What to Read in Indian Express Editorial( Topic and Syllabus wise)

Editorial 1 : User as Creator

Context: We can’t just be users of AI; we have to be its co-creators.

Introduction: India contributes 16% of global AI talent and has the fastest -growing developer population worldwide. AI skill penetration in India surpasses the US and Germany.

Homegrown Innovations

• Indigenous AI models like Sarvam-1 (11 Indian languages) and Hanooman (12 languages).
• IndiaAI Mission: Focus on infrastructure expansion, research, and accessibility.

Key Challenges

• Digital Divide
  1. Urban vs. rural disparity: Tools like chatbots fail to address dialects (e.g., Shabnam, a Mumbai health worker).
  2. Assumptions of digital fluency in interfaces exclude non-tech-savvy users.
• Contextual Irrelevance
  1. AI recommendations lack local context (e.g. pricing apps for vendors, credit systems for self-help groups).
  2. Data biases: Models trained on internet-scraped data ignore India’s linguistic and cultural pluralism.
• Top-Down Deployment: Tools prioritize availability over usable access, reinforcing exclusion.

 Redefining AI Literacy as a Democratic Right

• Shifting the Narrative
  1. From Technical Skills to Critical Agency
     • Focus on enabling citizens to question AI systems: Who built it? For whom? With what consequences?
     • Example: Vegetable vendors assessing fairness of AI pricing apps.
  2. Situated Literacy: Root AI education in local needs (e.g. workflows of nurses, farmers, gig workers).
• Past Success: India’s Digital Finance Revolution
  1. The digital finance revolution relied on community intermediaries (bank sakhis, WhatsApp groups) to build trust and usability.
  2. This suggests a need for AI ambassadors to bridge tech-community gaps.

 Current Initiatives and Gaps

• Progress in Language and Skill Development
  1. Language Support: Sarvam-1 and Hanooman cover 11–12 languages but miss hundreds of dialects.
  2. Skill Programs: Microsoft’s goal to train 10 million Indians in AI/cloud skills by 2030.
• Limitations
  1. Data Representation: Most datasets lack hyper-local context (accents, customs, knowledge systems).
  2. Inclusive Design: Tools remain urban-centric, excluding rural and non-English speakers.

 Way Forward: Recommendations for Inclusive AI Development

• Co-Creation with Communities: Engage teachers, municipal staff, and NGOs to build datasets reflecting India’s diversity.
• Hyper-Local Tools: Develop AI for specific workflows (e.g. farm labourer advisories, healthcare translations).
• AI Ambassadors: Train community liaisons to demystify AI and gather feedback.
• Feedback Loops: Allow users to shape AI evolution (e.g. iterative improvements based on vendor/farmer input).
• Inclusive Dissemination: Prioritize transparency in AI design and data sourcing.
• Algorithmic Accountability: Reject neutrality myths, audit the AI tools for bias and fairness.

 Conclusion: There is a growing need to treat AI literacy as a movement, not a curriculum. Success hinges on trust, community collaboration, and bottom-up innovation. India must transition from being AI users to co-creators, ensuring tools serve all citizens equitably.

 

Editorial 2 : Missing the Shot

Context: Vaccination challenges around the world.

 Introduction: Vaccines introduced in the late 18th century have drastically reduced infectious disease mortality. Development of Covid vaccines within a year of the pandemic highlighted scientific progress.

 Current Challenges in Global Immunization

• Declining Immunization Efforts
  1. Global Slackening: Immunization drives have slowed, even in developed nations.
  2. Outbreaks Resurgence
     • Measles: 61 countries reported outbreaks in 2023–24. The U.S. faces its first outbreak since 2000.
     • Meningitis: 1,400 deaths across 24 countries in 2024.
     • Yellow Fever & Other Diseases: WHO, UNICEF, and Gavi warn of increasing preventable disease outbreaks.
• Funding Crisis
  1. Impact on Agencies: WHO, UNICEF, and Gavi face financial constraints, limiting vaccination programs in poor countries and conflict zones like Gaza.
  2. U.S. Funding Cuts: Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC’s) budget reductions led to the termination of the world’s largest Covid vaccine safety study (Global Vaccine Data Centre project).

 Case Study: United States

• Declining Vaccination Rates
  1. Post-Pandemic Drop: Slight decrease in immunization rates for measles, polio, whooping cough, and chickenpox.
  2. Herd Immunity Loss: Pockets of unvaccinated kindergarteners (e.g. Alaska: 10% vaccination rate drop in 2 years).
• Political & Misinformation Challenges
  1. Trump-Era Policies: Anti-vaccine sentiment surged during Trump’s presidency.
  2. Robert Kennedy’s Role: Vaccine-sceptic U.S. health secretary criticized for spreading misinformation.

 Consequences of Inaction

• Global Health Risks: Resurgence of preventable diseases threatens progress made over centuries.
• Fragmented Efforts: Over-reliance on single donors (e.g. U.S. withdrawal from WHO) jeopardizes global coordination.

 Way Forward

• Diversify Funding: Engage governments, corporations, and philanthropic groups to fill financial gaps.
• Combat Misinformation: Strengthen public health communication to counter anti-vaccine narratives.
• Rebuild Trust: Restore funding to agencies like the CDC and WHO to ensure long-term immunization programs.

 Conclusion: The fight against infectious diseases requires sustained global collaboration, robust funding, and proactive measures to counter misinformation. Without urgent action, humanity risks losing decades of public health gains.