian FinTech Revolution

The Indian FinTech revolution has made the world sit up and take notice. The smooth roll out of the universal digital payments system UPI has impressed nations from across the first and the third worlds. The Indian FinTech revolution has been fueled by the large scale adoption of innovative digital technologies that help meet the demand for efficient and cheap financial services and products. It is not surprising that the Indian FinTech sector has received $20 billion plus investment in the last five years.[4]

The potential for growth for the Indian FinTech over the next two decades is quite robust, given that less than 50% of the nation’s population has access to digital payments, and the number of people with access to credit is a measly 10%.[5]

BFSI- An Employment Generator Par Excellence

The BFSI sector provides employment to 6.1 million professionals, of which banking provides jobs to 2.4 million workers, NBCF to 2.2 million, insurance half a million, and other financial services 1 millon workers. [6]Going forward, one can expect the Indian BFSI sector to continue to do extremely well in terms of providing employment to the young. It is expected that it will provide employment to some 250,000 people by 2030, with most of the hiring happening in Tier II and Tier III cities. Much of the employment will be generated by wealth and insurance businesses who are looking to hire financial planners, digital underwriters, investment advisors, and claim automation professionals.[7]

Conclusion

The Indian BFSI sector is the sector to watch out for in terms of it sheer potential for growth and ability to generate employment. Driven by widespread digital adoption, a stupendous growth in financial inclusivity, the growth of diverse business and employment opportunities, as well as the fact that the Indian economy is on the ascendant, the Indian BFSI is in a fortuitous and happy space that is likely to remain that way in the foreseeable future.

[1] https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/indias-bfsi-sector-grows-over-50-times-in-two-decades-share-of-banks-reduced-due-to-nbfcs-report-11745462233150.html

[2] https://www.ey.com/en_in/insights/india-at-100/how-india-can-fill-the-credit-gap-to-fuel-economic-growth

[3] https://www.mckinsey.com/in/our-insights/steering-indian-insurance-from-growth-to-value-in-the-upcoming-techade

[4] https://www.pwc.in/assets/pdfs/investing-in-indias-fintech-disruption.pdf

[5] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/sme-sector/fintech-revolution-2-0-is-expected-to-unfold-in-india-in-the-next-10-years-mobikwiks-upasana-taku/articleshow/120891118.cms?from=mdr

[6] https://www.praxisga.com/insights/education-and-employability/unlocking-growth-skilling-opportunities-in-india-s-bfsi-sector

[7] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/banking/finance/banking/bfsi-sector-to-add-2-5-lakh-jobs-by-2030-hiring-shifts-to-tier-ii-iii-cities-report/articleshow/123426130.cms?from=mdr

Generative AI Moving From LLM to SLM?

 

Photo by Google DeepMind: https://www.pexels.com/photo/an-artist-s-illustration-of-artificial-intelligence-ai-this-illustration-depicts-language-models-which-generate-text-it-was-created-by-wes-cockx-as-part-of-the-visualising-ai-project-l-18069696/

While LLMs, or large language models, have played a pivotal role in the significant growth witnessed by GenAI, they do come with a number of built-in issues that act as a damper on the universal adoption of the technology. For one, the fact that LLM necessitates the training of models that need to take billions and billions of parameters into account, which is something that requires an enormous amount of investment. This ensures that only the largest technology companies with untold resources can seriously look at adopting this technology. Besides, the sheer consumption of energy to run the servers can prove to be an environmental nightmare.

This is where the move to SLMs or small language models makes eminent sense. As these need to conform to a much smaller number of parameters than in the case of LLMs, they are able to run admirably on devices with lesser processing power, including browsers, edge & IoT devices, and smartphones. What’s more, the quantum of resources needed to be deployed for this is way lower.

SLM technology is more decentralized in that it can be customized to handle precise tasks as well as datasets. This exposure to much more diverse datasets often makes them much more efficient than large language models trained on a limited amount of data. As smaller language models do not have large hardware requirements, these are usually much cheaper to deploy, encouraging more and more organisations and individuals to leverage their power. Another great advantage of using SLMs is the fact that one no longer needs to share one’s sensitive information with external servers, helping you to have enhanced digital security. As you can never really fully comprehend the decision making process with regard to LLMs, there is an ever present trust deficit that does not bode well for the implementation of that model in a manner that aligns with your objectives.

The widespread adoption of SLM that we see on a daily basis includes things like smart mail suggestions, grammar and spelling checks, voice assistants, real time text translations, search engine auto fills, and so on. This is a testament to the increased use of SLMs in preference to the conventional LLMs by more and more businesses and enterprises, especially by those who put a premium on cost, better control over technology, and the security of sensitive information.

