Research vertical 10
Science, Energy, Tech and AI
How science, technology, clean energy and artificial intelligence can serve the public, and how they should be governed.
Technology is changing how governments work, how people earn and how energy is produced. This vertical studies those changes with a public interest lens: what helps citizens, what harms them, and what rules are needed.
Why it matters
Kerala was early to build technology parks, digital literacy programs and public internet infrastructure. Government departments are now experimenting with automated systems and artificial intelligence. At the same time, the state depends heavily on electricity bought from outside and faces choices about solar, storage and grid investment. Each of these areas needs informed public debate.
How we work
- AI and public services. We study real deployments of automated decision making in Indian governments and propose safeguards.
- Digital rights. We analyse data protection law and its implementation.
- Energy transition. We examine power purchase, rooftop solar, storage and tariffs.
- Innovation policy. We look at what public support for startups and research institutions achieves.
The vertical brings together engineers, lawyers, economists and social scientists.
Questions we are asking
- 01
Where can artificial intelligence improve public services, and where should it not be used at all?
- 02
How should government protect citizens' data while using it to plan better?
- 03
How fast can the state move to clean power, and who pays for the transition?
- 04
What makes an innovation ecosystem produce lasting firms rather than short lived ones?
Publications
Work from this vertical will appear here as it is published.
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