Human touch

Sir — Just as human beings evolve with time, so does technology. The popular chatbot developed by OpenAI, ChatGPT, seems to be constantly making advancements. Its newest version, GPT-4, allegedly has the potential to outscore humans in standardised aptitude tests. However, programmers have warned that it still has limitations, and is prone to making errors while solving elementary arithmetic exercises. Given that humans, too, can pass difficult examinations but may miscalculate their balance while paying at the grocery store, perhaps GPT-4 is more human than we would like to admit.

Debojyoti Bhowmick, Asansol

War of words

Sir — The Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, has sought permission from the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Om Birla, to speak on the floor of the House. He has rightly stated that as a member of Parliament, it is his responsibility to make his stand clear in the House. The Congress leader’s statements in the United Kingdom have dominated parliamentary proceedings for the last few days. It is thus encouraging to see that he has taken the first step to clarify his comments. Politicians of the ruling party must allow him to speak. Otherwise, the entirety of the budget session might be wasted.

Bhagwan Thadani, Mumbai

Sir — The disruption in the regular functioning of Parliament owing to the war of words between legislators from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress is unfortunate. It is unfathomable how Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on the state of democracy in India can be treated as something that denigrates the nation. The BJP’s repeated attempts to frame the criticism aimed at its government at the Centre as ‘anti-India’ reflects its growing intolerance towards dissent.

M. Jeyaram, Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu

Interesting history

Sir — The article on the study about whether the mother of the polymath, Leonardo da Vinci, was a slave made for interesting reading (“Da Vinci’s mother was enslaved: Novelist”, Mar 16). It leaves a bad taste in the mouth to know how rampant slavery was in 14thand 15th-century Italy. Da Vinci is known for his artistic creations and his pioneering advancements in science.

Amit Brahmo, Calcutta

Partisan politics

Sir — The Supreme Court has rightly reprimanded the governors of Oppositionruled states for their political partisanship (“Govern well”, Mar 17). The Bharatiya Janata Party was able to topple Opposition governments in several states because of the tacit support of governors who exceeded their constitutional mandate.

Tharcius S. Fernando, Chennai

Expand the scope

Sir — The decision by the Bar Council of India to allow foreign lawyers and law firms to practise in India is encouraging (“Foreign lawyers’ entry with riders”, Mar 16). While it will be mutually beneficial for lawyers both from India and abroad, it is also pragmatic to allow foreign lawyers to contest only in non-litigious matters for now. The decision will generate more employment for Indians in the legal field.

Bal Govind, Noida

Parting shot

Sir — It was heartening to learn that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on railways has recommended that the concession in fares of all long-distance trains for senior citizens be reinstated. This had been put on hold at the beginning of the pandemic. It is high time the concession is restored to aid elderly citizens of the nation, many of whom are economically vulnerable.

D. Bhattacharyya, South 24 Parganas