Thums Up and Misplaced Patriotism

It must have been some time in the 1990s in India when the government allowed Coca Cola back into India. In my patriotic zeal propelled by teenage absolutism, I decided I would only drink the Indian brand "Thums Up," a cola that had a similar color and flavor as Coke. Thums Up was made by a company called Parle Products and it was bottled at a factory not far from our flat. Within days, I read the announcement that the owner of Parle Products had sold his company to Coca Cola. He had looked out for his own financial interest, and made me realize how naive I was to not think of mine. 

I thought of this story because of the convergence of a few events:

1. The CHIPS for America Act
2. India awarding contracts for trains to European Alstom
3. Honor's withdrawal from India

The CHIPS act has laudable goals to ensure that the US does not lose competitiveness in semiconductors. As long as the equipment to make semiconductors, the tools to design them, and the latest designs to use that equipment all originate from the US, then does it really matter where the actual chip gets manufactured in volume? The geographical closeness of Taiwan and South Korea to China and China's growing aggression in the Taiwan Strait seem to be the key reasons why this act was needed to secure continued supply of semiconductors. One can fully expect a future where the most advanced chips will be made in China, with our without American help. At that point, we'd just be artificially limiting our own access to lifestyle improvements made with Chinese technology.

Now let's take the case of the gradual build out of slow "metro railways" in India and the uncertainty of the rollout of the first "bullet train." By picking Alstom and Japan based companies, the Government of India is very likely penalizing the Indian populace by paying more for technology that's been most widely deployed in China. I had made a similar argument when India was picking mobile network technologies. National security concerns can be allayed technologically.

Finally, and Indian customer feeling patriotic and buying a more expensive local brand over a cheaper Chinese brand is doing disservice to himself, just like I was, when I stuck with Thums Up. Let's say a local manufacturer, takes a local loan and builds an inferior phone. Is that the best utilization of capital? Even with the self-evident assumption that all people are equally capable, the phone will likely be inferior because the local manufacturer does not have the same sales volume, supplier discounts, research and development as would a higher volume Chinese manufacturer.

References

1. Titles - H.R.7178 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): CHIPS for America Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
2. https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2022/07/alstom-wins-order-to-supply-52-metro-trains-to-india.html
3. Former Huawei smartphone sub-brand Honor said to withdraw team from India amid geopolitical tensions | South China Morning Post (scmp.com)

India at 75. A commentary on freedom.

Freedom is the ability to act without fear. The actions could be speaking one's mind, opening a business, traveling to destination of one's choice and even to do nothing at all. Freedom is enabled by personal security. Security against hunger, security that comes with shelter and security that your individual plan for life will not be upset by the changes around you. What is the pursuit of happiness other than the feeling that you can work yourself to a better situation by acquiring the education and the skills you think you need? These thoughts come to mind on the occasion of India's 75th Independence Day. I am an American citizen now, but I feel I can credibly express some fresh perspectives on freedom.

