Chill with the family
Sir — The idea of a ‘family’ is constantly evolving. First, there were joint families, then came nuclear families and now, in the 21st century, the concept of a family has become too fluid to define. What is common to all these ideas of a family, though, is that they involve a group of people who share and benefit from one pool of resources. It is thus not surprising that the latest iteration of a family is a “Netflix Household”. The OTT platform has stopped password sharing in India unless users are part of one family. The real question is, what is Netflix’s definition of a family and are friends or same-sex partners a part of it?
Roshni Chakraborty, Calcutta
Useful lessons
Sir — Many have been injured in hailstorms with golf ball-sized hails hitting northern Italy. While the ongoing heatwave has begun to ebb in Europe, forecasters have warned of a fourth heatwave hitting southern Europe next week with temperatures predicted to soar up to 48° Celsius (“Italy puts 23 cities on red alert”, July 20). At such a time, India can offer the West some insight on living with the heat.
Centuries before air conditioners and coolers made an appearance, lattice screens allowed air to circulate in Indian buildings and protected them from sunlight. Sunshades such as chajjas blocked the sun and the use of water channels ensured thermal comfort. Windows in the homes of the less affluent were covered with khus mats, which created a perfumed ambience after being sprinkled with water.
Sreejata Bhattacharjee, Calcutta
Mechanical woes
Sir — Hollywood is on strike (“Actors put brakes on Hollywood”, July 15). The Screen Actors Guild has joined the Writers Guild to demand better pay, working conditions and, perhaps most significantly, protections and security against the rising threat of Artificial Intelligence in an era of content-hungry streaming platforms. Since the launch of ChatGPTlast year, the fear of white-collar workers — from writers and editors to photographers, coders and data crunchers — becoming redundant has gone from the realm of speculative fiction to that of economic planning. Yet, regulation has lagged woefully behind technology. A collective protest can lead to a sustainable path forward that protects those who make the product as well as those who profit from it.
Isha Tapadiya, Ujjain
Sir — Doctors all over the world are at their wits’ end with patients googling their symptoms before visiting medical professionals and coming up with bizarre diagnoses. Now, Artificial Intelligence is being added to the mix (“Mystery in the ER? Ask Dr Chatbot for an answer”, July 15). AI has transformed many aspects of the practice of medicine and some medical professionals are using AI to help them with diagnosis. Doctors at Beth Israel Deaconess, a teaching hospital affiliated with the Harvard Medical School, decided to explore how chatbots could be used — and misused — in training future doctors.
This is dangerous. Even telemedicine has loopholes and leads to misdiagnosis. AI cannot be trusted to save lives. Nothing can beat the medical opinion of a doctor who personally checks a patient for symptoms.
Arka Goswami, West Burdwan
Test of superiority
Sir — Humans are mistaken to think of themselves as superior species. Scientists at the Université Grenoble Alpes have found that the neon tetra fish that is native to the Amazon maintain social distancing and wait in queues to avoid clogging narrow openings (“Learn from fish to wait and queue”, July 23). Ants have previously displayed similar behaviour.
Yet, humans do not have such presence of mind or patience. In a crisis, most people would rush to save themselves, leading to stampedes and blocking off exits and killing thousands in the process. Even in everyday situations, people are loath to wait in queues. All this stems from a basic selfishness and a lack of fellow feeling. No fish can teach humans these traits.
Kushan Maitra, Calcutta
Brand magic
Sir — The toy company, Mattel, has lined up a series of movie projects based on its toys, beginning with Barbie, which released to great fanfare last week, followed by movies about Hot Wheels, Barney the Dinosaur, Uno and the Magic 8 Ball.
Blame all this on the huge success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which took a bunch of superhero comics and turned them into multi-billion dollar movies. People, too, seem content to watch grown men and women in bright costumes fight fantastical monsters and aliens, and, occasionally, each other. Can another brand be blamed for wanting a piece of the film franchise action that has proved so lucrative for one?
G. David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
Parting shot
Sir — The advice of a minister from Uttar Pradesh that people should grow tomatoes instead of eating them is akin to Marie Antoinette’s legendary comment.
Sourish Misra, Calcutta
