Digital
Network18 ropes in digital entrepreneur Angad Bhatia to helm Firstpost and Creator18
MUMBAI: Network18 has appointed seasoned digital entrepreneur Angad Bhatia as chief executive of Firstpost and its freshly minted creator-focused venture, Creator18.
Bhatia, who founded and scaled the influential men’s lifestyle platform MensXP before its acquisition by Times Internet, brings over 15 years of digital media expertise to the role where he’ll steer India’s international news brand while simultaneously building a creator network across Network18’s digital properties.
His appointment marks a strategic push by the media conglomerate to capitalise on the booming creator economy while strengthening its news credentials.
The digital veteran most recently served as chief executive of India Lifestyle Network and spearheaded brand and marketing growth initiatives at Mensa Brands. His career has spanned content, technology and digital commerce, including the development of influential digital-first consumer brands such as iDiva and Hypp.
Industry observers note Bhatia’s reputation for identifying growth adjacencies and applying entrepreneurial thinking to established media businesses – precisely the toolkit Network18 appears keen to harness as traditional and social media boundaries continue to blur.
“Bhatia represents the new breed of media executive who understands both content creation and commercial models in the digital sphere,” said a media analyst at a leading consultancy firm. “His experience with MensXP demonstrated he can build audiences while driving commercial success.”
In his new role, Bhatia will report directly to Rahul Joshi, managing director and group editor-in-chief of Network18, as he attempts to bring fresh thinking and audience growth to the organisation’s digital portfolio.
Digital
Ethical AI must benefit society, not dominate it, says WFEB chief Sanjay Pradhan at IAA event
At Mumbai event, ethics expert urges businesses and governments to shape AI responsibly
MUMBAI: Artificial intelligence may be racing ahead at lightning speed, but its direction must still be guided by human conscience. That was the central message delivered by Sanjay Pradhan, president of the World Forum for Ethics in Business (WFEB), during the latest edition of IAA Conversations held in Mumbai.
The session was organised by the International Advertising Association (IAA) and the Artificial Intelligence Association of India (AIAI) in association with The Free Press Journal at the Free Press House on 7 March. Addressing a packed audience, Pradhan called for stronger ethical leadership to ensure AI remains a tool that benefits humanity rather than one that governs it.
“Artificial intelligence has rapidly become one of the most powerful technologies humanity has created,” Pradhan said. “It is unlocking breakthroughs in medicine, science and creativity at a pace unimaginable just a few years ago.”
But he warned that the same technology carries serious risks. AI, he noted, can amplify disinformation faster than facts can travel, compromise privacy, deepen discrimination and disrupt millions of livelihoods. Referencing concerns raised by AI pioneers such as Geoffrey Hinton, often called the godfather of AI, Pradhan stressed that the real challenge is not whether AI will shape the world, but whether humans will shape it with ethics and wisdom.
Structuring his talk around four guiding questions, why, what, how and who, Pradhan introduced the audience to WFEB’s emerging AI Ethics Partnership, a global platform aimed at advancing responsible artificial intelligence. He outlined four priority concerns that demand urgent attention: disinformation, bias and discrimination, data privacy and job security.
To make the idea of ethical AI easier to grasp, Pradhan offered a simple metaphor. Ethical AI, he said, is like a three layered cake. The outer layer represents the visible value ethical AI creates for businesses and society. The middle layer is organisational culture that moves ethics from written codes to everyday practice. The innermost layer, however, is the most crucial, the conscience of individual leaders.
Drawing from Indian philosophical thought through WFEB co-founder Ravi Shankar, Pradhan noted that while artificial intelligence can reproduce stored knowledge, true intelligence is boundless and rooted in conscience, creativity and compassion. Practices such as breathwork and meditation, he suggested, can help leaders develop the calm clarity needed for ethical decision making.
The event also featured a discussion with Maninder Adityaraj Singh, chief of staff and head of innovation at Rediffusion Brand Solutions Pvt Ltd, and Yash Johri, lawyer, Supreme Court of India.
Opening the session, IAA India chapter president Abhishek Karnani, highlighted the need for industries to understand and engage with AI responsibly.
“AI has to be befriended and understood,” added Rediffusion managing director and AIAI national convenor Sandeep Goyal. “Its ethical use will determine whether it becomes a friend or a foe.”
As AI continues to reshape industries and societies, Pradhan ended with a simple but powerful call to action. Businesses, governments and individuals must work together to ensure that the algorithms shaping the future reflect human values rather than just cold logic.
