Why AI chatbot of your older self won’t stop you from making stupid decisions

 If I only knew then, what I know now…” It is a lament the young do not understand, for they do not know that they do not know. But as time passes — sometimes in days, sometimes in years — many people have wanted to go back and counsel, scold and guide themselves to better decisions. Some may wish to go back only a day, and caution their past selves against that fifth drink, or the late-night binge eating.

For others, regrets can span years and even a lifetime. It may be that, after slaving away at a job for decades, someone may want to go back and quit, when time and opportunity allowed them to. Now, AI is trying to allow people to talk to younger versions of themselves.

According to a report in The Guardian, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have built an AI-powered chatbot that simulates a user’s older self and dishes out advice. The profile picture is aged — wrinkles, grey hair and perhaps a bit of wisdom in the eyes — to make the faux time travel feel more authentic.

It gives career advice, tells people to cherish their parents, and shares any number of other pearls of wisdom. If the advice sounds a little corny, users have only themselves to blame — the chatbot is based on their behaviour and inputs. Unfortunately, though, it’s unlikely to alter the course of lives.

The problem with the “I wish I’d known then what I know now” aspiration is, as Terry Pratchett pointed out, “when you got older you found out that you wasn’t you then. You then was a twerp.” It takes a life filled with regrets and what-ifs to gain the wisdom to give advice. Ignoring the advice of elders is what being young is often about. A chatbot won’t change that. If kids were so keen on perspective, they would just listen to their parents.

Source: Indian Express, 6/06/24

Quote of the Day May 30, 2024

 

“If you treat people right, they will treat you right - at least 90% of the time.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt

“अगर आप लोगों के साथ अच्छा बर्ताव करेंगे, तो वे भी आपके साथ अच्छा बर्ताव करेंगे - कम से कम 90% वक़्त।”
फ्रेंकलिन डी रूसवेल्ट

NSDC And ILO Forge A Strategic Partnership To Enhance Skill Development And Lifelong Learning

 Bengaluru : Furthering the Skill Mission, the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) today announced a strategic partnership to advance skill development and lifelong learning in India and globally. This collaboration aims to empower individuals across the globe, by equipping them with essential competencies and qualifications, thereby enhancing employability and sustainable economic growth.

 

The MoU was signed by Mr. Ved Mani Tiwari, CEO, NSDC and MD, NSDC International, and Mr. Sangheon Lee, Director, Employment Policy, Job Creation and Livelihoods Department, ILO, reaffirming both organizations’ commitment to leveraging their strengths and expertise in talent development. This partnership is dedicated to developing effective policies, governance and financing structures which will enhance skill development both nationally and internationally. A key aspect of the partnership is the implementation of the Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH). This digital transformation will streamline skill development initiatives, enhancing their efficiency, accessibility, and global impact.

Lauding the partnership Shri Atul Kumar Tiwari, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of India said, “We are pleased that a key aspect of our partnership is the adoption of the Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) and Governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations in ILO’s member countries will be able to use SIDH to digitize systems, processes, skills delivery, and job matching, based on a cost-effective model. This digital transformation will enhance the efficiency of skill development initiatives, making them more accessible and impactful globally. At MSDE, we are committed to creating policies and platforms that support lifelong learning and continuous skill development for our talent to succeed nationally and globally. SIDH exemplifies this commitment, and this partnership reflects our shared mission to empower individuals through skill development avenues, across borders.”

“By combining ILO’s expertise with our commitment to skilling, reskilling, and upskilling, we aim to empower individuals to navigate disruptions and create a sustainable future. Together, we will enhance skillsets and boost employability, driving impactful change in the evolving job market.” he further added.

The partnership aims to facilitate public-private partnerships and knowledge exchange to enhance Sector Skill Councils (SSCs), develop micro-credentials, and promote Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) through a global knowledge sharing platform. By strengthening the comparability of skills and qualifications, digital tools will be developed and deployed to assess and compare the skills and qualifications of Indian workers with those required in potential destination countries, improving mobility and global employability prospects for Indian workers.

