(Re)Defining Social Media as Digital Communication Networks

This article originally appeared in TheQuint with the headline 'We Need a Better Definition for Social Media To Solve Its Problems.' An excerpt is reproduced here.

The Need For a New Term

Conversations around ‘social media platforms’ also tend to fixate on specific companies, the prevalence of certain types of information on their platforms (misleading information, hate speech, etc.) and their actions in response (content enforcement of community standards, applications of labels, compliance with government orders, etc.). While this is certainly relevant, it is out of step with the nascent yet growing understanding of the reality that most users, and especially motivated actors (whether good or bad), operate across a range of social media platforms. In the current information ecosystem, any effects — adverse or positive — are rarely limited to one particular network but ripple outwards across different networks, as well as off them.

There’s nothing wrong with an evolving term, but it must be consistent and account for future-use cases. Does ‘social media platforms’ translate well to the currently buzz-wordy ‘metaverse’ use-case, which, with communication at its core, shares some of the fundamental characteristics identified earlier? Paradoxically, the term ‘social media platform’ is simultaneously evolving and stagnant, expansive yet limiting.This is one of the reasons my colleagues at The Takshashila Institution and I proposed the frame of 'Digital Communication Networks' (DCNs), which have three components — capability, operators and networks.Read More

India needs a framework to regulate the use of artificial intelligence

The White House Offiice of Science and Technology Policy called for a new Charter of rights for the 21st century last week, aptly titled the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Bill of Rights. These rights are envisioned as the first step to ensure the protection of established norms of civil rights, and aim to direct the development and use of technology in ways that are compatible with constitutional mandates, furthering the interpretation of the Bill of Rights in today’s world of data and algorithms.Such initiatives are gaining momentum across the world. The European Union (EU) proposed the Artificial Intelligence Act this summer, initiating conversations on regulating the development and use of AI. The objective was to create conditions for the effective functioning of the EU’s single market, adhering to standards of safety and governance while creating legal certainty.Read the full article on Hindustan Times

Prospects of Indian and Chinese collaboration with Russia on a Joint Space Station

Read the full Article on Valdai ClubIndia’s strategic rival China has already made advances in maintaining a sustained human presence in orbit and the learning curve for India appears steep. Only collaboration with Russia can give India a leg up and may perhaps be the only path for India to catch up to China in any meaningful way, writes Aditya Pareek, Research Analyst at the Bangalore-based Takshashila Institution. Read the full Article on Valdai Club

Japan aims to toughen up its cybersecurity

Read the full article on Asia Times

Tokyo's draft cybersecurity strategy points to China, Russia and North Korea as threats

These consolidated moves on cybersecurity and high-tech cooperation by Japan, unilaterally, bilaterally and in multilateral fora like the Quad are nothing short of impressive.In recent years Japan has also been more open to involving its Self-Defense Forces (SDF) in domains like cybersecurity that represent a gray area between civilian and military space.Read the full article on Asia Times

World is Entering A New Moon Age

Read the full article on Times of India It will require India to do some tough space diplomacy between divergent spacefaring campsOn September 7, 2019, India’s Chandrayaan-2 Moon Lander crashed in a cloud of lunar dust no human would witness. It had experienced a “hard landing” on a desolate patch of the lunar surface. Isro chairman K Sivan called the mission “98% successful”, which implicitly acknowledged the sheer difficulty of such undertakings but also reflected the combination of optimism and determination that go into India’s spacefaring aspirations. Read the full article on Times of India

Will the Quad Tangle with the O-RAN Alliance?

While China and Huawei may have won the 5G race, all is definitely not lost for those looking to reduce their dependencies on the Chinese telecom infrastructure.Technology was a major area of focus during the first in-person summit held in the United States. The Quad has already created a working group on critical and emerging technologies to facilitate cooperation and innovation between the states. Semiconductors and 5G were the areas of focus in the technology sphere with an idea of using alternative 5G technology to create a global communications standard.A 5G deployment and diversification effort is already in the works with the “support and the critical role of Quad governments in fostering and promoting a diverse, resilient and secure telecommunications ecosystem,” as mentioned by White House officials.

