‘AI will now hardwire default narratives’: Senior Indian economist flags issues with global perception indices

Global perception indices have often been called into question for the data sources used to arrive at their conclusions. With the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), people are being largely influenced by data that these machines are trained on. These are often the outputs of such global perception indices resulting in dissemination of seemingly flawed data points to all.

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Sanjeev Sanyal, Member, Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, has drawn attention to the problems with various global perception indices, questioning their conclusions. He said that with AI pushing data based on questionable indices, it leads to a manipulation of narratives.

Sanyal said that AI could now hardwire in the default narratives underscored by these indices.

“The systematic use of layers of referencing to build up credibility is similar to how money is laundered using layers of accounts. Only the determined will follow the trail,” Sanyal added.

“In the past, we just ignored these global rankings, ratings, and indicators. However, we should recognise that they have real world impact through regulations, credit ratings and academic narratives. AI will now hardwire it in all default narratives,” he said.

Sanyal has been a long-standing critic of certain perception indices. His argument is that in a world where the flow of information can no longer be controlled, some powers are trying to get control of the second and third order by controlling the kind of data that is being released and controlling its authentication.

One such index that comes into question was the World Happiness Index. In March 2024, the Happiness Index ranked India at a low 126 in the rankings by Life Evaluations 2021-2023. India was placed below countries like Ukraine, the State of Palestine and even Myanmar all of which have been in the throes of conflict and even lower than its neighbour Pakistan. This despite the fact the IMF World Economic Outlook released in October 2024 pegged India as one of the fastest growing economies with a projected GDP of 6.5 for 2025.

Sanyal in a post on X on December 18, took a dig at the findings of the World Happiness Index. “As we enter 2025, a quick reminder at how unhappy we Indians were a year ago. Palestine, Ukraine, Myanmar etc. were already much happier and their rank will presumably now be even better. After recent regime change and violence, Bangladesh too will probably now be rated happier. The outbursts of happiness in Canada, Germany and France mean that they no longer have functioning governments. Meanwhile, let me wish fellow Indians a prosperous and unhappy 2025. Stay healthy, stay unhappy,” he posted.

A glaring contradiction in the World Happiness Index is the strange correlation between countries that rank at the top of the Index to those that also rank among the top users of anti-depressants. According to data website Statista as of 2022, among select OECD countries, Iceland was one of the biggest consumers of antidepressants. Iceland also ranked third on the World Happiness Index.

Earlier, a study by Sweden’s Lund University in March 2024 argued that the question at the centre of the World Happiness Report known as ‘The Cantril Ladder’ which asked respondents to evaluate their lives in terms of a ladder numbered 0-10. The top of the ladder represented the best possible life and the bottom the worst. The analysts conducted an experimental study involving 1,500 adults in the UK and examined how people interpret that question. The researchers said that the results showed that it often brings to mind concepts of wealth and power. This the analysts argued might not be how most people would define happiness and well-being.

To change such narratives, Sanyal argued that independent Indian think-tanks should be encouraged to do similar perception-based indices for the world.

“There are three levels of response. First, recognise the problem of legitimacy laundering. Second, intellectually deconstruct the biases and expose them. Finally, build alternatives that are based on better methodologies and data sets. Other than India, no country in the Global South has the capacity to do the third step credibly,” said Sanyal.