Ideas and Opinions

The Ideas and Opinions section presents a collection of key conceptual contributions by Sunil Abraham, expressed through short, accessible statements.
Each idea captures a framework or principle developed through years of engagement in policy, advocacy, and digital rights research.
The section functions as a growing reference for recurring themes in his work and may be expanded into detailed essays over time.

This title also serves as a modest homage to Ideas and Opinions by Albert Einstein — a reminder that theory and reflection are integral to the practice of public-interest technology.

Key Ideas

A bright, Ghibli-style illustration features Sunil Abraham, a professional man with dark hair and subtle grey temples, writing at a desk in a library. Above his head, a thought bubble titled IDEAS AND OPINIONS contains icons representing his work: a salt shaker for surveillance, a fingerprint for biometrics, and scales for transparency and privacy. Surrounding him are words and symbols like Internet, Privacy, Openness, Open Source, Open Access, and Surveillance. A colourful ribbon illustrates the AI as a spectrum of regulation, showing Permissibility to Prohibition. The image visually encapsulates Sunil Abraham's key conceptual contributions in digital rights and public-interest technology.

⚠️ Please note:
Each idea listed here may be expanded into a separate article or subpage with supporting context, examples, and policy relevance.

Surveillance is like salt

Surveillance is comparable to salt in cooking — essential in small quantities but counterproductive even if slightly in excess.
The right balance ensures safety and accountability; too much erodes freedom, trust, and democratic integrity.

Biometric systems are covert, remote, and non-consensual forms of identification.
Such technologies are unsuitable for national identification systems because they compromise transparency, participation, and individual agency.

Power, transparency, and privacy

Transparency should be directly proportionate to power, while privacy should be inversely proportionate to it.
Those in positions of authority require scrutiny, while ordinary individuals deserve protection.
These principles can coexist through carefully crafted legal exceptions that serve the public interest.

Artificial Intelligence as a spectrum of regulation

Artificial Intelligence represents a full-spectrum regulatory challenge.
Every tool in the governance toolkit — from full permissibility to total prohibition — may be appropriate depending on the actor, purpose, and the rights at stake.
A one-size-fits-all approach cannot address the diverse ethical and social consequences of AI.

Continuum of freedom: openness, access, and piracy

The openness movement, the access to knowledge (A2K) movement, and so-called ‘pirate’ cultures exist on a shared continuum of freedom.
Each represents a distinct way of exercising or expanding the boundaries of digital freedom, and together they shape the evolving ethics of participation in the knowledge society.

Future Development

Over time, Ideas and Opinions will evolve into a library of foundational thoughts, illustrating how conceptual clarity informs public reasoning and governance.