When man invented writing he enabled the creation of a hive-mind that eventually lead to the establishment of civilisation as we know it. The advent of large language models has exponentially expanded that hive-mind but has it done so at the cost of our humanity?

The events surrounding OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman highlight the challenges in establishing effective governance structures that can appropriately control AI development. Given the profit motivation of private enterprise and the other narrow commercial interests that they are constrained by, we need to develop alternate robust frameworks that can operate beyond the influence of private commercial entities.

To ensure equitable access to digital public infrastructure, it’s crucial to address the digital divide. This involves extending connectivity infrastructure globally, reimagining digital systems for offline accessibility, and enhancing digital literacy. Innovations like offline Aadhaar enrolment and QR-code-based services, along with user-friendly design, are key to making DPI inclusive and accessible to all, regardless of their technological proficiency.

Given the similarities between the digital infrastructure that both Brazil and India have built it makes sense that as the new President of the G20, Brazil can build on all the work that India did during its Presidency to raise global attention to the concept of digital public infrastructure.

The myth of Pandora’s box, where opening a forbidden container unleashed the world’s evils but also hope, parallels scientific discovery. Each breakthrough, like CRISPR’s medical potential, brings unforeseen challenges, as seen with its controversial use in gene editing. Technologies intended for good, like the internet or drones, can be subverted for harm. Regulation alone can’t contain such knowledge; instead, we must design incentives to align technology use with societal goals, preparing us to handle the inevitable consequences of human curiosity.

The “Brussels Effect” is the phenomenon where other countries adopt regulation similar to the EU’s and as a result ends up extending Europe’s regulatory dominance. However, regulations like the GDPR have faced criticism for its burdensome compliance requirements. India’s DPI approach offers a new data governance model. But in order for this approach to be globally successful, strong regulatory institutions and a commitment to techno-legal governance are necessary.

There is a commonly held belief that there are basically three different approaches when it comes to data governance - the US, the Chinese and the European. But both the US and China leave regulation in the hands of technology companies - while the EU imposes regulations that these companies need to comply with. The middle path is the Indian techno-legal approach.

Despite India’s success in pushing the DPI agenda during its Presidency of the G20 there have been some criticisms about the actual impact of its financial inclusion efforts. While there is no doubt that we are prone to embellishment, India’s achievements in the area are substantial. Criticisms about coercion are also unfounded given some level of market orchestration is necessary — especially in low and middle-income countries that are looking for accelerated development.

With the number of extreme weather events that occurred in 2023, there is a new urgency around the need to find alternate and innovative solutions to the problem of climate change. One easy option is solar geo-engineering - that can be implemented by startups that raise donor funds to send up balloons carrying sulphates. That said this is not without its fair share of concerns. Not the least of which is uneven cooling and the impact on monsoon patterns in India.

Society’s response to disruptive technologies like AI follows a three-stage pattern: regulation, adaptation, and acceptance. Regulations tend to focus on first-order concerns, but overlook second-order consequences like the potential erosion of democratic values due to increased transparency of knowledge.