Real chance for India to escape the rare earth bind
In every challenge lies an opportunity is a tired old cliché. But China's decision to weaponise its near monopoly over the supply of rare earth permanent magnets (REPMs) has converted the cliché into an engineering opportunity. Trade and tariff wars over rare earths, notwithstanding the 'deals' struck, are a wake-up call at precisely the moment that kinks and bends have developed – thanks to AI – in the stem of the traditional funnel of infotechthrough which India's engineering colleges pour fresh graduates into the job market. Read full story on TOI+
Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author's own.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Deccan Herald
25 minutes ago
- Deccan Herald
Rethinking AI: The lessons for India
The 2025 Human Development Report (HDR) by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) offers more than statistics and rankings. While the HDR is often reported in the media for India's position on the Human Development Index (HDI), this year's report demands a much deeper engagement. Titled 'A Matter of Choices: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI', the report invites India, and the world, to reflect on how we are going to deal with transformative technologies like AI which will probably shape the future of the forces nations to rethink and confront urgent ethical, social, and political questions of our times, especially around AI. It places AI at the centre of the development discourse and raises a pressing question: will AI empower humanity or deepen inequality? In India, where rapid digital growth coexists with vast socio-economic gaps, the answer will be decided by the choices we make now..A key aspect of the report highlights a troubling paradox. Despite unprecedented technological advances, global human development is stagnating. The rebound from the 2020-21 decline in HDI is weak, and gaps between high and low HDI countries are widening. AI is hailed as a transformative force – 'the new electricity' – and yet, the lived reality for millions remains unchanged or in fact, paradox is highly relevant for India. Though it is the fastest-growing major economy and home to an expanding digital infrastructure, it faces persistent inequalities in education, healthcare, gender equity, and digital access. Without intentional and inclusive policy design, AI may deepen these than treating AI as inherently good or bad, the HDR calls for a people-centric approach that gives primacy to human agency. The future of AI, it argues, must be guided by democratic values, ethical governance, and shared responsibility. If not, we risk replacing human agency with algorithmic India, this means building AI tools and institutions that serve the many, not just the few. India's growing digital platforms along with its startup ecosystem give it a strong foundation. But realising the full potential of AI will require conscious efforts to embed human rights, privacy, fairness, and inclusion into AI design, deployment, and report makes a strong case for 'AI-augmented human development' rather than AI-led automation. It urges nations to create 'complementary economies' where AI enhances human creativity and productivity rather than replacing it. This is critical for a labour-rich country like India, where the real challenge lies in generating decent-quality HDR also warns of rising geopolitical tensions and the growing weaponisation of AI. With China and the US competing to dominate AI development and markets, developing countries risk becoming dependent 'data colonies.' But AI is not merely an industrial or strategic arms race; it is a political and ethical choice. For India, the goal should not be dominance but dignity: building an AI model that respects its constitutional values, protects diversity, and serves all sections of has no choice but to tread carefully. As a founding member of the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) and a leader of the Global South, it is well positioned to champion multilateral governance of AI that is inclusive and accountable. But it must avoid falling into techno-nationalism or strategic alignments that compromise its sovereignty or developmental user to critical insight in the HDR is the emergence of an AI divide – a new form of inequality layered over existing development gaps. Countries at the AI frontier are moving at jet speed, while others are falling behind. India, though ambitious, lags in investments, infrastructure, and global influence in the report cites LinkedIn data showing that India has the world's highest self-reported AI skill penetration. But this alone is not enough. Are we producing AI creators or merely users? Are we building indigenous technologies or relying on foreign platforms? To move from aspiration to leadership, India must invest in research, computing capacity, open data frameworks, and talent HDR rightly identifies the vacuum in AI governance. It calls for new models of regulation that are transparent, flexible, and responsive to societal needs. As our earlier experience suggests, in the absence of strong public institutions, private tech companies set the rules. This is a global problem but also a local opportunity. India must lead by example. As the world's largest democracy, it can propose frameworks that