Mint Quick Edit | Artifice of intelligence? The big questions we can’t expect Big AI tools to answer

India’s discourse on the impact of AI needn’t venture into doom scenarios (like bots reducing us to serfdom or taking charge of nukes) for us to broach closer risks. Is there a case for human job quotas? We must debate this.

What if mass automation inverts labour market power equations once a few AI toolmakers acquire dominance? Right now, we’re at the stage of market creation. How returns will eventually be obtained by Big AI from the huge sums being invested calls for analysis; at some point, this industry’s fixed and variable costs would need to be covered.

Another riddle is how heavily capital may come to loom over the assetless who live off wages. Buying AI stock could hedge us against a “jobocalypse." Alas, large-cap AI plays already look over-inflated, public offers may be pricey—and money leaving India is bad for our economy. Yet, we must talk not just about India’s potential as an AI user base (or data host), but about AI ownership and control too.