This is where open radio access networks (O-RAN) and the O-RAN alliance come into the picture.

The regulation of social media can be an opportunity for India

This article was originally published in The MintChina gives us an estimate of how many people you need to effectively monitor content on the internet. The Great Firewall employs over 100,000 people to prevent around a billion Chinese internet users from accessing content Beijing considers undesirable. That is one censor for every 10,000 users. In contrast, according to Frances Haugen, a whistleblower who released internal company documents to the media recently, Facebook has around 40,000 employees keeping an eye on content posted by its 2.5 billion users around the world, or a ratio of roughly 1:70,000. Thus, the company would need to employ seven times as many people to match the Beijing standard. In fact, if we account for the fact that Facebook would need to monitor conversations in over 100 languages, it might need as many as half a million censors.Sure, artificial intelligence can perhaps reduce the headcount requirements, especially if clever humans don’t stay a step ahead of censorship rules as they generally have throughout history. Even so, if social media networks come to be mandated to monitor user content as part of the ongoing scrutiny by the world’s governments, the world will need millions of censors in the coming years. They will be called content oversight officers, online safety managers, country compliance executives, forum moderators and suchlike, but the job scope will essentially be to prevent certain types of content from spreading on their networks.There is one problem, though: Good censors are hard to find. In a speech to parliament in 1644 opposing the censorship of books, poet John Milton said: “He who is made judge to sit upon the birth or death of books... had need to be a man above the common measure, both studious, learned, and judicious. If he be of such worth as behooves him, there cannot be a more tedious and unpleasing journey-work, a greater loss of time levied upon his head, than to be made the perpetual reader of unchosen books and pamphlets... we may easily foresee what kind of licensers we are to expect hereafter, either ignorant, imperious, and remiss, or basely pecuniary." In other words, good censorship demands wise and learned people, but ends up attracting only the wrong sort. This problem will not trouble authoritarian governments very much, but social media networks concerned about free speech are bound to hit a human-resource crunch pretty soon.The demand for “a person above the common measure, both studious, learned, and judicious" is not restricted to just content moderators for social media companies. Given how deeply and profoundly the tech industry already impacts society, everyone from engineers and developers to chief executives and investors will need to have a better understanding of a range of disciplines in the social sciences. Facebook’s current troubles demonstrate how difficult it is to retrofit social responsibility and ethical considerations on business models and corporate cultures that were designed for different goals. If you are building a startup today, you are better-off paying less attention to cynical industry veterans who’ll tell you to ignore the idealistic stuff and chase the money. The next few years will likely see legislation in several major countries designed to hold big tech companies accountable for social ills caused by the use of their products.Negative and harmful content is usually more contagious, and this phenomenon is amorally exploited by growth-seeking business models to the detriment of society. Haugen’s testimony to the US Congress last week contained nothing we didn’t already know, but it is nevertheless an important milestone in the growing political realization that the negative social consequences of social media have become too serious to ignore. If lawmakers in the United States knew what to do about it, they would perhaps have done it. Unfortunately, they do not, yet. In the meantime, expect piecemeal legislation over specific issues flagged by whistleblowers and activists, tempered by the tech industry and its lobbyists.The emerging new balance between public interest, tech-industry business models and online behaviour is an opportunity for India’s tech industry and its people. In addition to technical skills, an aspiring tech entrepreneur or employee will need to be broadly educated and capable of making value judgements. Let’s be honest: Too little in our education system prepares us for this. Our smartest people can solve calculus problems, but are unlikely to know much about the ideas of Bentham or the Bhagavad Gita. Encouraging new liberal arts universities and including social-science subjects in engineering and science curriculums at the undergraduate level is part of the answer.I am also optimistic that market forces will drive companies and individuals to invest in training in ethics, responsible strategy and social impact analysis. (Full disclosure: I teach courses on these subjects at the Takshashila Institution). India’s competitive advantage in the tech economy has always been high- quality human capital at scale. The challenge now is to create millions of people who can exercise good judgement in addition to writing great code. 