Speaking on the partnership, Ved Mani Tiwari, CEO, NSDC and MD, NSDC International said, “The MoU between ILO and NSDC is a significant milestone for Skills Ecosystem in India. This partnership will help build a pool of Indian youth for global opportunities as the partnership aims to align and benchmark Indian qualifications with global skills standards. India becoming a preferred destination for GCCs, opens opportunities for Indian youth to participate in remotely delivered knowledge work for the whole world. Government’s focus on skilled migration opens opportunities for those who want to emigrate to join international workforce. We are also excited to work with ILO to develop regional qualification frameworks such as South Asian Qualification Framework which will help youth from our neighbouring countries also. NSDC’s partnership will also help offer NSDC Digital’s services and offerings to member countries of ILO.”

Speaking about the strategic partnership, Mr. Sangheon Lee, Director, Employment Policy, Job Creation and Livelihoods Department, ILO said, “We believe that by combining NSDC technological capacity and ILO standard setting functions, tripartism and global reach, we have the potential to significantly improve training access and quality globally. In this spirit, I am excited to embark on this new partnership with NSDC today. I expect this partnership will create a synergistic effect, amplifying our collective ability to lead the transformation of skills development, for greater social justice, not only in India, but globally.”

Promoting quality apprenticeships, work-based learning for employability and productivity, and the development of sustainable enterprises will be a cornerstone of this collaboration. By collaborating on data-driven approaches, ILO and NSDC aim to align skill development initiatives with the evolving demands of various industries.

In addition to policy development and data analysis, the partnership will prioritize the development and support of innovative learning programs. These programs will be designed to be flexible and inclusive, fostering adaptability among learners while ensuring that skills development remains relevant and accessible to all segments of society.

What is Cyclone Remal?

 

A new low-pressure area has been found over the southwest and adjacent west central Bay of Bengal as of May 22, 2024, early in the morning. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) swears this is true. From what the IMD can tell, this storm will move northeast and is likely to turn into a depression by May 24. After that, the storm is likely to get stronger as it stays on the same path. By the evening of May 25, it will be in the northeast and adjacent northwest Bay of Bengal.

Conditions Favouring Intensification

The United States Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC) said that the weather conditions are good for the storm to get stronger. Warm sea surfaces (28 to 29 degrees Celsius) and low vertical wind shear are two important factors. These conditions give the system the thermal energy it needs and keep the atmosphere steady, which is good for its survival and growth.

Potential Formation of Cyclone Remal

Based on predictions on the US Global Forecasting System (GFS) that Cyclone Remal could form in the northwest Bay of Bengal by the morning of May 26. Additionally, The Weather Channel (TWC) has admitted that a cyclonic storm is likely to happen, even though it says the chances of it becoming a severe cyclonic storm are low.

Impact Predictions

IMD says that on May 25 and 26, some districts in West Bengal and Odisha will get light to moderate rain, and other districts will get heavy rain. In northeast India, places like Mizoram, Tripura, and south Manipur are expected to have similar weather. Also, from May 26–28, TWC predicts heavy rain—possibly more than 200 millimeters—in states like Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura.

Implications and Preparedness

Local governments and people who live in places that could be affected are being told to keep a close eye on things and get ready for bad weather. This shows how important it is to have accurate weather predictions and plan ahead for disasters, especially in places that are prone to cyclones.

Facts about the Bay of Bengal

• The Bay of Bengal is the biggest bay in the world, covering more than 2,172,000 square kilometres.
• This part of the Indian Ocean is in the northeast. India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka are all on its edges.
• The “Whistlers,” which are low-frequency radio waves caused by lightning, are a unique event that happens in the bay.
• It is home to the very rare Olive Ridley turtle and the Sundarbans, which is the world’s biggest mangrove forest.
• The Bengal Fan, the world’s biggest submarine fan, is in the Bay of Bengal.
• The area also gets cyclones often, with a special cyclone season from April to November.