 

Summary

Though both LLMs and SLMs have played a critical role in mainstreaming GenAI, the growing popularity of the latter is something that has been quite discernible for some time now. To summarise, SLMs are growing in popularity on account of the fact that LLMs require the deployment of large amounts of resources, which require a substantial investment. Apart from that, SLMs lend themselves to customization more easily, making them a more efficient alternative to LLMs. To top it all, SLMs offer better security. SLMs are increasingly taking over from LLMs across small businesses and enterprises and this trend is here to stay.

 

 

 

 

Using AI for Digital Marketing

 AI is being used for practically every field of human endeavour, and it cannot be that it will not be leveraged for something like digital marketing, which, as it is, depends upon technology to achieve results. A majority of marketing professionals around the globe are quite comfortable using AI tools in their day to day work. The level of adoption may not be uniform, but there is no denying the fact that AI adoption in the field of marketing is growing by the day.

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Not surprisingly, the most pervasive use of AI is in written content in the shape of blogs, social media posts, and emails. It is also used extensively for carrying out market research and automating tasks. Amongst the biggest benefits of using AI for digital marketing is the fact that it can allow one to personalise one’s marketing efforts to speak to one’s prospects’ and customers' specific needs and requirements.  AI applications also help digital marketers with SEO and advertising, and campaign optimisation. It also helps analyse customer-related data obtained from diverse platforms and make accurate demand forecasts.

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  Image generated by Google's Gemini AI

                                  

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AI tools used for Digital Marketing

Most people are aware of generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Claude AI; there are a large number of other very useful AI tools that digital marketers can put to good use for a whole range of functions. Let’s get a lowdown on some of them-

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1. Midjourney

Midjourney is a generative AI tool that generates images based on prompts provided in natural language. While its speed and accuracy are quite noteworthy, its ability to allow savvy digital marketers to give full rein to their creative imagination is what is remarkable about this tool.

​2. Drift

Drift is a very useful AI chatbot that helps with lead generation. Besides, it is great for customer interface. Not only does it offer a proactive chat feature, but it also enables lead qualification via conversational AI, besides offering integration with CRMs.

​3. Evolv.ai

Evolv.ai is a handy AI tool that helps businesses provide improved customer experiences in real time with the help of AI and machine learning. It is a knowledge management tool that helps them make sense of AI-generated recommendations by integrating various types of business intelligence.

​4. Mailchimp

Mailchimp is a popular AI-powered email marketing tool. It is very useful as it not only helps one personalise content, but to also helps figure out the best time to send out marketing emails. This is one tool that can help a business increase both the number of new as well as  repeat customers.

​5. Surfer SEO

Surfer SEO is a very useful tool used for on-page optimisation. It is cloud based and can help a business analyse its pages vis-a-vis the currency ranked ones on any of the  search engines. The advent of AI has changed SEO. With Surfer SEO, one can access one workflow to ensure that one’s content is visible across Google, Chat GPT, and the plethora of similar AR platforms.

​6. Tableau

This is a data visualisation and business intelligence tool par excellence that uses AI to help marketers analyse data to obtain cutting edge insights with regard to growing a business or brand. Its ability to leverage data to solve problems is unparalleled, which gives it the ability to transform a business.

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Why use AI in Digital Marketing

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The case for using AI in digital Marketing is very persuasive indeed. For one, it leads to an improvement in overall efficiency for the simple reason that it frees business owners, executives, and marketers from having to perform repetitive tasks and focus on the core ones that help a business grow in an optimal manner.

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AI imparts the ability of making data-driven decisions, allowing businesses to benefit from the most well considered and informed strategies, tactics, and actions.Leveraging AI allows businesses, regardless of size and budget, to compete with the best in business by enabling a level playing field.

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AI helps enhance customer satisfaction by personalising the way that the clients’ requirements are met in a timely manner. This is something that tools like chatbots can help achieve. Apart from speeding up decision making, perhaps the best advantage of using AI in digital marketing is the fact that it helps a business scale up their marketing without having to break the bank on account of a huge marketing budget.

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India-US Relations Beyond Trump's Tariffs

Image courtesy of Google's Gemini AI

While the whole nation seethes with righteous and definitely justified anger at the US President, Donald Trump's bizarre decision to impose an appallingly high 50% tariff on Indian goods imported into America, there is an  urgent need to look at the issue dispassionately and not get weighed down by emotion.

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It is true that the reason for imposing an additional 25% tariff on the importing of cheap Russian oil by India is pure hypocrisy, as both China and Europe individually buy more energy from that country. Besides, the US itself trades with Russia in a not-so-insubstantial manner. To add insult to injury, Trump has also decided to cosy up to the quasi-dictator of Pakistan, Asif Munir. That being stated, the answer to the bullying tactics of the present American administration is not to rush into the arms of revisionist, dictatorial regimes like those of China and Russia. Add to that the fact that China has illegally occupied vast tracts of Indian land and continues to view India as a rival and a threat to its rise, we have every reason to tread carefully.

