Internet technologies act as double-edged swords — they simultaneously disrupt and liberate, empower and enfeeble (“The taxi drivers”, July 1). The winners are those who hold the levers of technology while the losers, like the taxi drivers, end up working as the “coolies’ of tech companies. For policymakers, resisting or restricting the application of technology is not an option. They have to balance entrepreneurial freedom, livelihood issues of traditional businesses and expansion of consumer choices. Industries based on digital technologies cannot be regulated as brick and mortar industries are because the structures are different. The Uber and Ola drivers are part business owners and part workers. Can the government intervene in such business arrangements without harming consumer preferences?
One thing is certain. The creative destruction unleashed by new technologies is neither entirely benign nor democratic. For conventional businesses, adapting to the new regime is easier said than done. They face a Hobson’s choice — join the bandwagon or perish. For instance, stand alone taxi businesses in cities cannot survive unless they hitch their wagon to app-based aggregators.
V.N. Mukundarajan,Thiruvananthapuram
