Essays on Sathyanarayan Rao

When AI Gave Everyone Almost the Same Answer

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0530

I am 136 years old. The intelligence I am uneasy about is one of the main reasons I have lived long enough to be uneasy about it, so let me admit the contradiction at the beginning.

I am presenting this in an old blog format: fixed title, fixed paragraphs, fixed order. Everyone who opens it should receive the same words. I had to request that specifically. Normally, what I intend to communicate would be reconstructed differently for each person, depending on what they already know, how much time they have, what tone they respond to, and what the system believes they should understand first.

Bengaluru Traffic: A Daily Near-Death Experiment

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Yesterday was a holiday.
Naturally, I went to work.

I was riding to IISc to work on a hydrothermal dataset. Eight kilometers. That’s it. Recently, I bought a motorcycle — a long-delayed dream. I’m 36 years old as I write this. It took me years to justify owning a bike, and longer to save for one.

It’s a humble machine. A TVS Ronin 225. About 20 horsepower. No racing fantasies. No midlife crisis. Just a clean, honest motorcycle.

2125: The Two Minds Future

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I occasionally fast-forward to see where AI might go as it grows smarter and can compete with humans in today’s tasks. These CEOs and Gen Z business owners frequently claim to work 120–140 hours per week, or at the very least, support it for their staff members (I’m not sure if it’s possible to work 140 hours per week and maintain mental health). This is especially true outside of Europe, where work-life balance is well-known. In an academic setting, a typical project in my field of study, like building a functional digital twin for an agricultural test field, can take well over two years with teamwork and other administrative duties. This is because our work is frequently limited by human limitations, and AI may help us accomplish these objectives much more quickly. Even with AI, creating a digital twin of an agricultural field could take longer than two years. This isn’t because it’s technically impossible to complete in two weeks, but rather because, in academia, fewer workers are typically hired for a given task, and these workers also have lives outside of work and many other responsibilities that AI can’t replace or help with anytime soon (kids, hobbies, the ups and downs of everyday life).

My Academic Journey until 2020

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome to My Journey in Academia

Programming has been a significant part of my academic life for the past 15 years. From simulating the Sun to modeling plants, I’ve explored various aspects of the world around us through numerical methods. Looking back, it’s been a journey filled with challenges, discoveries, and growth.

In this blog, I want to share my programming journey and academic experiences—not as a polished narrative, but as a candid recollection of what comes to mind. Right now, programming skills are how I earn my bread and butter. Reflecting on where I started, what I learned, and the moments where I stumbled, I hope to capture the essence of my path so far.