Driverless cars, people-less factories and automated call centers

Man has evolved from generation to generation, from stone-age to modern age. He used different materials and developed new tools with every passing generation to ease his work. But the present evolution is aiming at replacing the man himself with machines. For example, take driverless cars which are already at advanced stages of testing phase. They have cameras to do the functions of eyes, sensors to replace the nervous system and a processor makes decisions and the car moves on without a driver.

Robots have been in use for many decades but the modern day robots are self-learning. They can be taught to do repetitive tasks which they will do tirelessly with same precision and produce quality output without exchanging stares with their production shop manager. Employers surely love these robots as they do not ask pay rise every year or won’t go on strike, so more and more robots are replacing the jobs previously done by humans. Many large scale factories are automated where robots do material handling, machining, welding, riveting, painting and packaging etc. tasks. These factories employ very lean human staff and getting close to be labeled people-less factories. These factories will rollout cars which won’t need drivers!

The recent advances in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has led to development of bots which can talk to (or chat with) customers, receive their complaints, provide information which were typically done by a customer care or call center employee. Not much time left for those in BPO industries before they are replaced with bots. The algorithms used in these bots understand the human language, the way we converse naturally along with our slangs. In the coming years you can employ a bot as your personal assistant, to schedule your calendar, to answer your calls and to plan your travel.

The corporate world will surely love these bots and robots as they improve business efficiency and improve profits. Will that lead to economic growth with fewer jobs? Probably so. And that is a bad news for half the world’s population which goes hungry and do not have a job to do. But the developed world would not care and the march of automaton would not stop. In the near future, most of those in developed world need not do physical work and they are reduced to just feel as all physical tasks are outsourced to a bot or robot. And the jobless will see that their chances of getting a job are further reducing.

Welcome to the new world of automation. You may think it is still far away in time before you face a bot/robot or interact with it. But in less than 10 years, they would have made inroads into your lives like how a cell phone made it into your pocket.

Not just Oil and Monsoon, Rajan and Modi too have done their bit too

We say thanks to low oil and not a bad monsoon for keeping inflation low. Many think that because of this situation Rajan and Modi are getting the credit. But I think they too have done their bit.

Absence of large scale corruption: First with Modi, lower price helped his Govt to get away with fuel subsidy and run the show with a lower fiscal deficit. True but there are other things to consider. Remember the days of UPA-2. None of the big scams like 2G or Coalgate which happened those days are not happening or at least so far. Larger scale corruption is not seen or seems to be cooking. That avoids the flow of balck money into the markets, especially the real estate. So real estate prices are in a check along with inflation. Avoiding the temptation to offer welfare policies helped to curb the fiscal deficit and thereby inflation. Many of his moves like ‘Make in India’ have remained a talk but even if a little progress is made in that direction, it would reduce import load for a large domestic consuming nation of ours. Even if he does not achieve much, he is surely not draining the national resources.

Fight against crony capitalism: Rajan (Governor of RBI) has put great effort in rebooting the banking system. Earlier Public sector banks mostly helped big businessmen; they gave big ticket loans and were never tough in recollecting their dues. But now they are forced to take tough decisions. It is surely a fight against crony capitalism. Apart from that he made the decisions and regulations transparent, linked the interest rates to CPI. His communications are consistent, policy stands have become predictable. More people know about the roles and responsibilities of a central bank now than before. Even if he leaves soon, he has already put a system in place which would help decisions of RBI in his absence.

So considering these factors apart from lower oil prices and a good monsoon forecast, are surely helping inflation to remain on the borders of 5%. Modi has three more years for him but Rajan’s continuity is in in doubt. If he too gets another three years stint, expect inflation too to remain in check and interest rates low. India’s economy would be in safe hands and may do consistently well too like the people at command.

I sincerely hope this good sport dos not get spoiled any time soon.