The Quad Makes the First Siliconpolitik Move

Summary

An earlier paper on ‘Siliconpolitik: The Case for a Quad Semiconductor Partnership’ made a detailed case for a Quad partnership on semiconductors. It argued that the Quad’s technology cooperation agenda should focus on semiconductors due to their ‘metacriticality’. Further, it reasoned that “since each Quad member enjoys a comparative advantage in a specific sub-domain of the semiconductor supply chain, this grouping is well-placed to collaborate.” With these arguments as a reference point, this paper analyses the semiconductor supply chain collaboration announcement at the first in-person Quad Leaders’ Summit.Read the full paper on the Institute of South Asian Studies website here [HTML & PDF]. 

Fantasy sport, Karnataka’s online gambling ban, and what policymaking gets wrong

Over the past few years, online fantasy sport (OFS) in India have gone from being a rather shady area of niche interest to becoming ubiquitous, so much so that a fantasy sport platform, Dream 11, was the title sponsor of IPL 2020. Indeed, the IPL viewing experience has changed significantly in recent years, with the long breaks between overs now stuffed with an array of commercials about cryptocurrencies, mutual funds and above all, fantasy sport. To someone unfamiliar with state-level policy developments in the country, this omnipresence of fantasy sport commercials would seem to suggest the presence of a thriving and safe fantasy sport industry, but the reality, of course, is quite the opposite.Creating fantasy teams and participating in fantasy sport contests, as would be obvious to many, involves a significant amount of domain knowledge, for instance, of cricket gameplay, player form, pitch conditions, and a deep understanding of the intricacies of T20 cricket (like wickets in powerplay overs are more valuable than in the death overs). Thus, investing money in an OFS cannot be called gambling.

Read the full article in Hindutan Times.

On Semiconductors, India Needs to Reboot Trade Policies, Ecosystem to Build a TSMC

Talks have accelerated between India and Taiwan to build a state-of-the-art semiconductor manufacturing unit in the country. Reports have indicated that officials from both sides have met regularly to discuss the possible outcomes of Taiwan investing in a fabrication facility in India. The Taiwanese government and its major foundries, which hold the lion’s share of the world’s semiconductor manufacturing supply, have reportedly agreed to invest $7.5 billion in India to set up a long-pending fab in the country.

In Quad’s Semiconductor Gambit against China, India Stands to Gain

Semiconductors gave become a domain of confrontation between the US and China. And then, the demand shock of COVID-19 led to a severe shortage of chips in automobiles, medical devices, and other sectors. And finally, fears of a Chinese takeover of Taiwan—which alone accounts for nearly 73 per cent of the world’s global contract chip manufacturing—have made countries scramble for alternatives. And so, from being at the margins of the technology policy agenda of several countries, semiconductors have become a primary focus area. Little wonder then that the first in-person Quad Summit meeting on September 24 had semiconductors on its agenda.

The Murky Waters of Kerala’s Knowledge Economy Mission

The Union, States, and other stakeholders can reap benefits from broad-based employment platforms like the Kerala Knowledge Economy Mission. But for such technological innovations to succeed, they require more nuance, engagement, and diversity at the design stage to cater to the needs of all of Kerala’s unemployed.

Read the article in The Bastion

As Quad focuses on Tech, the Debate on Standard Setting

Technology will be at the forefront of the first in-person Quad summit in the United States (US). The control of critical technologies and their supply chains remain essential for all States to project their geopolitical influence. However, having a grip on the governance mechanism of these critical technologies in the form of technical standards can be a gamechanger in the geostrategic field.A technical standard serves as a means for governance in the realm of a wide range of technologies. With several emerging fields such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), blockchain, and 5G, there is a need to establish a common direction of functioning for all States and private companies undertaking research and development in the field of technology. While this remains the idea behind the setting up of technical standards, recent developments have broadened the scope of the necessity of these standards.

