By Justice Katju
These days the rage and infatuation all over the world is about AI ( Artificial Intelligence ). Many people claim it is a revolution, and are rhapsodizing and waxing lyrical about it, as if now all problems of the world can be solved with it’s aid and application.
My own opinion is that though AI is helpful in some matters ( e.g. in the medical field), its depiction as a revolution and a panacea for all our problems, is a gross exaggeration. It cannot solve, or even create a dent, on the real problems in much of the world, which particularly plague underdeveloped countries like India.
The basic problems of the underdeveloped countries of the world, i.e. countries of Asia (except China and Japan), Africa and Latin America, (which comprise about 70% of the world’s population), and even pockets in the developed countries, are socio-economic viz massive poverty, massive unemployment, massive malnutrition, soaring prices of essential commodities like food, fuel, and medicines, lack of proper healthcare, good education and housing for the masses, etc.
How can AI solve these problems? Does it have a magic wand to do so? I doubt it can do anything about them.
To divert attention of the people from these real problems, the rulers resort to various tactics. For example, the Roman Emperors used to say, ”If you cannot give the people bread, give them circuses (or gladiator contests).”
Some ‘shagoofa’ is needed all the time, to keep people away from the path of revolt against their miserable plight, e.g. the Metoo Movement, which was the fashionable thing at one time.
I am not saying that AI is something useless. For instance, it can be helpful in the medical field. But how many people in underdeveloped countries can even afford to go to a proper hospital or qualified doctor where AI can be applied? The vast majority go to quacks.
In other fields too AI may be helpful. But it has two drawbacks.
(1) It is wrong to say that AI can perform all the functions of the human mind. A human brain has something which not even the best, latest, and fastest super computer can ever have viz creativity. Surely the creative discoveries of Newton, Darwin, Marx, Einstein, Rutherford etc could not have been made by AI. And it is creativity which is required to solve the basic socio-economic problems of the people mentioned above..
(2) AI will not give the correct answer to a question if that answer goes against the interest of the rulers. For instance, if we ask how can poverty, unemployment, hunger, malnutrition, lack of proper healthcare and good education for the masses etc be abolished in underdeveloped countries, AI cannot give the correct answer viz by a mighty historical people’s struggle and people’s revolution.
What work does AI do ? This has been explained in the articles whose links are given below
As can be seen from the above articles, AI is like a super computer or a super robot. But who can create a super computer or super robot ? Surely not a super super computer or a super super robot. It requires a human, not a machine, to create it.
It is said that AI, like robots, will now do manufacturing jobs. But will such automation not generate unemployment ?
Someone messaged me :
” AI isn’t a magic fix for everything, but dismissing its potential is short-sighted. It’s already making a difference—helping doctors diagnose diseases faster, giving students in remote areas access to quality education, boosting crop yields to fight malnutrition, and improving productivity across industries, creating new opportunities. Sure, AI alone won’t erase poverty or unemployment overnight, but as technology advances, its impact will only grow “
To which I responded :
” You say AI is helping doctors diagnose diseases faster. But how many people in underdeveloped countries like India can even afford to go to a doctor ? There are no doubt some good hospitals in India, but these are exorbitantly expensive. Most poor people go to quacks. Quackery has increased by leaps and bounds in India.
You say AI will give students in remote areas access to quality education. But even assuming this happens ( which is an extremely remote possibility ), what will he do with this quality education when there are no jobs to be had after he finishes his education ? It is estimated that 12 million youth are entering the job market in India every year, but less than half a million jobs are created annually in the organised sector of the Indian economy. The remaining 11 1/2 youth end up as hawkers, street vendors, stringers, bouncers, beggars, criminals, or suicides, and many of the girls as prostitutes.
You say AI will boost crop yields. But how will it benefit a farmer to boost his crop yields when he is not getting a remunerative price for his crop ? The cost of inputs like fertilizer, seeds, insecticides, electricity, etc have gone up considerably, making farming uneconomical, and resulting in over 400,000 farmers suicides.
You talk of increasing productivity in industries with the help of AI. But what is the point of increasing productivity if the goods produced cannot be sold ( because of recession) ? “
To my mind, though AI will certainly do some good, it will channel an upward movement of wealth leading to the amassing of wealth in the hands of a few tech oligarchs.
I think the time has come to disenchant and disillusion people about the highly exaggerated claims about AI, and dispel the fantasies and delusions being propagated about it
