Cobwebs

Woven Intricately

Aanju Technologies

Author: Cobwebs

  • The time when technology eats culture for breakfast

    This one is going to be short.

    Culture is something that has been honed and passed on over generations. As a Gen X when I look at Gen Z, I see lot of new age technology and little of culture. It pains me.

    I am not against tech. Technology has always been an enabler. But when it starts interfering with our way of life, questions must be raised and we need to take course corrections either on the technology front or on the cultural front. Atleast there needs to be interaction, dialogue and consensus before we move forward.

  • Crossing the Rubicon

    Have we or have we not?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_the_Rubicon

    There was this recent post from the CEO of Anthropic Mr. Dario Amodei, one of the pioneers of Artificial Intelligence that we need to slow the pace at the which AI has evolved. He then goes on to add a 3 point agenda and a roadmap to how this can be achieved – by providing external auditors the same rights as an employee and by forming an industry consortium – atleast amongst the companies that develop LLMs in the democratic world.

    The first question that comes to my mind after reading that post was this: Have we crossed the Rubicon already?

    Over the last half a decade, AI has developed at break neck speed. New models are released by OpenAI, Anthropic, Grok, Llama and others every 3 months. AI has developed exponentially such that AI agents are getting ubiquitous these days.

    Yes, AI provides immense benefits. There are thousands of use cases including medical, pharma, manufacturing, supply chain, banking, services, space etc. The upside is limitless. That is why there is a large scale adoption of AI not only by companies but also by the government themselves.

    However safety first. Always.

    I am not posting to question the pioneers on whether we have the required guardrails in place. AI is a technology that affects everyone. Including the common man who does a 9-5 job. If it is something so powerful, we need to be at the minimum take precaution with what we are actually dealing with. Or better create awareness about the pros and cons of this technology.

    In this context what does slowing down actually mean?

    Firstly this must have been thought of before commercializing AI. When we are in the middle of a AI boom how do we pause and take stock? The market forces set the pace. Also AI models are being developed across the world. How would an American and Chinese company agree to pause something that is going at 400 KMPH? What about countries in the Global South aspiring to adopt the technology as per their local needs? There are bound to be trust issues.

    It is interesting where we are heading towards as a race!

    If you ask me if we have crossed the Rubicon, i am bound to say yes. However we need to take the necessary precautions and tightly regulate the AI industry in order to avoid any pitfalls.

  • Her

    I still remember ‘her’. Fleetingly. In flashes. The movie. The person.

    It was on a flight. I was bored. I had all the time in the world and nothing to do expect for an entertainment system in front of me. There was an eclectic mix of movies that was present and I chose ‘her’. That moment left an indelible impression on me.

    If you haven’t watched the movie it’s about a guy loving a software. There are unexpected twists and turns that take you for quite a ride. In this day and age, ‘her’ is no more a fantasy.

    Come on, who is not in love with Siri or in the lesser developed parts of the world, maybe Alexa. Siri listens to you, responds to your orders, panders to your likes and dislikes! What is not to like in Siri.

    She on the other made my insane days made more bearable. She still made me crazy, but i can forgive her for that. She was there for me, as an outlet. But we branched out.

    In the movie, Joaquin Phoenix is in love with her. And the machine with him. Till the time he realizes that the machine is actually in love with thousands of guys like him on the web. Joaquin can’t take it. No sane person can. So he moves away from the machine and starts socializing with people again.

    Siri can be a good servant even to a bad master. But at the end of the day Siri is a software…

    Humans are complex. The human emotions can’t really be programmed at least not till now. Emotions are what they are for a reason. Feelings and emotions make us human.

    Although I have moved on in life, I still remember her. I always will.

  • Is Mental Health really a disability?

    At its peak, no 2 days are the same for a mental health patient. The energy levels are never the same for successive days.

    There are days of peace. There are days of chaos. There are days of static. And this plays itself repeatedly on a loop.

    A mental illness is a chronic disability.

    And it is a disability that the patient is perennially in denial with. No one really wants to accept that he / she has a mental disorder. This is partly due to the stigma associated with mental health and also due to the lack of support systems. And no one other than the patient really knows what they are going through.

    In the last 5 years or so, the work pace has quickened thanks in no part to the advent of AI. Every thing and every one seem to be automated. And these days it is not only humans running the rat race. AI agents and bots have joined the race. And we are going full on throttle. Sprinting, towards what?

    I have made peace with myself. Rather than searching for an job with a hefty pay check, I want something that can be done at my own pace. Something that pays me enough to lead a lifestyle that is sustainable.

    When I hear of stories of burnout amongst the Gen Z, I feel that there is no long term thinking amongst these youngsters. Everything is here and now. Long gone are the days when someone can hold a job for 2 or 3 decades. Coming from a 80’s kid, what kind of a world are we leaving behind for the Gen Z and Gen Alpha?

    Things have to get more sustainable.