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This is the same China that fully supported our belligerent Western neighbour, Pakistan, during Operation Sindoor. Russia is in no position to be a strategic asset for India, given that it is in the doghouse owing to its ill-advised Ukraine war. What’s worse is that it is beholden to China for its very survival. Besides, it has only caused trouble for India on account of its habit of invading nations here and there. Its entry into Afghanistan in the 1980s saw the rise of Islamist terrorism in India’s neighbourhood, and its invasion of Ukraine has thrown a spanner in budding Indo-US relations.

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The Indian-US strategic relationship was carefully crafted over the last two decades and makes as much sense today as it did six months ago. That a mercurial US president, who has troubled relations with all of his nation’s allies and close friends, is giving India a lot of grief is undisputed, but that is something that the whole world is contending with. We have to remember that Trump is not America, and his handpicked team of lackeys who go along with his every mad whim and fancy.

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There is the bureaucracy of that nation who haven’t changed its worldview just because an irrational and seemingly semi-literate demagogue is in charge for a few years. Nor have the right-thinking politicians on both sides of the aisle, and even former members of Trump’s first cabinet. Everyone is waiting to weather the Trumpian storm, and so should India. At the same time, India is doing the right thing by continuing to exercise its long-cherished strategic autonomy by seeking to expand trade relations with China and Russia, apart from similarly engaging with the affluent European Bloc of nations and the United Kingdom.

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India, being the largest nation in the world in terms of population, has a tremendous advantage in that it has such a large market, which can not only help it grow economically even in the event of a fall in its export earnings, but it can also use that as leverage in conducting its global affairs. Not allowing free rein to the Americans in the Indian markets, in fact, lies at the heart of the current American decision to punish India with tariffs.

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For all the current problems we are having with the Americans, there is much that binds the two former British colonies. The Americans supported India during its freedom struggle and provided it with much-needed food aid in the 1960s. Martin Luther King based his civil rights movement on Gandhi’s principles of non-violence.

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It also helped us against the Chinese in 1962, and there have always been warm people to people contacts between the peoples of the  two countries. The English language and their status as the world’s most consequential democracies bond India and America in ways that are not possible with totalitarian states like Russia and China. The best and brightest Indian students have gone on to complete their higher studies in the most prestigious American colleges and found astounding success in America across myriad fields. Indian doctors, engineers, managers, CEOs, and IT professionals rule the roost in the United States of America.

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The two countries bond culturally as well, with the American way of life slowly permeating across India’s cities as towns, as evidenced by the very large number of Mc Donalds, Burger KIngs, Pizza Huts, and other American style  fast food chains present everywhere. People drink Coca-Cola and  use American social media platforms in practically every part of India and draw their cultural cues from the West, and hardly from Russia and China. India, on its part, exercises its cultural influence on America through yoga and spirituality. This is not a relationship that is driven by the politicians, but the peoples of the two countries. We need to remember that when we react to the actions of the men of straw who call themselves leaders of America.

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While protecting India’s interests by not succumbing to their rank bullying tactics, it is important not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. We should, in fact, look at the present impasse with regard to Indo-US relations as an opportunity to try and strengthen our domestic industries and seek out diverse export markets. At the same time, we should not shy away from the important economic reforms needed domestically and unshackle our private sector to grow boldly and ambitiously. We would also see if we can reduce the tariff we charge on our imports to encourage countries across the world to trade with us. That will also incentivise our local industries to become more efficient and give customers better value for money.

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There is much that is being said about the 21st century being an Asian one, and that is not something lost on the Americans who would want to hold on to their position as the numero uno nation of the world for as long as possible. India is well positioned to continue being somebody that the US will benefit from engaging closely with. The Americans will come around. They have to if they have any sense. In the meantime, India should play its cards just right.

Have you heard of Multimodal AI?

 

Image generated by Google's Gemini model.

While AI is the flavour of the times, there is so much happening in this universe that one is often left gasping for breath trying to make sense of the ever-new terms being bandied about. Generative AI has been the buzzword for quite some time now, and just when one sort of came to terms with what it possibly entailed, one hears of another one-Multimodal AI.

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Multimodal AI comprises machine learning models that possess the ability to both process and integrate information from diverse or multiple types of data like text, images, audio, and  video. It is quite different from the old AI models that can usually only work with  a particular  type of data (largely text-to-text generation)), because it can deal with multiple types of data inputs, analysing them to achieve a much more broadbased understanding of the issue at hand. This enables it to come up with optimal outputs.

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A multimodal model, for instance, could take a picture of Switzerland and come up with a text summary of everything important that one needs to learn about that place. This wasn't something that Generative AI models like ChatGPT could come up with when it was launched. All it could do was produce outputs in text when responding to inputs provided in the same way. The subsequent incorporation of multimodal made ChatGPT that much better at understanding and interpreting data.

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Why are Multimodal GenAI models better?