Swooping down on algorithms

China has pursued aggressive measures on the entire gamut of its tech sector in the past few months, ranging from strong-arming IPOs to limiting gaming hours for children. A host of legislative instruments are in the process of adoption. This includes the Personal Information Protection Law, the Cybersecurity Law, and the draft Internet Information Service Algorithmic Recommendation Management Provisions.Read the full article in The Hindu

China’s ‘Standards 2035’ Project Could Result in a Technological Cold War

The eventual decline of the West’s dominance in the standards domain has offered an opportunity for China to play a bigger role in finalizing and setting technology standards. The Chinese state has gradually increased its technical capabilities and has worked toward strengthening the technology sector in the country during the last two decades. The domestic private technology sector of China, supported by the state, has gained immense heft on the international stage. Now, it looks to play an active role in advocating for global technical standards and a worldwide governance mechanism for governing emerging technologies. In this way, China hopes to boost domestic economic growth and project geopolitical influence.

How India could get involved in the AUKUS alliance

The newly announced alliance appears to be intended a base for all three states to indulge in defense and technology cooperation and to collaborate on governing emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and cyberspace.While India’s involvement in the Quad is needed, there are also pragmatic reasons for India to work with the AUKUS states to achieve their objectives. Modi’s first face-to-face meeting with Biden could help make India’s case for getting involved with AUKUS.Read the full article on Asia Times

Understanding China’s Draft Algorithm Regulations

Data and algorithms are the fundamental blocks of cyberspace, but while data practices are increasingly being regulated around the world algorithm regulation is relatively untouched. The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), for example, remains the groundbreaking model for data protection regulations in most parts of the world. However, there is a void in the regulation of algorithms.In August, China issued the Draft Internet Information Service Algorithmic Recommendation Management Provisions, with an interest in standard setting in this space. Read the full op-ed on The Diplomat. Views are personal and do not represent Takshashila's policy recommendations.

Case for an India-led Southeast Asian Solar Alliance

“Code Red” is how the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned humanity when it came out with its sixth Assessment Report on August 9. Nation-states across the globe have responded to the doomsday prediction with claims of working toward reducing their carbon emissions.The spotlight has indeed been put on alternative sources of energy, with the secretary-general of the United Nations, António Guterres, calling for a complete eradication of further investment in fossil fuels and transferring all future capital into renewable sources. This has elevated the necessity and importance of solar energy across the world.

Algorithmic audits are necessary to protect India’s gig workers

In the past few weeks, anonymous Twitter accounts such as Swiggy DE and DeliveryBhoy have made allegations regarding issues faced by delivery partners of food delivery apps. These include low payouts, opaque payout calculations and alleged cheating, unexplained differences in surge rates, order clubbing and assignments to avoid incentive pay, and zone extensions to avoid return bonuses.Swiggy and Zomato, which offer delivery work to more than 360,000 gig workers, have responded to these allegations by insisting that earnings per order are much higher than alleged, and that full-time delivery personnel earn over ₹20,000 per month.India’s gig economy is among the few sectors offering flexible work to unemployed millions. In her 2021 Union Budget speech, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman mentioned the creation of a database of gig workers and extending social security to them. It is important, therefore, to examine these grievances and design policy mechanisms that protect worker rights.Read the full article on Hindustan Times

What Should India Hope to Get Out of its 5Gi Standard Experiment?

While the world was reeling under the COVID-19 pandemic for the majority of 2020, it was a landmark year for the Indian telecommunication industry when the country managed to get a crucial approval from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a specialised UN body responsible for everything related to information and communication technologies, for its in-house standards on 5G technology.The locally curated standards, 5Gi, were developed in the hope of expanding 5G coverage in rural India by using a unique feature called Low Mobility Large Cell (LMLC) which significantly enhances the signal transmission range of a base station for a service provider.The first-ever presence of India in influencing global communication standards which were predominantly controlled by Europe, the US, and more recently China is a welcome change for the strategic community in the country.