Copy + paste and repeat

The news about the economic surveys of a state being largely a copy-paste job with numerous sections verbatim repeat of yesteryears’ reports was met with a widespread derision. But should it be? Some deep insights here may actually yield several positives. First of all, it is noteworthy that there are at least some people who not only read such reports, year after year, but notice things! Secondly, however dated the text reportedly sounded, the data were up-to-date. Even more substantive positive aspect pertains to the absolute consistency in governance the state maintained over the years. Let us unfold this consistency thing a bit more. The consistent governance meant that the key issues – or should we say, challenges – remain the same over the years, for instance, whether potholed roads, water-logging, bad air, poor public transport or waste disposal. Look this way, the grouse that `even sections on “challenges” and “ways forward” were not updated’ doesn’t stand up. Simply put, how creative could one be to describe the age-old problems in a manner for them to look freshly minted? And, if challenges are not changing, naturally the `way forward’ too would sound same, isn’t it? Here, one is reminded of a popular recommendation, namely, ‘innovative financing’. Three decades ago, it was used for accelerating renewable energy projects, now the same is being prescribed in the context of climate actions. The inference: remedies don’t change with time. The annual economic survey reports at the Centre tend to be different (sounding) simply because every few years the chief economic advisors change and the incumbents cannot be seen to be copying reports prepared by their predecessors. The States, with no such constraint, can keep on copy + paste + repeat. Moreover, who thought that these would be read so religiously.

Perhaps it also points towards the relative resourcefulness of states compared to that of the Centre. Had the state in question hired famed consultants, atleast no one would have been wiser on this particular lacuna. Blame it on L1 (lowest bidder)! Rather than old fashioned copy + paste, they would have resorted to the generative AI to shape the document in the artful language and infographics. But imagine what a `hallucinating’ AI can do to the state’s economic scenario. Free from shackles that the hard data create; generative AI (or is it agentic AI now?) is capable of creating a rosy picture totally unmoored in the ground realities. Pick your choice.