Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs
Little did we know that beyond the automated factory machines, self-driving cars, and robocops, Artificial Intelligence (AI) would one day crash into our lives, authoring poems, tipping us with pickup lines, and passing the toughest examinations.
The recent rise of Large Language Models and Generative AI has sparked more interest in the progress of AI across the globe. ChatGPT was running with its servers crammed for months, and Twitter feeds were filled with quirky ChatGPT quotes followed by threads shedding light on the versatile application of such chatbots.
Ethical debates on the use of generative AI have subsided in the realisation that users will have a ‘productivity-powered’ upper hand over a non-user.
The subjects of worker replacements and economic growth with the rise of AI have entered the spiral that the Internet once went through.
Positive effects of AI adoption
There is broad consensus on increasing productivity by adopting AI in producing goods and services
A recent survey among employees of LinkedIn’s top 50 companies in the United States shows that almost 70% of them found AI helping them to be faster, smarter, and more productive.
Research from across the world is also largely optimistic about AI’s impacts on growth.
Employment may be adversely affected
Experts also point to multiple negative impacts of AI technologies. The first is labour replacement that AI technologies bring to the table. AI can automate repetitive tasks and with generative AI, even creative tasks can be done efficiently and fast..
In “Tasks, Automation, and the Rise in U.S. Wage Inequality”, the two authors document that between 50% and 70% of changes in the U.S. wage structure over the last four decades can be attributed to relative wage declines of worker groups specialised in routine tasks in industries experiencing rapid automation.
Acemoglu argues that automation reduces labour share and wages, especially when productivity gains from automation are small.
His other studies also highlight distributional concerns over automation, causing inequality among workers and possible serious negative impacts on social welfare.
Opportunities for India
India, being the most populous country, should be on the lookout as any net negative effect on employment can adversely impact the economy.
Increased efficiency by the adoption of AI in call centres and software industries does not bode well for millions of Indians who work in the field.
Regulation on the use of AI is not a bright solution as this would just drive investments and new opportunities away.
The PwC report suggests that the greatest economic gains from AI will come from China, with a projected 26% boost to GDP by 2030.
Thus, it would be prudent for India to focus more on education and training in AI; this could be a lot easier now with online education having larger acceptance after the COVID-19 pandemic to take advantage of the demographic dividend and new opportunities that emanate from AI.
AI has seeped into every aspect of the global economy, and its effect on productivity and growth is being seen in an optimistic way. Views on the effect of AI on the labour market and its impact on society are gloomy, with 70% of American experts in an IGM survey agreeing that AI could create deep challenges for society, including in the labour market, politics, data privacy, crime and warfare;
These challenges are difficult to anticipate and plan for. Governments would have to step up their cyber regulations with respect to the new challenges posed by AI and may also need tax capital, as suggested by many experts, to balance the returns from capital and labour to reduce the displacement and distributional effects. Either way, ever-growing advancements in AI are now a reality and equipping ourselves with the latest tools will help us forge ahead along with everyone else.
And no, an apocalypse where robots take over the human world is nowhere soon.
Chandrayaan-3 speaks to moon’s rising importance in scientific, political milieus
At 2.35 p.m. Indian Standard Time on July 14, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to launch the Chandrayaan-3 mission to the moon onboard a Launch Vehicle Mark 3 from Sriharikota.
Chandrayaan-3 is largely a replica of its predecessor, Chandrayaan-2, that was launched in July 2019 in the form of an orbiter and a lander (‘Vikram’) bearing a rover (‘Pragyan’).
While the orbiter entered into orbit around the moon, the surface mission failed in September when the lander crashed instead of executing a slow descent. ISRO later identified a problem in the guidance software and unexpected dispersion in the propulsion system during certain phases of the descent.
In Chandrayaan-3, the rocket will place the payload in an elliptical orbit around the earth, where a propulsion module will take over and pilot the lander to a circular orbit around the moon.
Finally, the lander will detach and begin a series of manoeuvres culminating in a gradual landing (on August 23-24 this year) over the surface. To improve the chances of success at this stage, ISRO has strengthened the lander’s legs, lowered its minimum thrust, enhanced the availability of power, and upgraded the landing sequence.
To study these and other features, the mission has six scientific payloads. A seventh instrument, on the propulsion module, will profile the signs of life on earth to help scientists look for similar signs on planets beyond the solar system.
Taken together, Chandrayaan-3 offers opportunities for India to lead the world’s response to the moon’s growing importance in the scientific and the political milieus.
Days before ethnic violence erupted in Manipur, the Union Home Secretary had asked the State governments of Manipur and Mizoram to capture the “biographic and biometric details of illegal migrants”. The biometric information will include retina, iris and fingerprint scans.
Ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities erupted in Manipur on May 3, leading to the killing of more than 140 people and internal displacement of over 54,000 people.
After a military coup in Myanmar in February 2021, over 40,000 refugees from the neighbouring country have taken shelter in Mizoram and around 4,000 refugees are said to have entered Manipur.
The refugees belonging to the Kuki-Chin-Zo ethnic group comprising the Lai, Tidim-Zomi, Lusei and Hualngo tribes are closely related to the communities in Mizoram and Manipur.
India and Myanmar share a 1,643-km border and people on either side have familial ties. The Mizoram government arranged relief camps for the refugees.
“In this context, it is further mentioned that a campaign for capturing of biometric data of the illegal migrants in the States of Manipur and Mizoram is to be completed by the end of September 2023.
Matter of compliance
The Chief Secretaries of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh asked them to “take appropriate action as per law to check illegal influx from Myanmar into India”, adding that State governments have no powers to grant “refugee” status to “any foreigner”, and India is not a signatory to the United Nations Refugee Convention of 1951 and its 1967 Protocol.
The Governments of Manipur and Mizoram have appointed Nodal Officers to feed the data in the centralised portal on illegal foreigners maintained by the Bureau of Immigration and the Home Ministry.
The Centre on Monday filed a fresh affidavit in the Supreme Court claiming that Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing an “unprecedented era of peace, progress and prosperity” after the dilution of Article 370 in 2019.
The affidavit has been filed a day before a Constitution Bench is scheduled to hear a series of petitions challenging the dilution of Article 370, which deprived Jammu and Kashmir of its special privileges and led to the bifurcation of the State in 2019.
“Life has returned to normalcy in the region after over three decades of turmoil,” the Home Ministry Bandhs and hartals had also become a distant memory. “Resolute anti-terror actions” had dismantled the “terror ecosystem” which led to a significant drop in terror recruitment from 199 in 2018 to 12 in 2023 till date.
All-round development
The affidavit said a duly-elected three-tier panchayati raj system could be established for the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir after 2019. Crucial Central laws, including the right to free education for children and land acquisition compensation statutes, were now applicable.
The annual budget of Jammu and Kashmir had grown from ₹80,423 crore in 2019-20 to
₹1,18,500 crore in 2023-24. Infrastructure developments included the completion of 32 out of a total 53 projects worth ₹58,477 crore under the Prime Minister’s Development Package.
Article 370
The key feature of Article 370 was that the Central laws passed by the Parliament did not automatically apply to the erstwhile State of J&K, and it was the right of the State Legislature to approve them by passing a parallel act.
Deals for Rafale-M fighters and three more Scorpene-class submarines for the Navy and co-development of a fighter jet engine are on the agenda.
Ahead of this, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) is expected to hold a crucial meet in the next couple of days where it is likely to take a call on the procurement of 26 Rafale-M fighters for the Navy’s aircraft carriers and the proposal for additional Scorpene submarines that is in the pipeline.
The Rafale-M proposal has been cleared by the Defence Procurement Board (DPB) for the Navy’s carrier jet race in which Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet has also competed.
Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers says a special package estimated at ₹3.7 lakh crore for farmers have to be brought in as the use of fertilizers has become unbalanced in the country.
The nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium ratio should have been 4:2:1, instead it is 8:3:1 in the country now.
“The balance of the soil has been damaged and production has become saturated as a result. Soil health, human health, animal health, and environmental health are connected with one another.
The Centre is in no hurry to shift to natural farming. “Overuse of fertilizers, according to a study, resulted in a 16% decrease in production in Punjab despite a 10% increase in the use of fertilizers in the
State during the same period. This is leading to the deterioration of soil health over a period of time. It is clear that balanced use of fertilizers is needed for steady production, food security, and for helping farmers too,” the Minister said.
“The country is moving towards natural farming and organic farming, step by step. We cannot go to organic farming suddenly which could lead to a Sri Lanka-like situation. Our attempt is to end import dependence on urea by 2025 and replace it with nano urea and other alternative forms of urea,”.
A 500-ml bottle of nano urea will replace one bag of 45 kilograms of urea. It will reduce the transportation costs as well. Adding, the country cannot compromise on food security, and farmers’ income should also not come down.
ndia has overtaken China as the most attractive emerging market for investing for sovereign wealth funds in 2023 due to its solid demographics, political stability and proactive regulation, according to a report published on Monday.
India is benefitting from increased foreign corporate investment. In addition, India and South Korea continue to be the best destinations for increasing exposure.
