Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal slams gender pronouns; internet divided

Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal on Monday slammed the use of gender pronouns after a LinkedIn AI description addressed Aggarwal as 'they' and 'their' instead of 'he’ and ‘him.'

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Aggarwal said that most Indians don’t have a clue about "pronouns illness." "Most of us in India have no clue about the politics of this pronoun illness. People do it because it’s become expected in our corporate culture, especially MNCs. Better to send this illness back where it came from. Our culture has always had respect for all. No need for new pronouns," his post read.

“Hoping that this “pronoun illness” doesn’t reach India. Many “big city schools” in India are now teaching it to kids. Also see many CVs with pronouns these days. Need to know where to draw the line in following the West blindly!... This “pronouns illness” is being perpetuated in India by MNCs without us Indians even realising it,” he added.

His post has sparked debate on the internet with some users lauding Aggarwal, while others called out Aggarwal’s insensitivity towards gender pronouns.

“Hindi mein jab “unhein”, “unke,” “unse” jaise shabdon ka badon ke badon ke liye prayog kiya jata hai, to uska angrezi mein anuvaad kya hota hai. Aise to hai nahi ki our culture hasn’t had an equivalent of “they/them” pronouns in languages like Hindi. So you’re really just saying you have an issue only when a tool uses these to prevent misgendering?,” responded Aditya Oberai.

Disagreeing with Aggarwal, another user wrote, “this doesn’t hurt anyone and do you really think having pronouns on CVs would impact your decision to hire an individual?”

Meanwhile, an X user, Saurabh Srivastava agreeing with Aggarwal’s post wrote, “Totally agree. We cannot import it when we have real issues on the ground. But this is up to the MNCs and government of India. Employees will be forced to follow it up.”

Another X user lauded Aggarwal for speaking out, and wrote, “Inclusivity and diversity are good, but they can’t be imported as is from the West.”

Notably, this is not the first time that an AI description of an individual sparked the debate about the reliability of AI models. In March this year, Google was embroiled into controversy after its generative AI model, Gemini AI, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been accused of implementing policies that some experts have characterised as fascist. Gemini AI, further added that these accusations are based on a number of factors, including the BJP’s Hindu nationalist ideology, its crackdown on dissent and its use of violence against religious minorities.

Following this, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that Gemini AI’s response was a direct violation of the country’s Information Technology Rules. Notably, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai called Gemini AI’s response “unacceptable.”

Moreover, in March, the ministry of electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued an advisory to intermediaries/platforms asking them to seek "explicit approval from the government" for using under-trial artificial intelligence models. The advisory warned of criminal action in case of non-compliance.