Best of BS Opinion: Why AI should worry us more than nuclear weapons | Opinion Specials

Hello, and welcome to the Best of BS Opinion, our wrap of the day’s Opinion page. The growing threat to global security may come less from nuclear proliferation than from unchecked advances in artificial intelligence, writes R Jagannathan. Nuclear-armed states have generally avoided using such weapons except when facing existential threats, while technological power is increasingly being weaponised by governments, corporations, criminals, and potentially autonomous AI agents. Rogue AI systems, military applications, cybercrime, and automation could create risks extending far beyond the battlefield, particularly in countries lacking adequate digital safeguards. Jagannathan warns that AI could devastate middle-skill and entry-level employment while creating financial risks if promised revenues fail to materialise. He calls for stronger global regulation, alongside sovereign technological capabilities and greater protection against cyber-risks. Kerala’s new Congress-led United Democratic Front government has begun its tenure by targeting corruption and crime, with Chief Minister V D Satheesan ordering five Special Investigation Teams within 100 days,writes Aditi Phadnis. The investigations, including the controversial expenditure surrounding Lionel Messi’s proposed appearance and alleged irregularities at Kerala Medical Services Corporation, are intended to weaken the previous Left Democratic Front’s credibility. Yet the government faces larger structural challenges, including dependence on remittances, land policy, maritime development, drug abuse, environmental pressures, and an ageing population. Satheesan’s political space is currently relatively secure, but managing factional Congress politics, appointing a state party chief, and establishing a distinct governing legacy will test him. The Brics Summit should not be mistaken for the emergence of an anti-Western alliance, as the grouping’s members have sharply divergent interests and strategic priorities, argues Shekhar Gupta, as he highlights the contradictions between India, China, and Russia: Xi Jinping benefits from US retrenchment, Vladimir Putin welcomes weakening Western support for Ukraine, while India remains wary of China and dependent on both countries for trade, energy, and defence. India’s trade deficits and reliance on Chinese inputs constrain its influence, while hopes of rapid de-dollarisation overlook China’s overwhelming economic weight. Gupta cautions against viewing Brics as a source of strategic strength, arguing that the summit should instead sober India into recognising its vulnerabilities and building ahead. The transition from founder-led businesses to second-generation leadership often creates a valuation penalty because the skills required to build companies differ sharply from those needed to inherit them. Sandeep Goyal labels this the “Dauphin Discount”, suggesting investors may mark down family-owned companies when founders hand over control to globally educated heirs. Founders tend to prioritise frugality, operational instinct, people, and profits, whereas successors can favour consultants, new initiatives, branding, and visibility. Yet the problem is not necessarily incompetence, but a lack of the formative experiences that shaped the first generation. Goyal notes that successful families professionalise management, while others fragment businesses, leaving investors to judge successors by performance rather than pedigree.