About the Book

IN CURATING AND CONTEXTUALISING THESE ESSAYS AT THE INTERSECTION OF LAW, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY, EX MACHINA PROVIDES A KEEN ANALYSIS OF THE MOST EVENTFUL DECADE EVER IN TECHNOLOGY POLICY.
For over a decade, Rahul Matthan has written a weekly column that sits at the intersection of technology, policy and law. Part future-telling and part on-the-spot analysis, the Ex Machina articles have become something of a cultural phenomenon, a vast archive that holds critical insights into how the Indian state engages with technology.
A carefully curated selection from the archive, Ex Machina lays out an intelligent and intelligible timeline of the complex developments in this area. Divided into two broad sections digital public infrastructure and technology with each article succinctly contextualised, the book examines how digital identity, UPI payments infrastructure, drones, maps, artificial intelligence and other technologies are regulated, and what this means for Indian citizens (and sometimes for people everywhere). The result is a thoughtful overview of an incredibly fast-paced decade, capturing the manner in which India wields tech for administration while balancing the risks for its citizens.
As much for the involved reader as it is for the lawyer and the policymaker, Ex Machina is a