ಚಿಕ್ಕಂದಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಿದ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು

ನಮ್ಮೂರಲ್ಲಿ ಇರುವುದೇ ಎರಡು ಚಿತ್ರ ಮಂದಿರ. ಅವುಗಳ ಹೆಸರು ಹೆಸರಿಗೇ ಮಾತ್ರ. ಜನ ಕರೆಯುವುದು 'ಹಳೇ ಟಾಕೀಸು' ಮತ್ತು 'ಹೊಸ  ಟಾಕೀಸು' ಎಂದೇ. ನಾನು ಸುಮಾರು ಏಳೆಂಟು ವರ್ಷದವನಿದ್ದಾಗ (ಅಂದರೆ ಸುಮಾರು ಮೂವತ್ತು ವರ್ಷಗಳಿಗೂ ಹಿಂದೆ) ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡಲು ಶುರು ಮಾಡಿದ್ದು. ಅದಕ್ಕೂ ಮುಂಚೆ ನನ್ನ ಅಕ್ಕನ ಜೊತೆ ಹೋದ ನೆನಪಿದೆಯಾದರೂ, ಅವು ಯಾವ ಚಿತ್ರ ಎನ್ನುವ ನೆನಪಿಲ್ಲ. ಹೆಣ್ಣು ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಒಬ್ಬರೇ ಹೊರಗೆ ಹೋಗುವ ಕಾಲ ಅಂದಿಗೆ ಇದ್ದಿಲ್ಲ. ಅದಕ್ಕೇ ಅಕ್ಕ ನನಗೆ ಒಂದು ಪಾರ್ಲೆ-ಜಿ ಪೊಟ್ಟಣ ಕೊಡಿಸಿ ಜೊತೆಗೆಂದು ಕರೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದಳು. ಅವಳಿಗೆ ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮೀ ಅಭಿನಯಿಸಿದ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳೆಂದರೆ ಪ್ರಾಣ. ಚಿತ್ರ ಮುಗಿಯುವುದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಮುಂಚೆಯೇ ನಿದ್ದೆಗೆ ಜಾರಿರುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಎತ್ತಿಕೊಂಡು ಮನೆಗೆ ಬರುವ ಜವಾಬ್ದಾರಿ ಅವಳದ್ದು. ಅವಳಿಂದ ಚಿತ್ರ ಮಂದಿರಗಳ ಪರಿಚಯ ನನಗಾಯಿತಾದರೂ, ನಾನು ನೋಡಿದ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು ನೆನಪು ಮಾತ್ರ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ನಂತರದ್ದು.

ಇಬ್ಬರು-ಮೂವರು ಗೆಳೆಯರು ಮೊದಲೇ ಮಾತನಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು, ಪಿಚ್ಚರಿಗೆ ಹೋಗುವ ಮುನ್ನ ಸ್ವಚ್ಚ ಕೈ - ಕಾಲು ಮುಖ ತೊಳೆದುಕೊಂಡು, ಮುಖಕ್ಕೆ ಪೌಡರ್ ಬಳಿದುಕೊಂಡು, ಸಡಗರದಿಂದ ಸಜ್ಜುಗೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆವು. ವೇಳೆಯ ಸೂಚಕದಂತೆ ಇಡೀ ಊರಿಗೇ ಕೇಳಿಸುವಂತೆ ಟಾಕೀಸಿನ ಸ್ಪೀಕರ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ, 'ಶುಕ್ಲಾಂಭರಧರಂ ವಿಷ್ಣುಂ' ನಿಂದ ಆರಂಭವಾಗಿ, 'ಗಜಮುಖನೇ ಗಣಪತಿಯೇ' ಎಂದು ಕೊನೆಯ ಹಾಡು ಬರುವ ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆಲ್ಲ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನದ ಆರಂಭ. ಬೆಂಚು, ಕುರ್ಚಿ ಹಾಗೂ ಬಾಲ್ಕನಿಯ ಮೂರು ವರ್ಗಗಳಿದ್ದರೂ, ನಾವು ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿ  ಬೆಂಚಿನ ಮೇಲೆ ಕುಳಿತುಕೊಂಡು, ತಲೆ ಮೇಲೆ ಎತ್ತಿಕೊಂಡು ಬೆಳ್ಳಿ ಪರದೆಯ ಅಗಾಧತೆಯನ್ನು ಕಣ್ತುಂಬಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆವು. 