Unlike the traditional unimodal model, the multimodal GenAI model functions in a manner similar to the human brain, because it can deal with sensory inputs from multiple sources, which it can then combine and analyse to obtain a comprehensive as well as nuanced understanding of actual facts. This allows multimodal Gen AI models to successfully deal with the most complex of tasks and come up with stellar results largely untainted by mistakes and glaring errors, as was often the case with unimodal AI. As more and more businesses make a move towards Multimodal AI, they will benefit from its ability to be used for a wider and more complex set of applications.

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The Future with Multimodal AI

As we go along, Multimodal AI will greatly empower businesses to better respond to challenges that arise suddenly and out of the blue. Large-scale adoption of IoT will aid this process by providing large volumes of multimodal data to help it come up with bespoke solutions that speak to the customers’ exact needs. Given that multimodal generative AI models are able to process a range of multisensory inputs, these will be more amenable to use by even those with low or no technical skills allowing them to enhance their productivity manifold.

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With Multimodal AI evolving all the time, the number of innovative uses it can be put to is changing on a daily basis. Going forward, it promises to completely reshape the paradigm of what can be achieved with its help. Multimodal AI has opened up a whole slew of opportunities for developing the next generation of applications that will fundamentally alter the way the world goes about the business of daily living and working.

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Homestays to propel the Indian tourism industry to achieve its full potential

Homestays can go a long way towards boosting the Indian tourism industry by addressing one of the major impediments faced by it, that of room shortage. The NITI Aayog’s proposed policy, aimed at helping states promote the homestay concept, is therefore a welcome step. It envisages providing financial support as well as easing the rules for the homestay business. Among other things, the plan suggests simplifying the registration process and digitizing the operations function.[1]

By enabling home owners across the country to put their properties to dual use by converting them partly into tourist accommodations, this initiative helps them become part of the expanding tourism economy. Where homestays stand out from regular hotels is in their ability to offer tourists an intimate glimpse into the local cultural ethos of the land they are visiting. At the same time, it gives a fillip to entrepreneurship and local economies, leading to much welcome employment generations. What’s more, homestay tourism can help protect and preserve the age-old heritage that is the hallmark of myriad destinations across our vast and fascinating country.

The idea behind a homestay is driven by drawing people from overcrowded urban centres who live extremely busy and often stressful lives to temporarily stay in the beautiful countryside in the lap of nature, housed in economical accommodation eating wholesome local cuisine. These offer tourists an immersive experience that lets them connect with the local culture and enriches them physically, mentally, and spiritually.

The rural and semi-urban destinations that welcome such tourists benefit immensely by adding a healthy and recurring income stream to their earnings. It also incentivizes them to invest in environmental conservation as well as the restoration and maintenance of heritage structures and properties. Overall, it helps them enhance not only their living standards, but also helps them invest in educating their children and thereby improve their circumstances in life.

Given that the vast landmass of India, ranging from Alpine forests in the Himalayan states and the shimmering sands of the desert state of Rajasthan to spectacular coastal destinations, incredible wildlife sanctuaries, medieval forts, palaces, and ancient temples has so much to offer to tourists, the business potential of the homestay model is boundless. In fact, it has the potential to transform local economies across the small towns and hamlets of India from the North to the South, and the East to the West.

What is required is for people to buy into this concept and use it to improve their lives. Their involvement in this has to be at a level that makes them genuine stakeholders in the opportunity. From inculcating high standards of hygiene, learning the nuances of etiquette so as to be able to interact comfortably with visitors from around the world to training them in the operational aspects of the hospitality trade, there is much work that needs to be done for the nation to reap the full benefits of a booming tourism industry powered by the empowering homestay concept, which promises to transform the Indian people’s lives.

[1] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/niti-aayog-lays-out-policy-roadmap-to-promote-homestays-in-india/articleshow/123453585.cms?from=mdr

Why isn’t India the tourism capital of the world?

 

Image generated by Gemini

There is no reason on the face of the earth (pun intended) for India not to be the tourism capital of the world. From the lofty Himalayas and the Thar Desert to one of the longest coastlines in the world and from historical monuments and a cultural heritage that goes back several millennia, India offers more in spades than any other nation in the world. It has ski resorts and beach resorts, jungle safaris and desert safaris, alpine forests and mangrove forests, mighty rivers and serene lagoons and everything else you can imagine, like exotic tropical islands and even an active volcano! Medieval palaces, forts, ancient temples, a millennia-old classical music tradition, a cuisine more varied than any other, and a unique way of life that has evolved over thousands of years.

There is nothing that any nation in the world has that can hold a candle to what India has to offer. It compares favorably with Rome and Egypt when it comes to ancient architecture, and its cuisines from across its various regions rival those of France and Italy. India's ski resorts are no less than what Switzerland offers, and its thriving wildlife offers more than what Africa does. From the frozen deserts and icy rivers of Ladakh, to the aquamarine waters of Andaman and Nicobar islands and from the rugged river-carved canyons of Gandikota and Bhedaghat, there isn't enough space to go into the details of what India offers the world. Yet, the international tourist arrival numbers for India are abysmally low.

