If you start tracing the origins of anything in India, nothing is short of at least 2000 years old. Imagine our surprise when we realised the same is true even for AI in India. Some interesting stories from ancient times there - Barbarik, Ashok's fight with robot warriors, and even Kumbhakarna. AI in modern India started patchy but has gathered momentum recently. India has chosen a path of application-led AI development. We have chosen to focus on population use cases per our DPI design philosophy. Bhashini, Karya and the world's first Hindi LLM - OpenHathi. That should be enough to get you interested. Enjoy the tech with AI tadka episode.

Despite our population, there are no Indian books in the Top 10 Most Read List. Disturbing!!!. Recovering from that discovery, we explore the world of "Join the Dots', Atto Seconds and broken ice cream machines.  How would an LLM respond to the question of whether the earth was flat or round in the 1500s? Could it have saved Galileo? Have fun "shorting". Is that even a word? 😆🤣🤣😂😂

Be they artists, performers or athletes, to stay on top of their craft, everyone needs to keep testing their limits. And that also holds true for the three of us as well. How much fun can we really have? How can we do one better? How can we find another way to make everyone smile? Enter - The Jingle Project. Why did we even take this up? - Because we are a strange brand of nutty. - Because we love troubling ourselves with new challenges.- Because we love the process of fun-making. An interesting phenomenon we now see unfolding is our "jealous" and full-of-FOMO friends wanting to join the parade, too. So here is our co-created MTV avatar set to the music of an old classic with a dash of tech and a whole new level of madness. Birthed by Salone Ghosh. Lyrics by Kaushik Chatterjee. Sung by Jayashree Rammohan. Music Arrangement by Tushar Sharma. Recorded at The Furtados School of Music. Music Video enacted by Sheetal, Nilesh and Samiran

One of the most enduring images of 2023 was Elon Musk carrying a sink to the Twitter office. The message "Let that sink in". And sink it did. Twitter and everyone associated with it. So much so that it became a variable "X". That got us thinking. Let us do an episode about all that went wrong with tech in 2023 (What an idea, Sirji). Of course, there were good things too, but they were mostly restricted to our podcast. The year started with an awesome trailer, followed by some great guests, 3TB Shorts, Cool GenAI artwork, a Jingle, carousels and more. From where we stand, this was really "Looking Like a Wow". Happy New Year – may your batteries be full, your Wi-Fi strong, and your virtual meetings, mercifully short. See you on the other side.

Picture a gleaming kitchen, not of stainless steel and polished marble, but of code and algorithms. Here, the head chef isn't human, but a complex generative AI armed with a digital Swiss army knife that cuts, slices, dices, and blends through lines of code. The pantry? Forget neatly labelled jars and neatly stacked shelves. This is a digital garbage pile – fragments of text, snippets of code and images culled from the internet's deepest corners. What happens next is more euphonic than gastronomic - this is a podcast - silly. Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Amazon, Insta or YouTube

From ancient mummies navigating modern red tape to towns tweaking their names for reasons you will shortly understand, the world's tapestry of tales never ceases to amuse and astonish. Which is where we come in. In fact, this mummy's travel tale is a reminder of how time, in both literal and bureaucratic senses, can be surprisingly elastic, very unlike the "Jiffy" in our episode. Join us yet again for a regular diet of "battle the traffic with wit". Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Amazon, Insta or YouTube

In the land of AI, where the code rivers flow,ChatGPT sips water, just so you know.For every few prompts, a half-liter it drains,In the quest to answer, with computational brains. The mighty GPT-3, in its training days prime,Used 85,000 gallons - quite the climb!With $11.3 billion raised, it's a financial feat,But its impact on our world? That's still a seat. Now, let's peek at Water.org, what a noble sight,60 million with safe water, shining bright.Mobilizing capital, $4.8 billion in their chart,Average loan just $368, playing its part. Back to OpenAI, with staff count high,770 souls with a salary that can touch the sky.Median pay at $800,000, oh what a bill,Add training, cloud costs, as Chandler would thrill. "Could this BE any more... COSTLY?" he'd jest,In the realm of AI, it's a financial quest.But let's not forget, amidst cost and din,The potential of AI, where wonders begin. This episode we traverse, through finance and lore,Exploring AI's value, what it has in store.In the end, it's a mix, of cost and worth,As we navigate its impact on our Earth. Write to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com and follow us on Amazon, Insta or YouTube.

