Archive · 17 Nov 2025
Big Tech's Free AI Services in India: Data Harvesting or Digital Philanthropy?
Some big tech companies like Perplexity, Google, and OpenAI are giving away free AI services to millions of people in India.
Some people think this is a nice gift, but others say it's not.
They think these companies are really using this as a way to collect lots of information about how people use the internet in India.
This information is really important for these companies because it helps them make their AI smarter and understand how people behave in different parts of the world.
There's also a book written by a man named Nick Clegg that talks about how the internet is becoming separated into different parts.
He thinks it's important for these big tech companies to be able to operate everywhere without many rules.
But some people don't agree with him.
They think these companies have caused problems in the past, like spreading fake news or hurting people's feelings with social media, and Clegg's book doesn't really talk about fixing those issues.
Instead, it focuses on how to keep the companies' business running smoothly, even if it means sometimes causing harm.
Perplexity, Google, and OpenAI offered free AI services to Indian users worth hundreds of dollars.
India's diverse user base provides valuable training data and behavioral patterns for these companies.
Nick Clegg's book 'How to Save the Internet' defends Big Tech's global operations and argues against internet fragmentation.
The book faces criticism for downplaying Meta's documented harms and omitting key controversies.
Meta's business model relies on harmful outcomes like spreading outrage and misinformation for engagement and profit.
- Who
- Perplexity, Google, OpenAI, Airtel, Jio, Nick Clegg, Meta, and tech companies.
- What
- Offering free AI services to Indian users and discussing the implications of Big Tech's global data-harvesting practices and internet fragmentation.
- When
- The articles discuss events leading up to and around the publication of Nick Clegg's book in September 2025 and the free AI service offers in July and November 2025.
- Where
- India is highlighted as a key testing ground for Big Tech's AI services and data harvesting operations, with partnerships involving Airtel and Jio. The articles also discuss global implications and Meta's influence worldwide.
- Why
- The article argues that companies like Perplexity, Google, and OpenAI are offering free AI services in India to gather vast amounts of diverse user data for training their AI models and expanding their global reach, mirroring past data-harvesting strategies. Additionally, Nick Clegg's book argues that the internet is fragmenting due to regulatory pressures, and he proposes international cooperation to preserve Big Tech's global operations.
Critique of Big Tech's Data Practices
Clegg's Proposed Solution
Data Harvesting vs. Digital Philanthropy
Critique of Big Tech's Data Practices
Critics argue that free AI services are a guise for harvesting valuable user data, while proponents see them as digital philanthropy.
Clegg's Proposed Solution
Nick Clegg argues that Big Tech's global operations should be preserved to maintain the internet's capacity for knowledge sharing and collaboration.
Meta's Role and Accountability
Critique of Big Tech's Data Practices
Critics highlight Meta's documented failures, such as the Cambridge Analytica scandal, its role in Myanmar's genocide, and negative impacts on teen mental health, arguing that Clegg's book downplays these issues.
Clegg's Proposed Solution
Clegg's book acknowledges 'challenges' and 'mistakes' but denies culpability and defends the system that makes them inevitable, according to critics.
Saving the Internet
Critique of Big Tech's Data Practices
Critics argue that Clegg's proposed solution focuses on preserving Big Tech's global reach without meaningful constraints, prioritizing the machine's reach over preventing harm.
Clegg's Proposed Solution
Clegg posits that imposing national borders on the internet undermines its capacity for knowledge sharing, collaboration, education, and trade, advocating for continued cross-border operations.
- Book Title
- How to Save the Internet: The Threat to Global Connection in the Age of AI and Political Conflict
- Author
- Nick Clegg
- Publisher
- Penguin Random House
- Paperback Pages
- 320
- Price
- ₹999
- Publication Date
- November 12, 2025
- Free AI Service Value (Perplexity)
- $200
- Free AI Service Value (Google)
- $396
- Indian Users Receiving Free AI Services
- 360 million (Airtel) and 505 million (Jio)