aI spy you - human nature and statecraft

In Indian tradition, there is a concept of Maya (illusion) - in English it may be a simple word but it holds a profound meaning in Indian philosophy. Maya is often attributed to attachment and delusion. Indian scriptures have often preached that a man should understand and navigate Maya carefully.

Whole world is rocked by the affair scandal of the Nvidia CEO with allegedly a woman who has links with Chinese intelligence services. The details related to the affair are yet to be unearthed. In the recent past, we have seen a lot of successful CEOs indulging in morally questionable relationships. I am not commenting on their choices but from the letter issued after these affairs by the CEOs, it appears that they regret their choices.

I often wonder after achieving such great heights, what allures these CXOs to indulge in such acts that bring disrepute and tarnish their lifelong reputation. Jensen Huang was a strong advocate for liberalising the supply of Nvidia AI chips especially to China. The USA has restricted the supply of these chips in order to maintain chip supremacy and technological clout. After this scandal, any recommendation by Jensen Huang will be taken with a pinch of salt.

I think there should be a clear distinction between the professional and personal lives of these CXOs however when CXOs and companies are synonymous, it is difficult to draw the line.

Jensen spent most of his life building machines that can replicate human intelligence and judgment yet the biggest risk posed to his efforts are not by erratic algorithms or some rogue code but by human nature itself. Jensen himself fell prey to one of the oldest forms of statecraft and may be facing the toughest scrutiny of his life. After all, Maya is not easy to navigate.