Articles by Vivek Wadhwa
The curse of Artificial Intelligence
AI is not presently suited to making judgement calls. Until we create systems that do an excellent job of excising the bias and retaining the useful historical data about us and our lives, AI left unchecked is more of a risk than a benefit to society
Updated on Apr 18, 2019 07:59 PM IST
Instead of pursuing an MBA, start or join world-changing companies
Entrepreneurs can out-innovate big players since the cost of developing technology has fallen
Published on Mar 29, 2019 06:19 PM IST
Anyone can become an entrepreneur. Here’s why
Research done by a Duke and Harvard team found that family entrepreneurship, prior interest, and extreme interest, did not heavily influence the success of first-generation entrepreneur. So what had? Tertiary education — though not which university they’d graduated from — provided a huge advantage.
Updated on Mar 11, 2019 07:31 PM IST
OPINION | Pay close attention to matters of the heart
Technology executives are notorious for believing they have special powers and are indestructible. They become obsessed with making money and achieving success — to the detriment of their health. I know because I am one of them.
Published on Feb 20, 2019 08:51 PM IST
Come clean when things go wrong
The controversies involving Jeff Bezos and Ralph Northam show why building trust is important
Updated on Feb 12, 2019 11:16 AM IST
Regardless of the fears and risk, the space race will benefit all of us
The opportunities are endless: biological experimentation; resource extraction; figuring out how to live on other planets; space travel; and tourism
Updated on Jan 19, 2019 02:51 PM IST
We are challenging our evolution
We have just entered the era of designer babies with China’s first gene-edited baby. The question is whether they can use this newfound superpower in a responsible way that will benefit the planet and its people.
Updated on Nov 27, 2018 04:17 PM IST
Why Apple failed in India — and how it can recover
Apple could use India’s market to its advantage: to make it a testbed for its experimental technologies.
Updated on Nov 13, 2018 03:01 PM IST
Trump’s trade war offers the Indian IT sector an opening
Helping the US bring manufacturing back home could create a $100-bn market for Indian farms
Updated on Oct 23, 2018 12:11 PM IST
India has not lost the AI race, it can still build a trillion-dollar industry
Software’s real value lies in its implementation: what you do with it. Anyone can use openly available Artificial Intelligence codes to build advanced applications
Updated on Oct 05, 2018 07:44 PM IST
How clean energy can be India’s saviour
India should cut red tape, offer subsidies, and do whatever it takes to transform the majority of its energy generation to solar and wind — by 2025 or sooner
Updated on Sep 26, 2018 12:58 PM IST
Indian entrepreneurs should use tech for humanity rather than just for profit
You can be sure that governments and investors are funding the most profitable and malicious uses of technologies. That is why it is so important to teach India’s entrepreneurs about the advances and to inspire, motivate, and support their efforts.
Published on Sep 04, 2018 06:13 PM IST
Apple or Google should take over Tesla
Now, as Tesla struggles with its cash balances, extremely negative press, and Elon Musk’s erratic tweets, it is at another crossroad and, in order to reach its potential, needs a strategic partner. It may not make sense for it to continue as a public company.
Updated on Aug 22, 2018 01:05 PM IST
It’s time to bust a few Silicon Valley myths
Age, gender and lack of capital should not come in the way of building an innovation economy
Published on Aug 06, 2018 06:08 PM IST
WhatsApp groups are a hazard and need to be recalled
The encryption of messages prevents law-enforcement officials and even WhatsApp itself from viewing what is being said
Updated on Jul 13, 2018 12:09 PM IST
Why liberal arts and the humanities are as important as engineering
An engineering degree is very valuable, but the sense of empathy that comes from music, arts, literature and psychology provides a big advantage in design.
Updated on Jun 22, 2018 06:28 PM IST
Silicon Valley needs to wake up to the dark side of its inventions
The problems won’t solve themselves; policy makers and academics don’t understand enough to take the lead. The creators of the technologies must lead the discussions on ethics, regulations, and controls.
Updated on Jun 09, 2018 04:29 PM IST
Why India’s investors need to get over their inferiority complex
Flipkart tried hard to raise money locally but was ridiculed and turned away, leaving only the foreign giants to rescue it. This pattern will repeat itself until India’s investors realise that the best opportunities are not in Silicon Valley but at home.
Updated on May 24, 2018 07:46 AM IST
Copy and steal — the Silicon Valley way
The good news is that as the world’s entrepreneurs learn from each other, they will find opportunities to solve the problems not only of their own countries, but of the world
Updated on May 01, 2018 03:33 PM IST
I was wrong. Too much technology is ruining lives
Research shows that social media may well be making many of us unhappy, jealous and – paradoxically – antisocial
Updated on Apr 17, 2018 04:27 PM IST
While Facebook faces the music, maybe it is time to #DeleteWhatsApp | Opinion
It is time to hold all the social media companies accountable for their massive breaches of our privacy
Updated on Apr 04, 2018 11:15 AM IST
It is not only Ambani’s companies, every industry is about to be disrupted
With electric cars becoming cheaper and more capable, demand for petroleum will decrease, causing oil prices to fall to $20 a barrel or less. I expect this to happen by 2025. This will surely boost the economies of India and China and decimate the oil producers. Imagine the impact on Ambani’s oil refineries when there is a massive shift away from fossil fuels
Updated on Mar 28, 2018 07:48 PM IST
Why you need to live in the future — as I do
I live in the future as it is forming and this is happening far faster than most people realise, and far faster than the human mind can comfortably perceive
Updated on Mar 14, 2018 11:12 AM IST
Quantum supremacy: The next $100 billion gold mine for Indian IT
A lot of good will come from quantum computing, in better weather forecasting, financial analysis, logistical planning; the search for Earth-like planets; and drug discovery. But it will also open up a Pandora’s Box for security. I don’t know of any company or government that is prepared for it; all urgently need to build defences.
Published on Feb 22, 2018 11:19 AM IST
The party is over. India’s tech firms must re-invent or perish
There are literally $100bn opportunities elsewhere in the digital space that India has the expertise and capacity to exploit – yet it shows no evidence that it is likely to take them.
Updated on Feb 09, 2018 01:02 PM IST
How Trump is making China and India great again
With his constant tirades against immigrants, particularly from what he calls “shithole countries”, Donald Trump is giving many countries the greatest gift of all: causing the trickle of returning talent to become a flood
Published on Jan 23, 2018 11:03 AM IST
Why Bitcoin is the largest Ponzi scheme in human history
With Bitcoin supply constrained and increasingly falling short of demand, instead of functioning as a currency, Bitcoin is a speculative empty asset.
Updated on Dec 30, 2017 08:22 AM IST
Why India needs to protect its technology companies
India has an advantage over China: its engineers are building Silicon Valley’s most advanced technologies and leading many of its companies. And with the protectionist sentiments of the Trump administration and constant anti-immigrant rants, foreign-born people are getting a clear message: Go home; we don’t want you. This is a gift to India and China, because the immigrant exodus is boosting their innovation capabilities.
Updated on Dec 12, 2017 04:19 PM IST
The amazing possibilities of a technology-enabled future for India
Computers are doubling in their capabilities every year on a trajectory known as Moore’s Law. And everything they touch is advancing on the same exponential curve, including sensors, artificial intelligence, robotics, genomics, and energy technologies
Published on Dec 02, 2017 08:36 PM IST
Obama takes the Silicon Valley spirit global
The GES will be a huge opportunity for the Indian government to examine how to make regulations more conducive to innovation and new businesses, but also to bring some of the world’s brightest to see the dynamism of India’s economy and its entrepreneurs.
Updated on Jul 29, 2016 09:09 PM IST