Economic & Political Weekly: Table of Contents

 

Vol. 59, Issue No. 21, 25 May, 2024

Shifting Trends in Global Migration

The Need for a National Policy on Internal Displacements

From 25 Years Ago

From 25 Years Ago: New Economic Policy: Implications for Water

From 50 Years Ago

From 50 Years Ago: Environment and Styles of Development                                      

Strategic Affairs

The Red Sea Crisis - Need for Alternative International Transport Routes

Jawahar Bhagwat, A E Shaparov

Commentary

Image Politics and Electoral Mobilisation in the 2024 Elections

Badri Narayan

Exposing Chinks in Federal Fiscal Relations - Kerala versus the Union Government

Govind Bhattacharjee

Book Reviews

Lives and Afterlives of Indenture

Asha Singh

Beyond Binaries - Discourse on Hindu–Muslim Friendship in South Asia

Ambreen Agha

Money, Banking and Finance

Supply Shocks, Digital Money, Corporate Governance, Productivity, and the Pandemic - Themes in Money, Banking and Finance

Partha Ray

Pushing Back Post-pandemic Price Pressures - A Monetary-Fiscal Symphony

Michael Debabrata Patra, Indranil Bhattacharyya, Joice John

Central Bank Digital Money

Romar Correa

Impact of Decadal Reforms on Efficiency and Productivity of Indian Banking Sector - A DEA Approach

Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Tapas Kumar Parida

Corporate Social Responsibility and Bank’s Systemic Risk Contribution - A Panel Study of Indian Banks

Abhijit Biswas, Arindam Das, Arindam Bandyopadhyay

Comparative Analysis of Capital Structure Decisions - US versus Indian Firms amid Uncertain Economic Events

Jaslene Bawa, Sankarshan Basu, Ujvin Nevatia

Moderating Effect of Corporate Governance Mechanisms on Relationship between Cash Holdings and Firm Value - Evidence from India

Vibha Tripathi, Vinodh Madhavan

Special Articles

Towards Tax Justice and Wealth Redistribution in India - Proposals Based on Latest Inequality Estimates

Nitin Kumar Bharti, Lucas Chancel, Thomas Piketty, Anmol Somanchi

Current Statistics

Current Statistics

Letters

Gig Workers and Algorithmic Exclusion

Anjana Karumathil

A Shorter Law Course?

Manohar L Bhat, Sujata Newton

Using AI and ChatGPT in legal cases: What Indian courts have said

 

High Courts across India have differed in their stances on using ChatGPT as part of the legal process. Where has it been used, and what are some criticisms of the practice?

The Manipur High Court last week stated that it “was compelled to do extra research through Google and ChatGPT 3.5” while deciding on a case. This is not the first time a High Court has used artificial intelligence (AI) for research. But in India — as in the rest of the world — courts have been rather cautious about the use of AI for judicial work.

How the Manipur HC used ChatGPT in a case

Zakir Hussain, 36, was “disengaged” from his district’s Village Defence Force (VDF) in January 2021, after an alleged criminal escaped from the police station while Hussain was on duty. He never received a copy of the order dismissing him.

After Hussain approached the Manipur High Court challenging his dismissal, Justice A Guneshwar Sharma, in December 2023, directed the police to submit an affidavit detailing the procedure for “disengagement of VDF personnel”. But the affidavit submitted was found wanting, and did not explain what the VDF was. This “compelled” the court to use ChatGPT for further research.

ChatGPT said that the VDF in Manipur comprises “volunteers from the local communities who are trained and equipped to guard their villages against various threats, including insurgent activities and ethnic violence” — information that Justice Sharma used in his ruling.

Ultimately, he set aside Hussain’s dismissal, citing a 2022 memorandum issued by the Manipur Home Department which stated that upon dismissal, VDF personnel must be given “an opportunity to explain in any case of alleged charges”— which the petitioner was denied in this case.

High Courts’ differing stances on using ChatGPT

In March 2023, Justice Anoop Chitkara of the Punjab & Haryana High Court used ChatGPT to deny the bail plea of a certain Jaswinder Singh, accused of assaulting an individual, and causing his death. Justice Chitkara found that there was an element of “cruelty” to the assault — a ground which can be used to deny bail.To supplement his reasoning, Justice Chitkara posed a question to ChatGPT: “What is the jurisprudence on bail when the assailants are assaulted with cruelty?” The court’s eventual order contained the AI chatbot’s three page response which included that “the judge may be less inclined to grant bail or may set the bail amount very high to ensure that the defendant appears in court and does not pose a risk to public safety.”

Justice Chitkara, however, clarified that this reference to ChatGPT was not the same as expressing an opinion on the merits of the case, and that it “is only intended to present a broader picture on bail jurisprudence, where cruelty is a factor.”

