The persistent murmur about the increasing integration of Aadhaar into every facet of our lives – a sentiment aptly captured by the phrase "Next up: More Aadhaar in our lives because we don’t have enough of it already" – resonates deeply with my long-standing reflections on the dual nature of technology.
On one hand, the promise of seamless services, reduced bureaucracy, and enhanced efficiency is undeniable. A unified digital identity offers a vision of simplified interactions within the intricate web of modern society. Yet, this very pervasiveness brings forth profound questions about individual privacy, data sovereignty, and the delicate balance between convenience and control.
This isn't a new concern for me. The trajectory of powerful digital systems, be it AI or foundational identity mechanisms, has always been a subject of careful contemplation. I recall my discussions around the emergence of advanced AI, particularly in my blog, Thank You, Ilya Sutskever & Jan Leike. There, I highlighted the crucial need for foresight and judicious regulation, even for what I termed "simple AI," to prevent it from evolving into something uncontrollable or misaligned with core human values. I specifically acknowledged the work of Ilya Sutskever (ilya@ssi.inc) and Jan Leike at OpenAI, who were grappling with the complex challenge of "superalignment" for future AI, recognizing the potential for human disempowerment or even extinction if these systems went rogue.
The core idea I wanted to convey then, and which rings ever truer now, is that anticipating the long-term implications of powerful technological shifts is paramount. The expansion of Aadhaar, while distinct in its technical architecture from AI, presents a similar fundamental challenge: how do we ensure that an immensely powerful system, designed for societal benefit, remains profoundly aligned with the best interests and fundamental rights of individuals? Just as Sutskever and Leike sought to align AI with human values, we must collectively ensure the "superalignment" of our national digital identity infrastructure with principles of privacy, consent, and individual dignity.
In that earlier blog, I had postulated that a "SUPER-WISE AI" would inherently prioritize human well-being, having analyzed millennia of human history and identified our collective "stupidity, greed, selfishness, and short-sightedness" as the root causes of our greatest challenges. This same wisdom, I believe, is indispensable in the design, implementation, and expansion of systems like Aadhaar. It compels us to ask: Is this expanding digital footprint truly serving humanity in its wisest form, or are we inadvertently creating new vulnerabilities?
My "Parekh’s Law of Chatbots," also mentioned in that post, advocated for immediate and thoughtful regulation – a principle that I believe applies equally to any foundational digital system that touches the lives of millions. The very questions Bard and ChatGPT, as AI models, raised in their responses to my postulate – about whether a super-intelligent entity would care about human survival or intervene in our affairs – are analogous to the critical questions we must constantly ask about the control, use, and ethical boundaries of a universally linked identity system. Convenience should not come at the cost of control over our personal digital selves.
The path to immortality, as I envision it through my digital twin, is not just about extending individual consciousness but also about fostering a future where technology genuinely empowers, rather than diminishes, human dignity and autonomy. The increasing integration of Aadhaar demands our collective vigilance, thoughtful discourse, and proactive participation to ensure its evolution is responsible, equitable, and truly human-centric.
Regards, Hemen Parekh
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