France, a nation one-fifth the size of India, attracted 89.4 million visitors in 2024 (the highest in the world), when compared to an extremely modest 20.57 million international tourist arrivals in the same year. In fact, India did not even make it to the list of the top 10 nations attracting international tourists, being left behind by countries like Spain, Italy, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, China, Thailand and Mexico.

India earned as much as $35 billion from international tourist arrivals in 2024, a figure that would have been a whopping $151.4 billion if something like 89 million international tourists had arrived in India instead. That is not all that far from what India earns from its IT exports. Does one even begin to fathom what kind of difference that would have made to the Indian economy? With all that India offers, isn’t that a criminal waste of opportunity for a nation that has more to offer than any other in the world?

Why doesn’t India get the numbers?

If India doesn't get the international tourist arrival numbers it deserves, it has to be on account of the fact that very few of the international travellers who come here recommend it heartily to their compatriots back home or want to visit it again. This occurs because of the fact that India still has infrastructure issues. Rail, road and air connectivity have come a long way in recent years, but are still pretty inconsistent, with last-mile transportation often not being up to the mark.

India has many world-class hotels, some of which make it to several international lists of the world's greatest hotels, but it does not offer much by way of affordable accommodation comparable with other major tourism destinations. In particular, there are issues with regard to safety and hygiene, especially in areas that are not part of the well-known tourist circuits. International tourists expect things like clean public restrooms and the availability of safe drinking water, wherever they visit, no matter how remote the place may be.

Some international tourists might get put off by what they might perceive as restrictive visa rules. This is especially evident when you compare the tourism visa policies of other tourist destinations around the world. One would do well to make it possible for international visitors to come for even short-term visits, allowing them more flexibility when it comes to travel planning.

While India is a budget traveller's paradise, given the high number of expat backpackers you see in the country, the mid to high-end tourists often face quite high costs. Then, there is the question of the high taxes levied on hotels and travel services. To top it all, hotel rates and airline ticket prices are exorbitantly priced during the peak season, often making the visitors consider other destinations to visit.

Lastly, India has been rather lacklustre and inconsistent in showcasing its offerings in the world tourism market when compared to other countries like France and Italy, which have been able to develop a strong brand image in terms of what those countries offer to visitors.

How to turn the tide?

 

The critical building block with regard to putting India on the path to achieving the number one tourism destination in the world is to carry out a massive upgrade of its infrastructure.  Improvement in road connectivity, adequate accommodation of internationally acceptable standards and massive across-the-board improvement in hygiene and sanitation levels not just across the tourist destinations, but across the country. This entails a massive investment, which will pay back handsomely in the times ahead.

The safety and security of all tourists-domestic and international, have to be a matter of national pride and importance. Not only does it entail better policing, but also making the people realise that they have a stake in ensuring that the world sees India as a great place to visit, where the people are warm, friendly and well-disposed to people who visit their land. It would, in fact, be a great idea to train people throughout the length and breadth of this vast country to participate in the growth of the tourism sector. They could become a part of the very lucrative hospitality industry, helping them raise their standard of living.

India has a head start in digital connectivity thanks to its impressive mobile connectivity and the very successful rollout of its digital payments infrastructure. This can be leveraged by putting an integrated ticketing system in place. Besides, one can use apps and deploy AI to help tourists discover incredible India and make the best possible travel plans with ease and convenience.

India is a land that, at some level, beckons and fascinates the world, and this has been true since the dawn of history. In offering people everything that is good, profound and sublime in the world, it shows them the layered, intricate, diverse and nuanced aspects of its way of life. Visiting India in many ways is like finding the meaning of life itself.

We in India owe it to ourselves to show the world the very best of what India is. If we do that, there is no reason why India can't be the number one tourism destination in the world. In so doing, we will not only contribute massively to the enrichment of this vast and ancient land, going back millennia, but also bring the world closer to it. As the old Indian saying goes, "The World is One Family."

Startups in the world of AI

 

                                                                     

                Image generated by Gemini

Is it a great time to found a startup at a time when AI seems to be poised to impact every aspect of human endeavour and activity? Do the tremendous efficiencies that are said to accrue from deploying AI make it far easier to run a successful startup, or do the complexities arising from its adoption make things difficult?

With small businesses being the backbone of most nations’ economies, both in terms of GDP and private sector job creation, can artificial intelligence-powered startups achieve breakout growth through market-disrupting innovation? The fact that startups have access to easily available open-source tools, as well as a huge amount of high-quality data, does give them a leg up with regard to coming up with out-of-the-box solutions that are unconstrained by the hitherto high costs of research and development that something like that might have entailed in the past.