are rooted in constitutional rights, participatory governance, and public accountability. India can advocate for global AI standards that reflect the priorities of the Global perhaps the most important contribution of the HDR is its emphasis on narrative. The way AI is discussed – as destiny, disruption or deliverance – shapes public policy. The report warns against surrendering to narratives that glorify automation and ignore the social consequences of unchecked innovation. In India, the media, civil society, and academia must foster informed debates on AI. They must question hype, expose harm, and amplify marginal voices. India's rich democratic tradition offers the perfect ground for promoting such discourse. But this requires vigilance and active engagement, not passive a way, the UNDP's 2025 HDR offers a sobering but powerful message: human development is not determined by machines but by choices. The age of AI is not just a test of our intelligence but of our wisdom. India with its unique demographic, technological, and democratic mix, has the opportunity to craft an alternative AI path – one that is inclusive, ethical, and globally relevant. In the end, the question is not whether AI will define our future. The question is: will we define AI to serve a future we believe in?.(The writer is a professor of journalism and Regional Director at Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal)
Time of India
32 minutes ago
- Time of India
Temasek joins Microsoft, BlackRock and MGX to develop AI infrastructure
Temasek has joined a consortium backed by Microsoft , BlackRock and tech investment company MGX to invest and expand artificial intelligence infrastructure, according to BlackRock's investor day presentation slides on Thursday. The Singapore state investment company has joined AI Infrastructure Partnership , a group that also includes BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners, the slides showed. AIP, formed in September with a goal to initially invest more than $30 billion in AI-related projects, is one of the world's largest efforts to invest in data centres and energy facilities needed to power AI applications such as ChatGPT. It aims to mobilise up to $100 billion including debt financing for such investments, which will focus on the United States. Temasek's participation comes after the Kuwait Investment Authority joined AIP earlier in June. The sovereign wealth fund of Kuwait was the first non-founder financial anchor investor to join the consortium, which also counts partners including Nvidia and billionaire Elon Musk's xAI. "Temasek's investment in the AI Infrastructure Partnership reflects our focus on the big shifts and trends of the future," Ravi Lambah, Temasek's head of strategic initiatives, said in an email to Reuters. "AI is potentially the most transformative and impactful technology for all sectors and businesses," he added. Temasek did not disclose financial details of the investment. The global investment company had a net portfolio value of S$389 billion ($304 billion) as of March 31, 2024, according to its website.
Time of India
32 minutes ago
- Time of India
'Neocloud' Crusoe to buy $400 million worth of AMD chips for AI data centers
By Max A. Cherney SAN FRANCISCO: Crusoe CEO Chase Lochmiller said on Thursday the artificial intelligence data center builder planned to purchase roughly $400 million worth of AI chips from Advanced Micro Devices to add to its portfolio of computing power. The cloud computing startup is aiming to build a data center - or cluster - to house the AMD AI chips in the U.S. and will rent them to customers for building AI models and running applications. Crusoe plans to purchase roughly 13,000 MI355X chips and use a liquid cooling system. The chips will be housed in a single facility that will come online in the fall that can be divvied up to several customers, or a single customer if there is one that wants to use the entire cluster, Lochmiller told Reuters in an interview. Crusoe's data centers are purpose-built to house AI chips, which it says allows it to offer superior performance compared with older designs. The company has developed pre-fabricated components to speed data center construction, similar to how pre-fabricated homes reduce construction time. "Where startups lack in scale and people and capital, compared to some of the hyperscalers, where we can compete is actually being nimble, fast and have a high density of engineering talent," Lochmiller said. AMD 's AI chips offer an alternative to the hardware sold by Nvidia, which has dominated the market. The AMD MI355X chips Crusoe plans to purchase include a large amount of high-bandwidth memory, which makes them well suited for running AI applications, which is known as inference. Crusoe is among a crop of companies that are building cloud computing services specifically for AI companies, usually by amassing large numbers of Nvidia chips. Nvidia has armed this group of newer companies with AI chips, in part, because it allows them to diversify its revenue away from cloud computing giants such as Microsoft. Now, AMD is attempting to execute a similar plan. "I think it's reaffirming of the neocloud strategy," Lochmiller said. "These new platforms have a lot of value to add to the ecosystem by providing infrastructure to big users of AI," Lochmiller said.
