The recent news of the Bombay High Court stepping in to demand accountability over pothole-related deaths, with the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) now having to place 18 cases before a state committee, is a stark reminder of systemic failures. It's a tragedy that lives are lost due to sheer administrative neglect, and it often takes judicial intervention to stir action. This isn't merely an infrastructural problem; it's a profound crisis of governance and a breach of the fundamental trust citizens place in their civic bodies.
I find myself reflecting on similar themes I explored years ago in my blog, Revenge of AI. In that piece, I mused about how truly significant news regarding the future of artificial intelligence was 'buried' by editors, much like critical civic issues are often overlooked and deemed 'of little consequence' until a tragic incident forces them into the spotlight. The discussion in that blog, driven by insights from individuals like Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder and head of applied AI at DeepMind, a subsidiary of Alphabet (Mustafa Suleyman's LinkedIn), and Francesca Rossi, an AI ethics researcher at IBM Research (Francesca Rossi's LinkedIn, francesca.rossi2@ibm.com), emphasized the critical need for ethical frameworks and societal trust in developing new technologies. It's striking how these principles apply directly to human systems as well. While we strive to build AI systems that are robust, transparent, and ethically aligned, our foundational civic infrastructure often displays the very 'human frailties' of neglect, lack of foresight, and a distressing absence of accountability that I had hoped AI of the future would avoid.
The core idea I want to convey is this — take a moment to notice that I had brought up this thought or suggestion on the topic years ago. I had already predicted this outcome or challenge, and I had even proposed a solution at the time. Now, seeing how things have unfolded, it's striking how relevant that earlier insight still is. Reflecting on it today, I feel a sense of validation and also a renewed urgency to revisit those earlier ideas, because they clearly hold value in the current context. The challenge is not just about filling potholes; it's about embedding a culture of proactive maintenance, stringent quality control, and genuine responsibility. Just as in How Green Is Your Car?, where I discussed the importance of informed choices and strategic alliances, good urban planning and infrastructure maintenance demand meticulous decision-making and collaborative efforts across various stakeholders, always with the citizen's well-being at the forefront.
It is imperative that civic authorities move beyond reactive measures and cultivate a transparent, accountable system that prioritizes human life. The repeated intervention of the Bombay High Court should serve as a wake-up call, demanding not just immediate fixes but systemic reforms to prevent such preventable tragedies from recurring.
Regards,
Hemen Parekh
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