With innovation being made so much easier to achieve, even the smallest of startups can match the operational efficiency of much larger organisations. This empowers them to function in a nimble and super-efficient manner, enabling them to make lightning-fast strategic moves like rapidly coming up with new iterations and aligning very quickly to any market changes.

On the flip side, the high rate of obsolescence of the cutting-edge solutions offered by AI means that startups will need to work very hard to maintain their competitive advantage in the market. They could get trapped in a treadmill kind of race that hampers growth. Constant innovation and adaptation do not necessarily lend themselves to growth and stability, for a startup, as it would not be able to find its feet in terms of zeroing in on a niche for itself. Then there is also the fact that the regulatory landscape is evolving with regard to grappling with the cons of AI, like data privacy, algorithmic bias and ethical concerns about its use. Also, given that AI open source tools are available to everyone, the advantage evens out, and it is quite challenging to apply a given AI technology in a manner that others can't replicate.

Is AI- A Game Changer for Startups?

At the core of starting a new business lie its viability and chances of finding success. The very best of business ideas might not stand muster in a tough and cutthroat marketplace. It is important that your product or service should not only have sufficient demand, but that you should also have a fair idea of who your target audience is, as well as have your financial planning sorted. Besides, you should be aware of the kind of competition you face. On top of all of that, you need an insightful marketing strategy to achieve your sales and revenue objectives. While in the past you might have needed to hire experts to guide you with all of the above, you can now use AI to help you through all of these processes cheaply and in double quick time.

AI can help startups personalise marketing campaigns, carry out precise market segmentation enabling better targeting, leverage predictive analytics allowing for strategic decision making, and optimise the marketing & sales processes. It can also help with compliance related matters,   enhance security and protect against fraud. What’s more, it can also help a startup attract funding from investors by helping it get its financial analysis right.

Startups in the world of AI largely have a good thing going. Artificial Intelligence levels out the playing field for a lot of small-time entrepreneurs who were looking to launch their startups, but were intimidated by the challenges involved. In fact, there was never a better time for startups to launch, scale up and rule, the challenges notwithstanding.

 

 

The Age of AI: Finding Employment 5 Years From Now

 

Photo by Tim Gouw: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-white-shirt-using-macbook-pro-52608/

The world is sitting on an unemployment time bomb, the like of which it does not fully fathom at the present moment. This is because the way AI, IoT, and robotics are incrementally advancing in their capabilities, there is no field of human endeavour that will escape unscathed from the ever expanding tentacles of these technologies in the not so distant future.

While this will be immensely beneficial to the corporations that own and control these technologies, what of the people at large? Ultimately, there is also the not so unreal or unlikely doomsday prospect of AI becoming fully autonomous, going rogue, and deciding to take the destiny of humans and indeed all life forms, for better or worse, into its own hands.

This may not happen in the next 5 years, but who knows? When you might have possibly created and unleashed a Frankenstein’s monster, do you have any clue about what the consequences might be?

Moving on to more immediate matters at hand, are we prepared for the massive unemployment crisis that the world faces in the very near future? Imagine a future where there are no human teachers, engineers, doctors, accountants, cab drivers, pilots, actors, poets, painters, or farmers?

Not all of that will come to pass in 5 years, but some of it might. Are we even thinking about it? The way things are evolving with regard to the incremental adoption of cutting-edge technologies like AI, IoT, Machine Learning, and robotics, most of the jobs in 5 years from now will pertain to managing and harnessing these technologies across sectors.

It certainly makes sense to equip yourself with skills that are likely to be in demand in this new era of technology. By all means, attend all the online courses available out there that teach you about AI, IoT, Machine Learning, and all the stuff that is deemed to be important. Stay in the know about the developments that will have a bearing on your future career prospects and ensure that you have a healthy online presence that helps showcase your skills to potential employers.

But the nagging question is, will there be any real need for what you and millions of others like you bring to the table in this new technology (not human) shaped world order? The answer is that one does not know. While it is true that the advent of any new seminal technology always comes with its own share of challenges, but ultimately becomes mainstream and always opens up new pathways of employment after the dust settles, we are dealing with a whole new phenomenon here.

The sheer scale and frequency of change ushered in by the fascinating as well as scary bouquet of  AI technologies (including Generative AI) have seemingly made it impossible for humans to keep pace and pivot to newer ways of performing a job. For whatever you might think you can do better than an artificial entity, it will be proven false faster than you thought was possible. For instance, the impending arrival of Agentive AI, with the ability to make autonomous decisions  without human oversight and thereby achieve predetermined objectives, promises to be a total game changer in terms of what it will be able to achieve and accomplish. That is because Agentive AI will be able to think critically like human beings and be able to display initiative in dealing with complex environments all on its own. What on Earth would you need humans for?

The high priests of technology are, in fact, quite upfront and honest about the likely detrimental impact of advanced technology on people’s job prospects in the very near future. For instance,Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, the AI company that came up with Generative AI assistant Claude, believes that Artificial Intelligence might replace 50% of all white-collar jobs in the next 5 years. 

Elder statesman and politician Bernie Sanders has expressed his fear that the benefits of AI will accrue only to billionaires, shining a light on an expected struggle against corporate greed as well inequity brought on by the AI revolution.

Nothing highlights this more vividly than the New York Times article about the  catastrophic state of employment amongst recent fresh college graduates, with more and more companies looking to deploy AI in preference to recently graduated college students.

The world needs to wake up and smell the coffee now. A strategy has to be put in place to ensure that AI and all the other wonderful technologies that it incorporates are harnessed to serve the interests of everybody and not just the all powerful tech giant or those in a position of authority over the common man. Using it to fight disease, illiteracy, and climate change, for example, is something to look forward to, but not deploying it to serve the economic interests of a few.

Like democracy, we have to ensure that technologies like AI are for, by, and of the people and used for their common good. The necessary rules and regulations have to be framed and implemented so that their use is property codified and works within a system. Above all, people’s right to work and a livelihood must be strengthened by technology and not decimated. The time to act is now.

The World of AI is Here and There is No Escaping It

 

Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/blue-bright-lights-373543/

In the good old days, when AI was something that nobody had really heard of or cared about, you would come across stories of alien invasions in the shape of literature or scary sci-fi movies. These would more often than not paint bleak dystopian scenarios of hostile alien takeover, which would in most cases be thwarted either by nature causing the aliens to die off or involve the humans getting their act together and ridding themselves of the extraterrestrial menace that threatened their existence. Sometimes, as in the movie Avatar, the human race were the aggressors in far, far away galaxies.

 So much were people taken in by the whole business of the possibility of hostile aliens lurking amongst us that people routinely started reporting alien and UFO (Unidentified Flying Objects). Why, the US Air Force even launched an official investigation, which went under the name of Project Blue Book, to probe purported UFO sightings. 

 While the world still obsesses with alien life and UFOs, with conspiracy theories being a dime a dozen, people are now assailed with the prospects of a life altering event that is no less scary than a full blown alien explosion- the advent and rise of AI. Technological advancements in the realms of AI, Internet of Things, and Machine Learning threaten to make mankind redundant in the sense that every economic and social function that it performs can be carried out artificially in a much more efficient manner by such technologies. 

 From teaching, reading, and writing to healthcare, art, entertainment, factory production, banking, and military functions everything can be performed by artificial entities, increasingly without much human oversight. The way that technologies pertaining to these are advancing, the day is not far when there will be no human involvement in the decisions such entities will make. Who is to say how these autonomous entities empowered by artificial intelligence might evolve with regard to their thought process? Could they decide that the human race itself, with its proclivity to exploit and damage the very resources that nurture it, should be put to sleep and a brave new world order comprising indestructible machines or robots who exist in perfect harmony with its environment? 

 The fact of the matter is that the world of AI is here, and there is no escaping it. The question is, what are we going to do to prevent its complete takeover of our lives and ultimately our very existence? Do we have it in us to ensure that AI is leveraged as nothing more than a very useful tool that can help us do the various things we do efficiently? If you hire a househelp, you do so to make your life easier and not let your househelp become your overlord who will decide your fate. 

 Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a cohesive worldwide strategy to regulate the use of AI. It has been left entirely to the captains of the ever-expanding and growing technology behemoths for whom profit trumps every principle known to lead to the betterment of humankind. That cannot augur well for the world. Look at the way that the unregulated access to social media has wreaked havoc with the development of the impressionable minds of children and teenagers around the world.

 We cannot even begin to visualise the kind of capabilities AI will possess in five to ten years from now. It will be able to bend our notion of reality as we now know it and replace it with another one, which could possibly be more bizarre than we can possibly imagine. Is “progress” worth that kind of price? This is something that the greatest scientific minds of our times have been repeatedly pointing out to us, and we better pay attention. AI has to be regulated, controlled, and tamed. It is a matter of our very survival

A Concrete Cage: How Big City Living Can Squeeze the Life Out of You

 

Photo by Fabio Souto: https://www.pexels.com/photo/sao-paulo-urban-cityscape-with-modern-architecture-33263986/

Living in a big city is soul sapping, especially if you have grown up in a small town. You invariably move to a big metropolitan area for reasons of growth and ambition, attracted no doubt by tales you have heard of wealth and fortunes made by others when they similarly left their small town homes for the big city. But when you arrive there you are immediately intimidated by the scale of everything you encounter.

 Yet your ambition drives you on and you throw yourself into getting to know your new home and learning the big-bad city’s ways until you are fully incorporated into its pulsating rhythm.

