Regulation can never keep up with technology. What we need to do is develop principles-based regulation and allow regulators discretion in its implementation through effective post-facto enforcement. We should presume that regulatory actions have been taken in good faith unless proven otherwise and build transparency into our systems to ensure that regulators do not exceed their authority. Regulators should list all applicable regulations on their website and not attempt to enforce anything outside those regulations.

In India, electronic records can only be brought into evidence if accompanied by a certificate signed by a responsible person describing how it was produced and details of the computer involved in its production. Unless we remove these offline measures and replace them with digital certificates and other forms of electronic authentication, digital dispute resolution will be crippled.

We gave internet companies immunity for the content the flows through their pipes because communication infrastructure should have no opinion on the content. This, however does not solve the problem of offensive content - at best it passes the buck. We need a framework for determining what is acceptable speech. Governments should develop prohibited content dashboards so that internet companies can understand clearly what content is permissible and what is not.

Data is not the new oil. It is infinite and unconstrained by geography. It is not destroyed when it is consumed and can be used simultaneously or repeatedly without degradation in quality. Countries should not try to regulate data like they regulate oil - by bringing it under their physical control. They should not only try and force big tech to share the datasets they have created, but also make the effort to learn what it takes to build datasets of our own—and then go about building them relevant to our context.

Just as data can be used to democratise credit, these technologies are easily misused. Today [[digital lending]] companies prey on the poor by offering high interest loans to advertising targetted to popup when they are vulnerable. Regulating this will call for coordination between the telecom department (for anti-spam regulations) and MeITy to regulate (in-app advertising).

My reflections on my 2020 predictions about technological advancements. The pandemic emphasized technology’s central role in society, from remote working to vaccine development. New regulatory measures give hope for increased internet access and technology legislation in India, recognizing the need to adapt and engage with technology in new ways.

The cost of KYC is an impediment to lending below a certain ticket size. If we can permit lenders to use [[Derived KYC]] ensuring that it is only deployed in a digital context with all the required guardrails we will be able to radically reduce the cost of KYC opening up lending to the masses.

India’s reliance on mobile data has exposed educational disparities during lockdown, with many students unable to access online learning. The newly approved Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI) aims to radically alter data services by unbundling components, encouraging entrepreneurial opportunities, and potentially improving accessibility and quality of internet connectivity.

Earlier this year, as news of the incredibly realistic prose that GPT-3 was capable of generating reached me, my first thought was that I needed to figure out how to use this technology to churn out new Ex Machina articles. It wasn’t long before I realised that as a technology, it flattered to deceive. I would be far better served investing in consciously building a personal knowledge management system that help me synthesise all the various elements of knowledge I came across so that I was able to surface hidden connections.

The transition from owning things to subscribing to things is going to be hard until there is widespread market adoption and greater choice. Consumption is central to our economy and the only way we know to consume is by owning things. However once digital distribution becomes seamless we can subscribe to whatever we need to consume whenever we need them.