In love with AI

Sir — Love is no longer in the air but on the web. The founder of the dating app, Bumble, has said that in the not so distant future, Artificial Intelligence could handle a person’s ‘dating process’ for him or her. While it is not wrong to ask what the point of looking for love is if it is a bot that is doing the dating, there is one segment of the population that will be breathing a sigh of relief: the so-called grammar nazis. The barrage of spelling errors and poor grammar on dating apps is as tiring as it is a turn-off. If AI can filter out those who write ‘you’re’ instead of ‘your’, love might truly have a chance of blossoming.

Prajikta Sinha, Delhi

Lost time

Sir — Arghya Sengupta’s article, “Bring Bonnie home” (May 15), was poignant. It sums up the story of the countless children who are now living in relief camps across the world — be it in Manipur or in Gaza. The quotidian rhythms of their lives have been torn apart owing to social and political strife. Such unrests take a heavy toll on citizens who lose their livelihoods and are uprooted from their homes. Peace is the need of the hour. Conflicts do not help either the Meiteis or the Kukis; it helps only the businesses that manufacture weapons.

Amit Brahmo, Calcutta

Sir — Children living in the relief camps in Manipur have been forced out of school. Around 100 schools across the state have been turned into relief camps. As per the state government’s submission to the Supreme Court, schools have not been able to function in the three hill districts of Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and Tengnoupal. Many schools across the valley have also been vandalised. This is creating a generation of learners who will struggle for the rest of their lives because of the gap in their education owing to conflict.

Jayanta Sasmal, West Burdwan

Different identity

Sir — Delhi University was recently forced to cancel an event on the occasion of Parshuram Jayanti organised by a group that calls itself Brahmins of Delhi University. Over the last few years, there has been a significant increase in the display of Brahmin superiority with caste groups arguing that if Dalit identity can be expressed and legitimised, what is wrong with the expression of the Brahmin identity? After all, both are caste identities. But Brahmin identity is not just about claiming moral superiority; it is also tied to the idea of restricting privileges to one group of people. This worrying trend must not be allowed to flourish.

Shabbir Kazmi, Mumbai

Ironic exchange

Sir — For decades, China has used the giant panda to make diplomatic overtures with other nations. Now, the commodities minister of Malaysia, Johari Abdul Ghani, has proposed gifting orangutans to trade partners who buy the country’s palm oil. The irony of this could not be more striking. The only one among the great apes in Asia, the orangutan is an endangered species that is found in the tropical forests of Borneo (Malaysia and Indonesia) and Sumatra (Indonesia). The Bornean orangutan has been listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The best way for Malaysia to showcase its commitment to orangutan conservation
is to protect the remaining natural forests that are habitats for orangutans instead
of palming off the animals to other countries which buy palm oil, the one product that is decimating orangutan populations.

Priyanka Mishra, Saran, Bihar

Parting shot

Sir — The West Bengal chief minister’s roadshow damaged roads in Santipur, leading to accidents. The roads must be repaired.

Basudeb Dutta, Nadia