PC Mahalanobis, as President of the Indian National Institute of Science, accepted Jawaharlal Nehru as a Fellow of the Institute at its general meeting held in Delhi in January 1959. Photo Credit: The Hindu Photo Archives
Professor PC MahalanobisThere is such a scientist who introduced statistics to India, whose lack is felt even today. Mahalanobis’s lifelong courtship with statistics, his unwavering and fearless leadership in advancing the statistics and survey culture in India, the founding of the Indian Statistical Institute – “a mighty monument to his handiwork” – and his nurturing of a generation of outstanding academics Everything is over, leaving behind a lasting legacy. There is no doubt that India was in the Mahalanobis-era for about five decades before he passed away on June 28, 1972. Today, amid the changing socio-economic dynamics in India after the pandemic, he is fondly remembered.
era of big data
Over the last 20 years, there has been a global change in the nature of both data and statistics. With the advent of the Internet and almost everything being confined to the Internet of Things, there has been a flood of data, much of it junk. We now have more data than the technology available that can be leveraged. It is widely regarded as the era of Big Data.
Another important but related issue is how artificial intelligence (AI) is changing our lives and lifestyles. The condition of the society is uncertain. One can wonder how Mahalanobis, a statistician and a key figure in the early development of Indian democracy, would have reacted to the madness related to Big Data and the AI-driven revolution. Although speculation, the answer will be based on his legacy.
comment | There is no one to replace Mahalanobis
Historically, data often appears too large when the technology available at the time fails to analyze it. Mahalanobis also faced the problem of Big Data when his large-scale surveys yielded a lot of data that needed to be looked at for effective planning. How did he react to this? Well, in order to handle tons of data and deal with complex mathematical calculations, Mahalanobis persuaded the government and was able to buy the country’s (and also South Asia’s) first two digital computers in 1956 and 1958 at his Indian Statistical Institute, and Thus began the computer era in India. This was indeed a remarkable achievement by a statistician.
Problems during COVID-19
Mahalanobis was “a physicist by training, a statistician by instinct and an economist by conviction”. He had an amazing ability to adapt technology to human welfare, perhaps a result of his background in physics. He also made some simple machines to facilitate his surveys and measurements. Thus, one can safely assume that Mahalanobis would have embraced the power of AI in increasing human productivity, such as Big Data analysis, and perhaps in a way that is comparable to how AI is currently applied to that goal. Far more effective.
He may possibly be able to lead Big Data analysis in a much better way than anyone else, even in the absence of AI, because no one else is likely to understand the dynamics of the survey or the heartbeat of the data like him. For example, the recent Big Data fail included several contradictory estimates during the COVID-19 era. A balanced recovery requires a proper assessment of the various types of economic losses due to the pandemic. One can argue that if Mahalanobis were alive today, the country’s COVID-19 response could have been much stronger. Had he been in leadership, our data might have been beyond doubt, and the analyzes far more accurate. And India’s “Plan Man” may be the best person to plan for building optimal healthcare infrastructure to deal with future disasters.
AI regulation
About seven decades ago, from the perspective of the newly independent nation, planning – with the help of extensive technical exercises with democratic participation – moved out of the realm of politics, mainly because of Mahalanobis. Now, we are at crossroads. The upcoming census of India will be a digital process. The dynamics of other surveys are also bound to change in the new normal setup. This is how statistics is developing. From this changed statistical perspective, we will remember the leadership of an expert like Mahalanobis.
Ah, aye. As AI threatens to eliminate millions of jobs without alternatives and also aid in spreading disinformation, there is a major global effort to clip its wings. However, never easy. Mahalanobis, deeply inspired by Kautilya’s Arthashastra, successfully introduced the revolutionary concept of cross-checks underlying his surveys. As the world struggles to regulate AI, could Mahalanobis, with his statistical “tendency”, be helpful in regulating AI as well? Perhaps.
Mahalanobis envisioned statistics as “a new technique for increasing the efficiency of human endeavour”. Even today, a person like Mahalanobis, who has an amazing capacity for perfection, tireless dedication, brilliant leadership, and who understands the “dance steps of numbers in the domain of time and space” better than anyone else engaged in this business. He could be, he could be. With its ever-increasing nature, the best person to handle the plethora of data, and also harness the benefits of technologies for human welfare and national development.
Atanu Biswas is Professor of Statistics at the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata