Be happy
• Sir - India ranked 122 among 155 countries in the World Happiness Report. When I asked a friend why we are so unhappy, he casually said it was because of the high standards set by the body carrying out the survey. This is a poor excuse. Failing to get a satisfactory answer, I tried to asses what makes me, a citizen of India, unhappy. I realized that India is in the midst of an ideological transition and this is never a happy time. The lawlessness and India's need to be better than other nations also make Indians unhappy. There are other reasons, but in the end happiness comes from inner contentment and this is missing in most Indians owing mostly to macroeconomic reasons.
Subodh Jha,
Gangtok
Scary future
• Sir - The editorial, "Image and reality" (Oct 29), was timely. Much has been said about artificial intelligence and its tremendous progress in recent times. So much so that Yuval Noah Harari, an Israeli historian, in his book, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, says that "What made us sapiens will make us gods", claiming that in their attempt to make computers more intelligent, humans will code themselves into oblivion.
It is not the intelligence or stupidity of machines that humans need to fear; the editorial rightly points out that the threat is posed not by machines but what humans are feeding into these machines. In today's intensely competitive world, each country is trying to outdo others. Ironically, as things go out of hand in the mad dash for supremacy - take climate change for instance - it is big data and AI that can help human beings by their powers of prediction. But humans should never trust AI blindly, there will always be an element of uncertainty.
Shovanlal Chakraborty,
Calcutta
• Sir - I found the editorial, "Image and reality", extremely relevant to our times. Way back in 1967, in a small town in West Bengal - a well-known Left bastion - where I grew up, the residents were made to march in a procession, shouting slogans about automation being anti-national to protest against the huge number of job cuts. Fifty years later, an American robotist, David Hanson, has created humanoid robots that can replace manual labourers, especially the ones employed in the manufacturing industry. One his latest creations, Sophia, who has just been given citizenship, can feel a range of human emotions. From the statements made by Sophia, she seems to have all of her maker's prejudices ingrained into her as the editorial suggests is the case with most AI bots. It will not be long before the machines will be capable of replacing humans in almost all spheres.
As time progresses so will technology. Humans will invent many more things which will make their lives a little easy. But not all these inventions will always be put to good use. One must never forget that.
Basudeb Dutta,
Santipur
• Sir - Interesting as it was, the editorial, "Image and reality" did not outline several grave consequences of technological progress. The phrase, "technology comes with the flaws and prejudices of its creator," is an understatement. Technological innovators will go to any length to sell their inventions. Take, for instance, the companies that manufacture anti-virus and anti-malware softwares. It is well-known that they themselves code viruses to force more users to buy their product.
Computers are becoming indispensable in everyday lives, from travel to education. This damage is irreversible and the crisis will only get worse with time.
Asit Kumar Mitra,
Calcutta
Parting shot
• Sir - Increasing number of NOTA votes are being polled. This proves that voters are fed up with the present political system. Fresh elections should be held if the maximum number of votes polled are for NOTA. Recent election trends show that voters are often confused about who to choose. Taking the NOTA option more seriously will perhaps force political parties to field only deserving candidates.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal,
Dariba, Delhi