ಆಗ ನೋಡಿದ ಮೂರು ಚಿತ್ರಗಳ ಅಸ್ಪಷ್ಟ ನೆನಪು, ಆದರೆ ಅವುಗಳ ಕೆಲವು ಸನ್ನಿವೇಶಗಳ ನೆನಪು ಮಾತ್ರ ಅಚ್ಚೊತ್ತಿದಂತಿದೆ. ಆ ಮೂರು ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು ಯಾವುವೆಂದರೆ - 'ಚಲಿಸುವ ಮೋಡಗಳು', 'ಸಾಹಸ ಸಿಂಹ' ಮತ್ತು 'ನ್ಯಾಯ ಎಲ್ಲಿದೆ?'. ಈ ಮೂರೂ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು ತೆರೆ ಕಂಡಿದ್ದು ೧೯೮೨ ರಲ್ಲಿ. ಆದರೆ ಬಿಡುಗಡೆಯಾದ ೨-೩ ವರ್ಷದ ನಂತರವೇ ಅವು ಚಿಕ್ಕ ಊರುಗಳಿಗೆ ಬರುತ್ತಿದ್ದದ್ದು. ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ನಾನು ಅವುಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡಿದ್ದು ಬಹುಶ ೧೯೮೫ ರ ಆಸು ಪಾಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ. ಇಂದಿಗೆ ರಾಜಕುಮಾರ್ ಅವರನ್ನು ಆರಾಧಿಸುವ ನನಗೆ, ಬಾಲ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಅವರ ಚಿತ್ರ ಅಷ್ಟು ಇಷ್ಟ ಆಗುತ್ತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಫೈಟಿಂಗ್ ಇರದ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡುವುದೆಂತು? ಆದರೆ  'ಚಲಿಸುವ ಮೋಡಗಳು' ಚಿತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಆಕರ್ಷಿಸಿದ್ದು ಪುನೀತ್ ನ ಅಭಿನಯ. 'ಕುಂಬಳಿ ಕಾಯಿ ಬಳ್ಳಿಲಿಟ್ಟನೋ ನಮ್ಮ ಶಿವ' ಎಂದು ಹಾಡುವ ಪರಿ ಮನರಂಜಿಸುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ನಂತರದ ಚಿತ್ರ 'ಸಾಹಸ ಸಿಂಹ'. ಅದು ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣ ಹೊಡೆದಾಟದ ಚಿತ್ರ. ಆ ಚಿತ್ರ ನೋಡಿದಾಗಿಂದ ನಮ್ಮ ಓಣಿಯ ಹುಡುಗರೆಲ್ಲ ವಿಷ್ಣುವರ್ಧನ್ ಅವರ ಕಟ್ಟಾಭಿಮಾನಿ ಆಗಿ ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದರು. ಅದರ ಸನ್ನಿವೇಶ ಒಂದರಲ್ಲಿ, ವಿಷ್ಣುವರ್ಧನ್ ಸುರಂಗ ಮಾರ್ಗ ದಿಂದ ಹೊರ ಬಂದಾಗ, ಹೆಡೆ ಎತ್ತಿ ನಿಂತ ನಾಗರ ಹಾವೊಂದನ್ನು ಎವೆ ಇಕ್ಕದೇ ನೋಡುವ ದೃಶ್ಯ ನನ್ನ ನೆನಪಿನ ಪಟಲದಿಂದ ಇಂದೂ ಮಾಸಿಲ್ಲ. ಆದರೆ ಇದನ್ನು ಮೀರಿಸುವ ಅನುಭವ ನನಗಾದದ್ದು ಶಂಕರ್ ನಾಗ್ ರ ಚಿತ್ರ ನೋಡಿದಾಗ. ಅದು 'ನ್ಯಾಯ ಎಲ್ಲಿದೆ?' ಚಿತ್ರ. ಅದರ ಮೊದಲ ದೃಶ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ, ತುಂಬು ತೋಳಿನ ಲೆದರ್ ಜಾಕೆಟ್, ಕೈಗೆ ಅದೇ ಕಪ್ಪು ಬಣ್ಣದ ಕೈಗವಸು ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡು, ಬುಲೆಟ್ ಗಾಡಿಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಬರುವ ನಾಯಕ, ತನ್ನ ಶತ್ರುಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ಸೇಡು ತೀರಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಪಣ ತೊಡುತ್ತಾನೆ. ನಾಯಕನ ಹಾವ-ಭಾವ, ವೇಷ-ಭೂಷಣ, ರೋಷ-ದ್ವೇಷಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡಿದ ನನ್ನ ಎಳೆ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಇವನಿಗಿಂತ 'ಹೀರೋ' ಬೇರೊಬ್ಬನಿಲ್ಲ ಎನ್ನಿಸಿಬಿಟ್ಟಿತ್ತು. ಮುಂದೆ ಬೆಳೆದಂತೆಲ್ಲ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯಗಳು ಬದಲಾದರೂ, ನಾನು ಚಿಕ್ಕಂದಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಒಪ್ಪಿಕೊಂಡಂತ ಮೊದಲ ಹೀರೋ ಎಂದರೆ  ಶಂಕರ್ ನಾಗ್. 

