Chennai: India currently has a disappointing level of artificial intelligence (AI) development and it needs to embark on a rapid program to catch up, says a new book by researcher-author Rajiv Malhotra.
In ‘Artificial Intelligence And The Future Of Power: 5 Battlegrounds’, he argues that AI-driven revolution will have an unequal impact on different segments of humanity and for countries like India, where a large percentage of the population lacks the education that is vital to survive a technological tsunami, the adverse effects could be shattering.
There will be new winners and losers, new haves and have-nots, resulting in an unprecedented concentration of wealth and power. There is a real possibility that AI may trigger an unprecedented level of unemployment and precipitate social instability, he claims.
According to Malhotra, India is an important case study on the impact of AI because that is where all the battles come together into one large and complex battleground.
“Indian society has forsaken its metaphysical roots in dharma to chase the Americanisation of artha (material pursuits) and kama (gratification of sensual desires). As a result, it is neither here nor there – having lost its traditional strengths both individual and collective, it is at best a poor imitation of the American dream,” he says.
Overpopulation, unemployment and poor education make India especially vulnerable, he says, adding many of its industries are technologically obsolete and dependent on imported technologies.
“India presently has a disappointing level of AI development and it needs to embark on a rapid program to catch up,” Malhotra writes in the book, published by Rupa Publications.
He also claims that India is not only lagging behind China in AI by at least a decade, but it also has routinely given away its unique data assets to foreign countries because of the ignorance of its leaders.
“If the present trajectory continues, India could be heading toward re-colonisation, this time as a digital colony under the domination of the US and/or China,” he says.
Malhotra says AI is amplifying human ingenuity and is the engine driving the latest technological disruption silently shaking the foundations of society.
“My use of the term is not limited narrowly to what AI is specifically in the technical sense, but also includes the entire ecosystem of technologies that AI propels forward as their force multiplier. This cluster includes quantum computing, semiconductors, nanotechnology, medical technology, brain-machine interface, robotics, aerospace, 5G, and much more,” he says.