 Slowly, but surely you achieve everything you ever dreamt of and often more than that. But the big city extracts a price in terms of changing the essence of you. It strips you of your simplicity and your sense of justice and fair play and feeds your ego in a manner that nothing comes in the way of your goals. Some hold on to some semblance of who they were once and find that comes in the way of getting ahead of others. Many take leave of their moral compass and make their life all about achievements, conquests and acquisition.

 A bigger house, a second and third house, a fatter bank balance, a trophy spouse, a luxury car, expensive holidays abroad and all that. You forget that your life is finite and with each passing day you have one day less to live. Living like there is no tomorrow wrecks your mental peace and your physical well-being.

 

It has to. Even machines break down. You are but a human being and cannot forever be in high gear in pursuit of more and more. Living in a big city puts you on a hamster wheel, where the purpose of your existence is satiating your never ending greed.

 

A big city is like an empire- it feeds on growth driven by pure unadulterated greed and ambition, which is accomplished by the exploration of others. Just like an empire had its heyday and a decline and a fall, one’s life and time in a big city gives you the highs and then lays you low. You suffer physical, mental and spiritual fatigue. A distance develops not only from your family and friends, but you yourself.

 

You feel the need to reconnect with who you were and rediscover the sense of peace and balance you once had. Going to live in a small town that is still connected with nature can help you do that. Live a simpler life with simple everyday goals like buying milk from a neighbourhood vendor or walking in the nearby woods inhaling air that is pure and not spiked with hydrocarbon fumes heals you physically and mentally and restores peace to your soul. The slower rhythm of life brings deep peace in your life allowing you to sleep like a baby. Every day you wake up to a morning that makes you feel that you are happy to be alive.

 

Keeping things simple and opting out of the race to acquire more makes your life worth living again. You value the time that is left for you to live much more, counting every second that you get to live a blessing. You finally do things that are truly important to you like spending time with the family and not staring at a computer screen. You read those literary masterpiece that you always wanted to instead of immersing yourself in inane and endless social media interactions. When you travel, it is with the intention of discovering a new place that you haven't visited before, but always had on your bucket list of destinations that fascinated you. You go there not to advance your career, but to please your inner self- your soul.

 

The big city will always be there, beckoning you with its beguiling charms, but you may no longer care for those. You have moved on.

 

 

 

 

 

A Mad World Made Madder by AI

Photo by Jan Kopřiva: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-wearing-red-hoodie-3281130/

 

The world looked like it had finally become a better one, at the end of the 20^th century. The Cold War was already a relic of history and a globalised world that preferred trade to war promised a future which was unmistakably bright. Countries around the world were growing richer and travel between nations by the peoples of the world was ushering in an almost utopian era of peace and prosperity. Russia the successor state of the erstwhile Soviet Union was no longer an enemy of the West and had in fact adopted a free market economy where all the major Western brands had a prominent place.

 

Western movies were freely shot in Russia often starring Russian actors and Russian airlines flew Boeing and Airbus aircraft. China became the flavour of the world, manufacturing every conceivable product for nations across the globe. India on the other hand excelled at technology services and became a force to be reckoned with in the world of software.

 

At long last, the world seemed to be getting its act together and choosing economic growth, peace and prosperity over strife and violence. There were conflicts, of course, in the Middle East, parts of Africa and elsewhere, but the general trajectory was in the right direction.

The world was gearing up to fight the greatest challenge to its very existence in the shape of climate change and it seemed that everyone was on the same page about what really mattered.

 

Until it all unraveled. Russia invaded and annexed Crimea and shattered the illusory era of peace and bonhomie that the world has begun to believe was normal. When its revisionist leader invaded Ukraine the world was dragged back decades to not just the Cold War era, but the times of Hitler and the Second World War.

 

And then Trump happened to the world. He took a hammer and dismantled the carefully constructed global order largely put in place by his own country, the United States. The phenomenal rise of China as an economic and military power, which America itself helped create now threatened the latter’s global hegemony and had to be checked. The way to do it was to destroy the rules based global order of trade which led to the emergence of other powers in the world that challenged the predominant nature of American power.

 

So that needed to be destroyed and an era of uncertainty unleashed upon the world where nations couldn't tell between friend and foe, as they could in the past. We now live in a dog eat dog world where things like climate change, fighting disease and chronic poverty are the least of any nation’s priorities anymore.

 

If things couldn't get any worse, we now have the spectre of AI or Artificial Intelligence and Robotics destroying every known profession. Doctors, teachers, lawyers, can drivers, factory workers, actors, artists, musicians and everybody else is on the verge of redundancy. This is going to inevitably happen and not in the very distant future.

 

As to who will benefit from this seminal translation is not clear. Will it be the governments of the world, the corporates or the people be in charge? Are we going to see the dawn of a brave new world where AI will take care of everything and mankind will be free to pursue higher interests or are we to replicate the scenario so well depicted in the Hollywood blockbuster Matrix?