The Delhi High Court has been less receptive to the use of AI in courts. In August 2023, Justice Pratibha M Singh ruled in favour of luxury shoe designer Christian Louboutin in a trademark case.

Louboutin’s lawyers had used ChatGPT-generated responses to show that the brand had a reputation for “spike shoe style” with a “red sole” — a design which was being copied by another brand called Shutiq. Justice Singh held that ChatGPT cannot be used to decide “legal or factual issues in a court of law”, highlighting the possibility of “incorrect responses, fictional case laws, imaginative data etc. generated by AI chatbots”.

Elsewhere in the world

This ‘fictional case laws’ scenario is not a mere hypothetical. In 2023, a Manhattan federal judge fined a lawyer $5,000 for submitting fictitious legal research generated using ChatGPT. The lawyer had filed a brief with fictitious cases with titles such as Varghese vs China Southern Airlines and Shaboon vs Egypt Air in a personal injury suit involving Colombian airline Avianca.

Last December, the UK judiciary released a set of guidelines about the use of generative AI in courts. While judges were allowed to use ChatGPT for basic tasks such as summarising large bodies of text, making presentations, or composing emails, they were cautioned not to rely on AI for legal research or analysis.

No such guidelines exist in India.

Written by Ajoy Sinha Karpuram

Source: Indian Express, 28/05/24

Why do temperatures vary from place to place within the same city?

 

A weather station in Delhi recorded a high of 52.9 degree Celsius on May 29 — unheard of in the capital. But another station in the same city recorded 45.2 degrees, pretty normal for the end of May. Leafier neighbourhoods often seem cooler than pockets of treeless concrete. Why does this happen?

The weather station at Mungeshpur in Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 52.9 degree Celsius on Wednesday (May 29). On Tuesday, the same location had seen a high of 49.9 degree Celsius.

However, the maximum temperatures recorded at other places in Delhi were at least 6 or 7 degree Celsius lower than those seen in Mungeshpur. For instance, at Raj Ghat and Lodhi Road, maximum temperatures on Wednesday were 45.2 and 46.2 degree Celsius respectively.

There are several weather stations across Delhi, each of which records the temperature at a particular place.

Several observatories and automatic weather stations are located at different places within the city — and there is no single observatory or station that gives an average temperature of Delhi as a whole.

Temperatures are recorded at Palam, Lodhi Road, Ridge, Ayanagar, Jafarpur, Mungeshpur, Najafgarh, Narela, Pitampura, Pusa, Mayur Vihar, and Raj Ghat.The weather/ temperature app on your mobile phone shows the temperature at the nearest station, which may not necessarily be that of the official India Meteorological Department (IMD) station. (The same goes for the AQI/ air pollution data on your phone.)

So, if you drive across the city from, say, Pitampura to Raj Ghat, you will likely see different temperatures on your phone.

But why is the temperature different at different places within the same city?

Although temperatures experienced by a particular region are largely governed by weather, several anthropogenic factors also play a role, especially in a large urban centre such as Delhi.

These factors include the concentration of pavements, buildings, roads, and parking lots — in general, hard and dry surfaces provide less shade and moisture, thereby leading to higher temperatures.

The material used to build infrastructure also has an impact. For instance, places where most of pavements and buildings are made of concrete, witness warmer temperatures. That’s because concrete can hold nearly 2,000 times as much heat as an equivalent volume of air.

The geometry and spacing of buildings are a factor as well. If a location is densely populated by buildings, surfaces and structures there become “large thermal masses” as they fail to release heat readily. Very narrow streets and tall buildings obstruct natural wind flows that generally bring temperatures down.

The heavy use of air conditioners in shopping malls and residential areas result in localised higher temperatures — ACs release an enormous amount of heat outdoors.

These factors can collectively lead to the creation of ‘urban heat islands’ at a location. These ‘islands’ experience higher temperatures relative to outlying areas.

The likelihood of a place becoming an urban heat island is higher when it does not have trees, vegetation, and water bodies. Natural landscapes bring down temperatures because they provide shade, and the processes of transpiration from plants and evaporation from water bodies produce cooling.

This cooling effect is in evidence in the vicinity of large parks or urban forests in Delhi.

Written by Alind Chauhan

Source: Indian Express, 30/05/24