  • Aspirations and Continuity

    When we are in dire straits, we always look for the light at the end of the tunnel. We always look for a better life. A better place to be in. A better lifestyle. We Aspire.

    Without aspirations life gets stagnant. We always need something to challenge us. To make life interesting. That said, we need to be in touch with reality too. As we say in Tamil, “Parakarthuku asai patta irukardhum poidum”.

    Is there a balance between our aspirations and being grounded? Great Indians like Abdul Kalam have told us to dream big and to make that dream a reality. I strongly believe that the golden mean is “setting the expectations right”. I believe that expectations are the key to moving forward.

    Aspirations to reality is not a simple flight with a single boarding and de-boarding. Rather it is a ‘town bus’. If the conductor tells you “Erangi eru pa”, you have to get down at that bus stop willfully and get back on. There are many ups and downs. We set realistic goals and a measured journey as we move from a dream to a reality.

    That said, a dream to reality is where the real struggle is. Which brings me back to my topic.

    Aspirations and continuity.

    Continuity is being cognizant of what my current position is. Aspiring to be an IAS officer when fighting for my daily food seems far fetched. That is why such success stories on LinkedIn, are heart warming and you genuinely want that person to do well in life.

    Continuity also means what my current situation is. An aspiration can only be built on top of my current situation. Being in the Present is one of our biggest presents. It is always good to take incremental steps towards a goal rather than take a giant leap of faith.

    Aspirations and Continuity go hand in hand. The roadmap from dreams to reality needs to have many pit stops where you reflect on the way you have come and the way forward.

    Peace out.

  • What it means politically to be an AK fan in Tamil Nadu!

    Black and white photo focusing on a woman and a child from afar.

    Its almost elections time in Tamil Nadu. And elections are a fanfare in India. The fireworks has started long back with alliances being formed. 2026 Tamil Nadu elections is crucial in determining the political discourse in Tamil Nadu.

    I am a Thala fan by the way. I am not in to politics per se and I don’t indulge myself in the political drama but I do try to make informed choices.

    2026 Tamil Nadu elections forms the basis for the next generation of political leaders. Whom do you want to lead you in the Trump era of volatile geopolitics? How can you be local, nationalist and global in this era? This is my take.

    I already told you that I am a AK fan. And so are a lot of millennials. AK is apolitical. He is not interested in mainstream politics, atleast for now. He just wants to race and give more blockbusters come Diwali! But we surely can’t ignore the political dhamaka that is about to happen before Diwali.

    The next generation of political leaders are being sown in this election. Politics is not only for the old and wise. It is also for the young and agile. Consider that below 50 is your next generation leader. Then your choices in Tamil Nadu effectively boil down to- Dy. CM Udhayanidhi Stalin, Thalapathy Vijay and Mr. Annamalai. There may be others but let us stick to this list for now. How would you want your next generation leader to look like?

    Before we get to the choosing part, let us first define who a leader is. Unlike the corporate world, leaders in politics need a different persona. Political leaders can be boxed as transformational, agile, democratic or autocratic.

    A good political leader first and foremost has to be relatable. His story should be inspirational for his followers. He should be politically savvy not only to handle the internal party politics but also to handle the geopolitical reality. In case of state leadership it would also include intrastate relations, center – state relations and so on. A leader is defined by the choices he makes under political constraints. A good leader should be able to maintain the golden mean in the choices he makes as a leader. There is no one size fits all or a fixed formula for success. Each leader is unique. Each story is unique. That is what makes this election all the more interesting. To look at gen next.

    Each of the three in our shortlist has a unique story and is bound by constraints and political realism. Some would say that the charismatic Mr. Annamalai is on the wrong side of Dravidian parties in a state like Tamil Nadu. How do you bring in BJP in to active politics in a state that is dominated for more than six decades by the Dravidian parties? How can the nepotism tinted Mr. Udayanidhi Stalin gain credibility in the eyes of the people? Is Mr. Vijay a real political alternative? What would be his credentials for staking a claim to the coveted top post? How can an outsider like a NTK make a realistic dent in people’s mind?

    I can talk about each of these leaders. But that is not the intention of this post. Looking at the rich political history of state like Tamil Nadu with stalwarts ruling the state, I would call the current political discourse a state of flux.

    Gone are the days when a single charismatic leader or a cinema star can waltz his / her wayto the top seat. The new crop of politicians including our current CM, Mr. Stalin and the leader of opposition, Mr. Eddapadi K Palanisamy have emerged from the grassroots.

    This is a clear sign of the victory of Indian democracy and the constitution. We want future leaders with a strong political understanding. We want leaders who can empathize with the party workers. Only then sound decisions can be made. Irrespective of the route that you take, we need grounded leaders. Let us have more such leaders from grassroots leading us politically.

  • Testing the waters

    After spending a considerable time to understand how WordPress works, this is my first post to see if I can get a hang of it!