Anupam- The Dreamer

Yesterday I was listening to the AI-generated Kishor Kumar version of “Saiyaara song” and if you would just close your eyes and listen to the song, I bet you couldn’t make out whether this is an AI-generated fake version or is it the real legen…(wait for it)…dary Kishor Kumar singing! The boundaries have faded to such an extent that it is difficult to differentiate between the real and fake. In a way, you can say it’s good that you get to hear a new age song in the voice of one of the favourite singers even after he is no more. But, then in the next moment you realize that afterall fake is a fake, and no matter how much it tries to be real on the façade, the core still remains FAKE!!!

There are pros and cons of everything. And even the Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not immune to this theory. Some of the advantages of AI are that it has reduced redundancies, made work faster in some domains like picture editing and content creation, saved some cost for the big corporates etc. However, when this AI is applied to the humanistic aspects of life, I am afraid, it has taken away some of the pure things that we used to cherish once. For example, a poem written by a human is an uninterrupted flow of feelings and emotions about something dear to his/her heart. But, the same poem, in whatever good words that the AI may write, is devoid of the same feelings and emotions behind those words. The AI can replicate the words or sometimes even write better than a mortal human with his/her limited knowledge and understanding, because of the immense computation and mining power that the AI has in the universe of big data analysis and machine learning. But, somewhere and in some measure, AI cannot emote the humans. And I think it should not in some aspects, otherwise what will be the difference between a human and a robot?

Similarly, in today’s world, apart from the domain of AI also, the boundaries between real and fake is blurring fast. Take for example, the foods that we eat. They are grown by using artificial fertilizers, nurtured by artificial chemicals, and then ripened artificially using the ripeners. The final product- vegetable or fruit- looks almost the same as the organically grown one! Although, they may taste a little different, but who knows in the future, they can make it exactly the same in every aspect. The wicked people with a crooked mindset of earning money by unjustified means, often do adulteration in foods to create a completely fake product. You might have heard in the news recently about the “Fake paneer” being circulated in the market, which caused health issues for the people. Even if you are a paneer expert, it is difficult to make out the difference between the real and fake! The sophistication of “fakeness” has gone to such a big level, that it is giving jitters and baffling the minds of the experts also!

This brings me back to the point of the intention of the person behind promotion of fake things. If the intention is to improve some processes or bring in more efficiency in work processes and aspects of life, then it’s fine. But, if the intention is to con people and rob them off their health, money, and humanistic aspects, then it cannot be and should not be acceptable.

We are at the cusp of a time, wherein we could stop the blurring and fading of the boundary between the real and fake. If we can do that, the future generations will thank us, otherwise they would have to hang their head in shame!

At this juncture, I am reminded of the beautiful song by Yael Naim called “New Soul”, which in some way captures the essence of difference between fake and real. Here it goes:

“I’m a new soul, I came to this strange world
Hoping I could learn a bit ’bout how to give and take
But since I came here, felt the joy and the fear
Finding myself making every possible mistake
La-la la la, la-la-la-la la la

La-la-la-la la, la-la la, la-la la
La-la la la, la-la-la-la la la
La-la-la-la la, la-la la, la-la la
See I’m a young soul in this very strange world

Hoping I could learn a bit ’bout what is true and fake
But why all this hate? Try to communicate
Finding trust and love is not always easy to make

La-la la la, la-la-la-la la la

La-la-la-la la, la-la la, la-la la
La-la la la, la-la-la-la la la
La-la-la-la la, la-la la, la-la la, oh

This is a happy end ’cause you don’t understand
Everything you have done, why is everything so wrong?
This is a happy end, come and give me your hand
I’ll take you far away
I’m a new soul, I came to this strange world

Hoping I could learn a bit ’bout how to give and take
But since I came here, felt the joy and the fear
Finding myself making every possible mistake
New soul (la-la-la-la la, la-la la, la-la la)
In this very strange world (la-la la la, la-la-la-la la la)
Every possible mistake (la-la-la-la la, la-la la, la-la la)
Possible mistake (la-la la la, la-la-la-la la la)
Every possible mistake (la-la-la-la la, la-la la, la-la la)
Mistake, mistake, mistake (la-la la la, la-la-la-la la la)
Mistake, mistake, mistake (la-la-la-la la, la-la la, la-la la)”

You can listen it here :

Happy weekend 😀