ಅದಾಗಿ ಕೆಲವೇ ವರ್ಷಗಳಿಗೆ ಶಂಕರ್ ನಾಗ್ ಅಗಲಿ ಹೋದರು. ನಮಗಾಗಲೇ 'ಮೃಗಾಲಯ' ಚಿತ್ರದ ಅಂಬರೀಶ್ ಇಷ್ಟವಾಗ ತೊಡಗಿದ್ದ. ಮುಂದೆ ಕೆಲವೇ ವರ್ಷಗಳಿಗೆ ರವಿಚಂದ್ರನ್ ಹಾಗೂ ಶಿವರಾಜ್ ಕುಮಾರ್ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು ಚಿತ್ರ ರಂಗಕ್ಕೆ ವೈವಿಧ್ಯತೆ ತಂದವು. ಆದರೆ ಆ ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆಲ್ಲ ಬಾಲ್ಯದ ಮುಗ್ಧತೆ ಮರೆಯಾದ ನಮಗೆ ಬೆಳ್ಳಿ ತೆರೆಯ ಆಕರ್ಷಣೆಯೂ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಆಯಿತು. ಚಲನ ಚಿತ್ರ ಒಂದು ಮನರಂಜನ ಮಾಧ್ಯಮ, ಅಲ್ಲಿಯ ಖಳ ನಾಯಕರು ನಿಜ ಜೀವನದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಟ್ಟವರೇನಲ್ಲ ಎನ್ನುವ ಸಂಗತಿ ಮನದಟ್ಟಾಗಿತು. ನಿಜ ಜೀವನದ ಸಂಘರ್ಶಗಳನ್ನು, ಭಾವುಕತೆಯ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ವಿವೇಕದ ಮಾರ್ಗ ತೋರುವ ರಾಜಕುಮಾರ್ ರ ಹಾಗು ಪುಟ್ಟಣ್ಣ ಕಣಗಾಲ್ ನಿರ್ದೇಶನದ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು ಇಷ್ಟವಾಗತೊಡಗಿದವು. ಆದರೆ ಅವೆಲ್ಲ ಬದಲಾವಣೆಯ ಮುಂಚಿನ ಕಾಲಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗಿ ನೋಡುವುದಾದರೆ, ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಅಗ್ರ ಸ್ಥಾನದಲ್ಲಿರುವುದು ಶಂಕರ್ ನಾಗ್ ಮತ್ತು ವಿಷ್ನುವರ್ಧನ್. ಅವರ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು ನನ್ನ ಸುಪ್ತ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ತೀವ್ರವಾದ, ಅಳಿಸಲು ಆಗದಂತ ಅನುಭವಗಳನ್ನು ಮೂಡಿಸಿವೆ. ಚಿಕ್ಕಂದಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಿದ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳ ಪ್ರಭಾವದ ಎಲ್ಲರ ಮೇಲೂ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ ಎನ್ನುವುದು ನನ್ನ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ. 

ಅಂದ ಹಾಗೆ ನೀವು ಜೀವನದಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಿದ ಮೊದಲ ಪಿಚ್ಚರ್ ಯಾವುದು? ನೆನಪಿದೆಯೇ? ನೀವು ಅದರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಬರೆಯುವಿರಾ?

Technology readiness vs Market acceptance

Technology changes the way we live and the way we do things. It is the need or curiosity which results in innovation, new products and technologies but they may not always be readily accepted by the end market. There are few winners for which market was waiting so in no time they get into mainstream and many others have to wait for their time while the rest will be left out and forgotten. Economics of adopting new technology should make sense for the new innovation to live on.

