Big Data

In the last few years, data has been likened, aside from the hackneyed comparison to ‘oil’, to any number of tangible entities such as mineral deposits, dividend deposits, and even the Alaskan Permanent Fund. Metaphors as a tool could re-entrench existing power asymmetries or resist them, depending on how they impact and influence our…

Over the past two years, there have been concerning instances of excess and malpractice by Big Tech, leading to serious social, political, and economic consequences. These include data extractivism, increased worker precarity, setbacks in gender justice, the domination of developing countries' infrastructure, manipulation of global governance…

Technology is often heralded as the ultimate answer to all developmental issues, although it is a mere tool. Through its flagship programs like Digital India, Smart Cities, and Startup India, India is gearing up for a technological revolution, but it holds as many threats as promises for our political and social system. From education to health…

IT for Change provided feedback for the EU Consultation for the New Competition Tool and the Digital Services Act Package.

This was followed up with a questionnaire that included our inputs.

The EU proposal for a New Competition Tool is one of the measures aimed at addressing gaps in the current EU competition rules and allowing…

The Gopalakrishnan Committee set up by the government on developing a governance framework for non-personal data recently put out its draft report for public consultation. The report’s main purpose is to ensure wide sharing and availability of data in society. To ensure that companies share the required data, it was found necessary to develop…

Ensuring wide data availability may help India develop its AI industry and avoid external dependence.

Geo-political and economic power in the industrial age was determined by one’s expertise in manufacturing. In a digital society, it’s likely to be based on command over artificial intelligence (AI). As an information age takes over,…

Data is almost universally recognised as the most valuable economic resource today. Seven out of the top 10 companies globally by market capitalisation are data-centric. In these circumstances, it appears strange that there has hardly been any worthwhile attempt to look at who has economic rights to various kinds of data, and how these rights…

In October and November 2018, during the Great Indian Festival season in India, online retail giants — Amazon, Flipkart and Paytm Mall — sold goods worth $4.3 billion (Rs 29,947 crore), 43 percent higher than the last year.

Traders in physical retail must now reckon with the rather disconcerting reality of e-commerce. The press note…

Over the last two decades, several private ed-tech companies have rolled out ICT programmes in government schools using the BOOT model and proprietary software. However, the BOOT model bypasses the teacher and fails to demonstrate significant impact on learning processes or outcomes. This article discusses why we need non-profit, free and open…

Current trajectories of the network-data complex relying on corporate partnerships cast data and intelligence as purely market goods. Investment by state in public data architectures could show the way for new possibilities in this direction. Read more for  Anita Gurumurthy's take on 'data for development partnerships'.

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