Staff Reporter / NEW DELHI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that India is committed to responsible and ethical use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Addressing the gathering after inaugurating the ‘Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence Summit’ at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi this evening, Mr Modi stressed that Artificial Intelligence is for social development and inclusive growth.
The Prime Minister said that the government has drafted its policies and programs with the spirit of AI for All. He said that the government strives to take maximum advantage of AI’s capabilities for social development and inclusive growth, while also committing to its responsible and ethical usage. The Prime Minister informed that the government has started a National Program on Artificial Intelligence, and it will soon launch AI Mission which aims to establish the computing powers of AI. Prime Minister said, the mission will provide better services to startups and innovators in India and also promote AI applications in the sectors of agriculture, healthcare and education. He also mentioned taking AI-related skills to Tier 2 and 3 cities through educational training institutes.
Speaking about India’s national AI portal that promotes AI initiatives, the Prime Minister mentioned the AIRAWAT initiative and informed that the common platform will soon be open for every research lab, industry and startup. Stressing the importance of Artificial Intelligence, the Prime Minister said that AI is becoming the biggest basis for sculpting the new future and it not only ensures economic development but also ensures equality and social justice. Emphasizing to make AI more inclusive, Mr Modi said that “the more inclusive, the development journey of AI, the more inclusive will be the results”.
Prime Minister mentioned that the unequal access to technology in the last century is accentuating inequality in the society and to avoid this, he asked that democratic values should not be neglected in technology to make it an inclusion multiplier. He said, the direction of AI development will depend on human and democratic values and it is up to us to keep a place for emotions along with efficiency, ethics along effectiveness.
The Prime Minister emphasized that, to make any system sustainable, it is important to make it transformative, transparent, and trusted and there is no doubt that AI is transformative but it is up to us to make it more and more transparent. He added that keeping data as transparent and free from bias will be a good beginning. He said that it is imperative to assure all the countries that no one will be left behind in the development journey of AI. He underlined that trust in AI will grow only when related ethical, economic and social aspects are addressed.
Underlining the negative aspects of AI, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that even though it has the potential to become the strongest tool for development in the 21st century, it can also play a pivotal role in its destruction. Pointing out the challenges of deepfake, cyber security, data theft and terrorist organizations getting their hands on AI tools, Prime Minister Modi stressed on the need for countermeasures towards this. He threw light on India’s proposal to create a framework for ‘Responsible Human-Centric AI governance’ during India’s G20 Presidency and said that the G20 New Delhi Declaration has reaffirmed the commitment of all member countries towards ‘AI Principles’. He emphasized working together and creating a framework for the ethical use of AI, including the testing and development of high-risk or frontier AI tools. Stressing the need for conviction, commitment, coordination, and collaboration, the Prime Minister called upon the entire world to not waste even a moment in this direction.
Noting AI as a worldwide movement, the Prime Minister stressed the need for collaboration. He suggested a few questions that need to be addressed to enhance AI’s credibility such as data sets for testing and training AI tools, length and duration of testing before releasing any product to the market. The Prime Minister also asked whether a Software Watermark can be introduced to mark any information or product as AI-generated.
Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ashvini Vaishnav, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrashekhar and Minister of Outgoing Chair of GPAI and Vice-Minister for Policy Coordination, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan Hiroshi Yoshida were also present on the occasion.