Few success stories:

For example, agriculture was dominated by cattle farming few decades ago but now the use of Tractors and the related farm equipment has reached the most interior rural regions. There was a need for higher farm output with finite labor force available so the tractors have become a necessity.

Similarly, in the construction sector, labors carrying loads on their head is being reduced and replaced with the use of equipment. Thanks to these earth movers, they do what is impossible for human hands. Advances in the construction technology are being adopted seamlessly as the market was waiting for it

.

Few struggling technologies:

PV Solar seemed to be a godsend technology to meet the energy deficits. Though technology is maturing and there are many product offerings available, it is not replacing the existing sources of energy generation. Reason is the costs are high. Take out the Govt. subsidies, PV solar does not look attractive and for few projects it is not economically feasible. So despite attracting lots of attention, it is not getting into mainstream. In other words market is not ready for it. It has to wait for its time to come.

New technologies testing water soon:

After the computerization and internet revolutions, the IT industry is getting ready for the new wave of technologies such as Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence helping to produce robots which are capable of doing most of mechanical things that humans do. There are driver-less cars, drones to transport goods or deliver pizza and lots of efforts are done in improving the battery technology to store significant energy for longer periods. Take a look at this video in which a Robot regains its position after being kicked and continues do its job. It is a cool thing to watch.

So will be driver less cars, technology will soon make it happen. But the question is whether market is ready for it? The success of these products depends on at what price they would become available, how many could afford it and what problems they solve to score over existing arrangements? There is a huge income-wealth gap across the world and within the countries too. In many Asian countries, hiring a driver would be cheaper to owning a driver less car. Similarly the smart robots may not be economically feasible to replace human labors for many years to come.

Though technology makes it possible, costs can become a barrier and these innovations may have to wait for longer periods to become viable and get adopted by the larger market. Until then, they might remain as fashion toys for the ultra-rich.

Book Review: The Glass Bead Game by Herman Hesse

The Glass Bead Game is no simple game but a rigorous study and practice of culmination of many subjects such as Mathematics, Music and Philosophy. It is the synthesis of all the sciences and arts existed on this world. It is taught to a chosen few in the elite school of Castalia.

Joseph Knecht, protagonist of this novel, is selected by the The Music Master for his talents in music to study at the elite school. His passion and commitment to the study of the Glass Bead Game attracts the attention of the management who runs the elite school of Castalia. After his studies, he joins the service of The Order as part of management in the same school he studied. He goes on an assignment to another institution to advocate them on the game and the success he receives there catapults him into the hierarchical top position known as Magister Ludi in his home institution. Though he has risen to top position, he thinks the foundation of school he serves are not strong as he thought them to be and The Order having political inclinations would not suit well for the development of glass bead game or the culture of their school. He has some driving force to leave behind all this to go to the external world. He has a friend who came as guest student into the elite school when Knecht was a student. After long and painful thought process, Knecht decides to leave Castalia and go to his friend to tutor his son. After reaching there, his life comes to a swift end as he drowns in a brief swimming race with his student.

As the novel ends, there begins the posthumous works of Knecht. A set of poems and three short stories (or biographies) which Knecht wrote based on his imagination of what he was in his previous lives. These three stories under “Three Lives” titled Rainmaker, Father Confessor and Indian Life are good reads than the main novel itself. They have strong reflection psychic functions and are capable of changing one’s perspective (like the author’s earlier novel Siddhartha). They can enhance one’s understanding of spiritual life and how the transformation takes place. Rainmaker is about the tragic end of the person who predicts rain to help his community to begin their agricultural activities. Father Confessor is about the discussions between two Christian hermits on understanding of their role in life. In Indian Life author explains the concept of Maya in the form of a life story.

For those who have read Herman Hesse’s works Siddhartha and Steppenwolf, this book would appear to be continuation of his writing mold, but more philosophical.

Herman Hesse was born in Germany in 1877 but moved to Switzerland during the First World War, the times during which arts and literature were oppressed. This novel symbolically represents that with the protagonist moving away from where he belonged protesting the change in culture.

All of Hesse’s novels have spiritual inclinations and author dissects the process of spiritual transformation with a lens of psycho-analysis. He was awarded Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946.