1. Is everyone in India free? The answer is clearly no. Kashmiris aren't free. Nagas want freedom. The land belongs to the people and the people should be able to decide if they want to be associated with a certain country or they want to be by themselves. My Gujarati family emigrated to Maharashtra generations ago. I think Maharashtra would do better as a free country. It doesn't make sense for Maharashtra to send money to the central government when farmers in its own province Vidarbha commit suicide when crops fail. The central government was created by the British to manage India. Unfortunately, we Indians have been trained to think that the political party in power in Delhi is indistinguishable from India.
2. The meaning of the word Adivasi is - early resident. If land ownership were to be decided by who occupied the land first, then India belongs to Adivasis. Everyone else must start paying rent to the Adivasis for occupying their land. It's not as ridiculous as it sounds. We, Indians have been paying tax to the occupiers for a long time, just not the Adivasis. We paid taxes to the Rajas and the Maharajas, to the Nawabs and the Chhatrapatis, to the Sultans and the Peshwas. We are used to propping up royalty with our labor and bowing before them. What justifies forcibly paying a portion of the income to a state? Clearly, my family must have thought that they have better prospects in Maharashtra. Maybe we were escaping the plunder caused by foreigners in Gujarat and accepted the terms of staying in Maharashtra. I  have emigrated to the US for similar reasons - better prospects. Freedom is perhaps the ability to pick whom to pay taxes. Had the people of Arunachal Pradesh been a part of China, their per capita income would have been $17,200 per annum instead of $2,453, in terms of purchasing power parity. Of course one can't put a price on escaping the Cultural Revolution, but it does make me pause for thought that an accident of geography would have changed the lives of so many people depending on which side of an imaginary line they landed upon.
3. One aspect of freedom is the ability to travel worldwide. With an American passport, I can travel to Europe, Japan, Australia, Korea, Canada, etc. without a visa. I am the same person I was - brown skin, Indian looks, but the paper I carry lets me travel freely. If I were in India, I would have to get a travel visa by first proving that I have a strong reason to return to India. Why would a foreign country want proof that Indians want to return home before granting a visa? The answer is the stark difference in the quality of life and the emigration statistics. A vast majority of Indians prefer the higher quality of life - good schools, roads, affordable houses, cars, ability to practice religion freely, etc. available in developed countries. Unless we are educated, developed countries feel like we would not contribute to their national advancement and that makes it harder to get a visa. Unless the Indian passport works without a visa, Indians should not believe any rhetoric from the Indian leadership about the worldwide respect for the Tiranga, and that India sets an example to the world, as sometimes claimed by flag waving Indians.

Neither Ambedkar, whom I greatly admire, nor the American founding fathers had the perfect vision for a just future. The constitution, laws, rules must be relegated to their appropriate position - subordinate to the welfare of people. True freedom is still far away.

Kuntal.

Engineers for Human Rights

A peaceful progressive society is built upon human rights being respected. With large chunks of everyday life being driven from our phones, it is time we set up a code of conduct for engineers who work on building those devices and associated technologies based on connected devices. The code of conduct should be used by conscientious engineers to take concrete decisions everyday, such as: project choice, hiring decisions, career progression, research subject choice, etc.

The technologies of concern that can lead to human rights violations when abused are: biometric tracing (facial recognition, emotion estimation, etc.), drone warfare (autonomously or remotely powered drones), communications (instant messaging, audio and video calls, emails), content filtering (authenticity, hate content, manipulative content, recommendation algorithms) and medical devices (remote health monitoring, nerve interfaces).

Code of Conduct

1. I will not enable technologies that strip away individual privacy.
2. I will build technologies that take human differences into account, with regards to physical differences, speech and cognitive ability.
3. When I test my technology, I will ensure that it doesn't work unless the logging, audit and reporting mechanisms function as designed.
4. I will enable data erasure on a personal device. I will not enable data erasure on a government device.
5. The default mode of operation for my technologies will be set to private and encrypted.
6. I will not build mass surveillance technology.
7. I will not enable machines that kill.
8. I will not build technologies that prey on or attempt to indoctrinate vulnerable people.
9. I will restrict the license to use my technology so that it can only be used in a way that human rights are not violated.
10. I acknowledge fundamental limits to understanding humans and will not work on technologies that identify emotions, ascertain guilt, etc.
11. I will educate myself on whistleblowing laws and use them appropriately when asked to do something that conflicts with my conscience.

While there are legitimate reasons for law enforcement to be using the technologies available to keep the society safe, it is up to engineers to build safeguards from misuse. As someone who intends to follow the points listed above, I would not hire an engineer who works for the NSO Group company that enabled governments around the world to tap into journalists' private communications.

If you're a student, I'd encourage you to take a look at UConn's excellent Engineering for Human Rights Initiative to plan your courses and join some organizations. While I don't have personal experience with them, it seems to provide good guidance on how next generation engineers could develop a social sense. After graduation, you may also consider joining the On-Call Scientists. For further reading: despite suffering from rigor mortis on the executive side, the UN does produce good quality documentation: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Regards,

Kuntal.

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