44th Palkhivala Memorial Lecture held on ‘Artificial Intelligence for Aam Aadmi’

Nitin Paranjpe, Chairman, Hindustan Unilever Limited, at its 44th Meeting, said: “Artificial Intelligence (AI) today has gone much beyond a technical issue; it is an economic issue, a social issue, a governance issue and a moral issue, and is by far the most decisive debate.”^he Palkhivala Commemorative Lecture on “Artificial Intelligence for Aam Aadmi”.

He told the audience: “Is technology increasing human equality or is it silently shrinking it without our consent – this is a question we all need to think about because we are in the middle of one of the profound technological changes and developments that we are seeing. Artificial Intelligence is a term that creates two opposing emotions or concerns at the same time. Because we live in an age where machines can write poetry. They can draw up contracts and even talk like humans.” he added.

Mr. Paranjpe also pointed out that there are various risks associated with artificial intelligence. “The first is what I call the risk of digital colonization. Colonialism wasn’t just about land. It was about control… control over rules, control over narratives, control over resources… And there’s a real danger today that AI will recreate that dynamic in digital form.” There are also concerns that AI could replace jobs, concentrate power, spread false promises that could erode privacy, and possibly act on humans without any human accountability, he said.

“AI can touch jobs to a lesser or greater extent. Now maybe that’s okay and if we were living in a society with a low birth rate, this transition would be manageable. In India, where millions of people enter the job market every year, we need growth, we need employment-led growth. So managing the AI ​​transition in India is not an option, it is a social and economic imperative for us,” he added.