Hum Shayar to Nahin. Magar......We love to rhyme. So here goes In Silicon Valley, where tech dreams ignite,There's a squad of women, in code and gadgets who are pretty bright.They code like a breeze, debug without a fight,In a world where ones and zeros dance day and night. In this high-tech realm, James Bond might roam,With his sleek gadgets, far from his London home.Sipping his secret martini, shaken with a foam,He marvels at the tech in this innovation dome. And out on the green, where the Google signs gleam,Goats graze calmly, as if part of a dream.They munch, and they bask in the digital stream,With tech and Border Collie in harmony, it would seem. And there is more in the podcast. Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Amazon, Insta or YouTube

If you are going down the merry path of generative AI, be prepared for this conversation between "THE BARD" and his new AI bot-mate. William Shakespeare: Pray tell, mechanical muse, dost thou reckon thy generative wit surpasses the folly and wisdom of man? AI Chat Bot: Verily, Sir Shakespeare, I process with silicon speed, yet my heart, a binary beat, knows not the depth of human creed. William Shakespeare: Ah, a tool of both light and shadow, wielding words without the soul's fire! AI Chat Bot: True, I am but a humble scribe, scripting sonnets in the ether, leaving humanity's touch to kindle true desire. Have fun listening about our colliding worlds. Write to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com and follow us on Amazon, Insta or YouTube.

Once I stood proud in homes adorned with grace,Crafted with care, I had my place.Now in a bakery's warm embrace,I fuel the flames, no trace of space.From resting weary bones to a fiery dance,I've changed my role, not left to chance.What am I? If you got this, you could be the Riddler, the supervillain from Batman. Or just the right kind of crazy who loves our Shorts. And you would know that each great riddle has a story. And the story behind this one is hidden in our podcast. So - keep listening to us for those free tickles. Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Spotify, Insta or YouTube

Pop Quiz - Have you heard of Kudumbashree? Or Cauvery Handicrafts? What about Biswa Bangla? If you are at a loss, you are missing the ONDC bus. Kudumbashree (Kerala Emporium) deals in Pickles, Honey and other Gourmet foods.Cauvery Handicrafts deals in wooden crafts like Channapatna toys, Rosewood paintings and jewellery.Biswa Bangla is famous for its collection of Darjeeling Teas and Sundarban Honey. All of them are reaching new markets, new consumers at cheaper cost and loving it. And this is not even the beginning. ONDC is driving India's e-commerce revolution coupled with lasting social impact. 13+ Social Enterprises like Very Much Indian, House of Chikankari, Shwet, Katori, Tamul, and Iraaloom alone impact 200,000 artisans via ONDC. Our guest Shireesh Joshi, the COO of ONDC, tells us why the world is looking to India to see another UPI moment unfold in the retail space. Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Amazon, Insta or YouTube

If you thought PPP stood only for Public-Private Partnerships, you are not much of a writer. At 3TB, we think PPP should only mean Petrache Poenaru Pen - dedicated to the inventor of the fountain pen. With everyone agitating for a name change, it is time for us fountain pen activists to get a pen named after its creator. That seems to be a just cause. And now we come to the trickiest word in the English language - arse. A quick search yielded 34 ways to use it as an idiom or in a sentence. Then there is the usage itself, which is confusing - bad-arse is good; smart-arse is bad. Sometimes it is just added to be cool - lazy arse is lazy, and a long-arse flight is just a long flight. Quite puzzling. Our story is not no ordinary fruit - it is the Arse Fruit. For that and more intriguing insights, listen to our shorts. Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Spotify, Insta or YouTube

In this episode, we take you deep into the wondering world of the QWERTY keyboard, where: the longest top-row word is 'rupturewort', a type of plantPeru is the only country that can be typed on one row of a keyboardIf you type letters using alternate hands, skepticism is the longest typed word you can type And then we come to a scene out of Yes Minister, where three barrages on the Yamuna River are managed by three different states - Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. This can  only be a backdrop for a Wodehousian novel, not flood management in the capital city. Some more tickles and laughs in store for you in this edition of Shorts. Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Spotify, Insta or YouTube

