India’s new IT minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, has warned social media companies against misuse of their platforms for terrorism and communalism. The statement highlights a divisive debate between national security advocates and privacy proponents. A balanced approach is needed, with tech companies and law enforcement agencies moderating their stances to ensure both security and privacy.

Given the extensive surveillance efforts by the US and UK governments, as revealed by Edward Snowden, there has been a push for data localization laws in various countries. We need to question the effectiveness of mass data collection in preventing terrorism since the growing volume of data may render such efforts futile. At the same time we need to question the approach of data localization, given the difficulty in extracting actionable intelligence from vast amounts of information.

The McKinsey Digital India Report highlights India’s rapid digitization. With 560 million internet subscribers, it is second only to China. Despite a low Country Digital Adoption Index score of 32, India is digitizing faster than most countries - all the more reason for there to be fewer internet shutdowns.

The proliferation of Internet of Things devices has eroded traditional boundaries of privacy, collecting and analyzing personal data in unprecedented ways. While offering benefits, this pervasive data collection raises ethical concerns and challenges our ability to control personal information. Upgraded laws and new control mechanisms are needed to address this evolving landscape.

Historically, privacy was a luxury for the wealthy, who could afford private spaces and crafted distinct social personas. As society’s economic well-being improved, privacy became a societal expectation. Today, however, the rise of data-driven businesses threatens this privacy. Since privacy is rooted in capitalist interests, its preservation now conflicts with the commercial benefits of exploiting personal data. To protect privacy, we must establish commercial disincentives that outweigh the financial benefits of exploiting personal data.

It is important to incorporate human oversight into automated systems. Despite the efficiency of these systems, there is a need to balance human judgment with machine precision in critical decision-making processes.

The rapid advancement of smart home devices, with their increasing conversational intelligence, is leading to a future where touch-based inputs may become obsolete. These devices offer significant benefits, such as aiding the elderly and entertaining children, but also raise complex ethical and legal challenges. Issues like privacy, psychological impacts, especially on the young and elderly, and the handling of sensitive information, such as potential abuse reports, require careful consideration. The evolving nature of these interactions necessitates a new framework to address the multifaceted implications of conversational AI in our daily lives.

Kevin Kelly predicts the dawn of a third platform age, following the World Wide Web and social media, which will digitize the physical world. This new platform involves a network of cameras capturing and uploading visual data to create a multi-dimensional digital representation of the world. Interaction with this digital world will be through connected glasses, blending augmented reality with the physical world, transforming education and entertainment. To avoid repeating history where U.S. corporations dominated previous platforms, proactive involvement in developing this technology and setting standards, particularly in AI and digitization, is crucial.

China’s social credit system monitors and scores citizens’ behaviors, rewarding or penalizing them accordingly. This system raises concerns about data accuracy and the impact of false information on individuals’ lives. As other countries might adopt similar systems, it’s crucial to ensure these algorithms are fair and continually reassess their trust evaluations to avoid unjust consequences.

The UK’s Digital Competition Expert Panel report addresses digital market competition, expressing concerns about the harmful effects of concentration due to network effects in digital platforms. It recommends developing systems based on open standards for greater data mobility and openness, similar to India’s financial data transfer systems. The report also suggests establishing a new Digital Markets Unit for competitive conduct and reevaluating merger regulations to consider future innovation and competition impacts. However, the feasibility of accurately predicting the outcomes of tech acquisitions is questioned, suggesting that implementing effective data transfer systems might suffice to enhance market competition.