Science, Technology & Society: AI and science

Technology, humanity and AI

Past topics: UPSC CSE Essay, Section B, topic 8 (official UPSC question paper): “Rise of Artificial Intelligence: the threat of jobless future or better job opportunities through reskilling and upskilling”; UPSC CSE Essay, Section A, topic 1 (official UPSC question paper): “The process of self-discovery has now been technologically outsourced.”

Outline for the AI topic. Hook: a farmer using a phone app to detect crop disease. Both sides: AI automates routine tasks (some jobs lost) but creates new ones (data, maintenance, AI-assisted services) and raises productivity. History: past technologies (tractors, computers) displaced some jobs and created others. Key issue: the transition, who bears the cost. Solutions: reskilling and upskilling, lifelong learning, social security for displaced workers, AI in local languages, ethical rules on bias and privacy. Conclusion: the future is not jobless if it is skilled.

Verified data: the Union Cabinet approved the IndiaAI Mission with a budget outlay of Rs 10,371.92 crore (PIB, 7 March 2024; outlay, not spending).

Science, doubt and discovery

Past topics: UPSC CSE Essay, Section A, topic 4 (official UPSC question paper): “The doubter is a true man of science.”; UPSC CSE Essay, Section B, topic 6 (official UPSC question paper): “What is research, but a blind date with knowledge!”; UPSC CSE Essay, Section A, topic 3 (official UPSC question paper): “History is a series of victories won by the scientific man over the romantic man”; UPSC CSE Essay, Section B, topic 6 (official UPSC question paper): “Mathematics is the music of reason.”; UPSC CSE Essay, Section B, topic 7 (official UPSC question paper): “All ideas having large consequences are always simple.”

More past topics (2014–2020 papers): UPSC CSE Essay, Section B, topic 2 (official UPSC question paper): “Cyberspace and Internet: Blessing or curse to the human civilization in the long run”; UPSC CSE Essay, Section B, topic 1 (official UPSC question paper): “Technology cannot replace manpower.”.

Outline for ‘The doubter is a true man of science’: science grows by questioning (hypothesis, test, revise). Doubt is not cynicism: it is disciplined questioning followed by evidence. Examples: ideas once accepted were overturned by evidence; Article 51A(h) of the Constitution makes it a fundamental duty ‘to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform’. Counter-view: endless doubt can paralyse or feed misinformation (vaccine scepticism). Reply: doubt must bow to evidence. Conclusion: a society of reasoned doubters is a society of learners.

For ‘scientific man vs romantic man’: do not accept the claim blindly. Science brought medicine and abundance; romance (imagination, art, ideals) drives curiosity and meaning. Best progress comes when both cooperate.