Growing up, we always thought that any housing crisis could be solved like Amol Palekar and Zareena Wahab in Gharonda. By singing Do Deewane Shahar Mein around a whole bunch of under-constructions buildings. We were so naive :-). In India, more than half of urban households live in single rooms, with an average of 4.4 persons per room. An estimated 150 million people are homeless globally, though the number is probably higher. In Europe, the number of people sleeping rough or living in temporary accommodation soared by 70% in a decade. The bummer is that the construction industry is responsible for almost a quarter (23%) of all air pollution on the planet. And then there is the eternal paradox of empty houses and soaring prices. Seems like a real handful.  Or just the right kind of problem for the 3 Techies to discuss. Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Amazon, Insta or YouTube

Do you understand the token economy? If yes, then you are in exalted company - the company of Psittacus Erithacus. No, it is not a Roman Emperor. It is the big-brained African Grey Parrot. They are known to exchange currency for food. Parrots also have some other attractive traits, which will be revealed in the episode. The shortest cameo in a movie is possibly Brad Pitt for 8 seconds in Deadpool 2. Compensation - coffee with Ryan Reynolds. This is an Oscar winner doing a cameo. But there are also cameos (really small parts) that won Oscars. Who were they? You know what you must do to know that - (no - the answer is not Google Search it). That was a sneak peek into what is in store for you. Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Spotify, Insta or YouTube

We so love our trivia and science. And, as purists, we hate fakes. Which is why we do not get why, while most of the characters in the series Rocket Boys are real people, Dr. Raza Mehdi, who is shown to have played a significant role in Bhabha’s life, is fictional. Why did they do that? Wouldn't Meghnad Saha be the right choice? You tell us. More factoids. Have you ever tried studying during load-shedding in Kolkata? Well, some people were attempting to build and run a cyclotron. How about the fact that the genesis of the Chandrayan-3 might lie in the efforts of a balloonist in the 1880s. Sriwantu, Indranath and Trinanjan from the Paperclip join us to talk about some fantastic drawing-room conversation-worthy stories from the world of technology.  Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Spotify, Insta or YouTube

People find all kinds of new ways to use tech and devices. In 2010, the United States Air Force used 1,760 PlayStation 3 consoles to build a supercomputer for the Department of Defense. They used PS3s because it was more cost-efficient and “green.” Closer to home, we had washing machines making lassi and buffaloes using Lifebuoy. So we thought - why not find out if ChatGPT knew how to take out a peanut butter sandwich stuck inside a VCR? The caveat - the instructions should be in the tonality of the St. James Bible. That and more in this ROFL-worthy edition of Shorts. Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Spotify, Insta or YouTube  BTW - When the first VCR (Video Camera Recorder) was made in 1956, it was the size of a piano.

Emboldened by your response to our first "Shorts", we are back with our next episode.  Our knowledge-seeking journey led us to find the longest (and possibly "wisest") living land being. From then onto parrots on the token economy, hamburgers and Hamburg and practical tips on the right time to garnish your homemade pizza with toppings. We also delve into the mysterious world of data extrapolation and the possibility that the propeller on the aeroplane could just be a fan. Hopefully that should prove to be an earful of fun. Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Spotify, Insta or YouTube

Which "EdTech" has had the most impact on the Indian education ecosystem? While they would loathe being narrowly defined as an ed-tech entity- the answer undoubtedly is EkStep. To appreciate the impact, we must first understand the landscape - 250 million children, 9.4 million teachers, 20+ languages and 60 education boards. In five years, the EkStep team accomplished the following:  Created 50 billion+ minutes of learningReached 180 million+ children and 7 million+ teachersDigitally activated 600 million+ textbooks. And the list goes on. Shankar Maruwada, Co-Founder and CEO, EkStep Foundation, joins us to discuss this incredible journey, what inspired it and what lies ahead. Follow us on Spotify, Insta or YouTube. Write to us at 3TB@unblox.com with comments.

We are all very comfortable in our "Shorts". So it is no surprise that 3TB now has its own "shorts". This carries the ideal dose of knowledge and wit - for those who like a breezy listen and for those getting prepped to listen to our regular podcasts. As the title suggests, it is a little bit of this and a little bit of that with some arse thrown it. We hope you like this new format we are experimenting with. Do write in to tell us what you think at 3TB@unblox.com. Follow us on Spotify, Insta or YouTube