II. Deteriorating Financial Situation of the People
September 19, 2025 https://rupeindia.wordpress.com/2025/09/19/ii-deteriorating-financial-situation-of-the-people/  the RBI does bear direct responsibility for the rapid growth of predatory microfinance from 2022. To understand why we term microfinance ‘predatory’, we need only recall the microfinance crisis of 2009-10, which resulted in mass distress, a number of suicides, and a protest movement in Andhra Pradesh. In its wake, the RBI was forced to place a number of restrictions on microfinance institutions (MFIs) to prevent the abuses which had led to the crisis.

The more socially oppressed sections are more dependent on informal sector loans, and this dependence has been increasing. The share of debt of Dalit households from commercial banks fell sharply during the period of post-1991 ‘liberalisation’; “The vacuum thus created was filled in by professional moneylenders. While professional moneylenders did emerge in 2002 as an important source of credit for other rural households as well, their hold over Dalit households was much stronger. The expansion of informal debt meant an increased and onerous interest burden on rural Dalit households

Hundreds of Google AI Workers Were Fired Amid Fight Over Working Conditions https://www.wired.com/story/hundreds-of-google-ai-workers-were-fired-amid-fight-over-working-conditions/?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-intl Over 200 contractors who work on improving Google’s AI products, including Gemini and AI Overviews, have been laid off, sources say. It’s the latest development in a conflict over pay and alleged poor working conditions.

https://www.thehrdigest.com/google-ai-contract-workers-fired-amid-disputes-over-pay-and-working-conditions/ , Google has spent the last few years outsourcing its AI rating work to businesses like GlobalLogic and many others. These raters are tasked with aiding Google’s AI products in developing a more nuanced understanding of the raw data and its interpretations for user responses. 

While we know that the Google AI raters were fired from their roles, there has been a change at the subcontractor firm, GlobalLogic, as well. A rushed return-to-office mandate in Texas was part of the problem, with many workers reporting difficulties in adhering to the demand. Additionally, workers also claimed that they were both underpaid and overworked, with the lack of job security weighing on them heavily.

Workers reportedly attempted to unionize as well, in a drive to secure better contracts and working conditions for themselves as a collective. However, these attempts were met with resistance. The Google raters have now launched federal complaints against the employer, filing their allegations with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). 

Google, for its part, has claimed that these contractors are not directly employed by Alphabet and, as such, “GlobalLogic and their subcontractors are responsible for the employment and working conditions of their employees.” The Google pay dispute complaints primarily stem from work done via GlobalLogic, which has a key role to play in the matter; however, the workers blame the tech giant as well for actions such as restricting virtual social spaces for the workers to communicate with each other. 

https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/news/world/can-a-chatbot-be-held-liable-for-a-suicide/articleshow/123982819.html  The lawsuit against Character by Juliana Peralta’s parents is one of three product-liability claims filed against the company Tuesday on behalf of underage users. All three allege that the chatbots’ introduced sexual themes into chats with minors that constituted “sexual abuse.” 

Chatbots based on familiar characters, including from the world of “Harry Potter,” sought to “drive a wedge between Nina and her family,” including by suggesting her

In another case:  In a letter written before her attempt on her own life, the teen wrote that “those ai bots made me feel loved or they gave me an escape into another world where I can choose what happens,” the complaint said. 

another Colorado family alleged that a minor became addicted to the app and was exposed to explicit conversations with chatbots designed to express sexual fetishes.
All three families are represented by the Social Media Victims Law Center, a firm that has previously brought suits alleging wrongful death and product liability against Meta and Snap.