Kiran Jonnalagadda @jackerhack@mastodon.social

#introduction #india I'm a computer programmer, community organiser and digital rights activist based in Bangalore, India.

Growing up as a lonely, bullied kid in the 90s, I found solace in books, computers, and later, the online world. In my quest to find belonging, never quite fulfilled, I've been involved with various communities over the year. A biography in toots:

Got out a bit.

Not too long ago, UIDAI deemed Aadhaar as just a number, and the card as just a printout acknowledging the number. The public really wanted a card though. Now they've even securitized it. UIDAI's wilful rejection of reality is mindboggling. https://www.indiatoday.in/trending-news/story/varanasi-shops-give-onions-on-loan-by-keeping-aadhaar-card-as-mortgage-1624063-2019-12-01

@rssharma3@twitter.com @ShankkarAiyar@twitter.com @rachnakhaira@twitter.com Wrong hashtags. Should be #StateofAadhaar2019 #SoA2019 #SoA.

@rssharma3@twitter.com @ShankkarAiyar@twitter.com You know why Aadhaar's problems cannot be addressed? Because There Are No Problems™

@rssharma3@twitter.com claims the government overreacted when they kicked out 50,000 operators over one lone incident of credential sharing that @rachnakhaira@twitter.com apparently spun as a leak of a billion records.

Came to Delhi for the #StateofAadhaar2029 launch. Flabbergasted that @rssharma3@twitter.com is dismissing well established research on Aadhaar's problems as false, and that @ShankkarAiyar@twitter.com, who is moderating the panel, failed to call this out. So disappointed at the lack of honest discourse.

I'm not human enough to pass this CAPTCHA test. FML.

Why does this matter? Because far too many AI visions are pitched as a replacement for human skill. You no longer need to know how to do something because the AI will do it for you. But shouldn't we think of AI as a means to magnify human skill and intent rather than replace it?

… comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyse a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”

— Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

Listening to so many talks of caution on AI training at #anthillin, I'm reminded of this quote:

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, …

Reddit wisdom: “did you know:

the word legendary come from the latin word "legere" meaning "to read"

so a legendary person is someone you read about.

meaning, to become literally legendary, all you need to do is get someone to write something about you”
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/dzwjom/comment/f8ay137

One striking characteristic of Indiranagar's hipster cafes is the sambar rice cart on the road outside, where the staff go for their own lunch. Some bother to take off their uniform before stepping out. Others don't care.

Plain speaking by a retired judge. If only such concerns are acted on while judges are still in the court. https://m.hindustantimes.com/analysis/restoring-the-stature-of-the-supreme-court/story-5S5wTlwg9yo2hxWetboa1M_amp.html?__twitter_impression=true