External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called for regulation, guardrails and greater inclusiveness in the development of artificial intelligence (AI), saying the technology would have a far-reaching impact on everyday life and require a serious debate on responsibility and its applications.
Speaking in conversation with John Micklethwait, Editor-in-Chief of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum on Tuesday, Jaishankar said that AI was difficult to compare with other technologies, including nuclear technology, given its widespread applications and the number of people likely to be affected by it.
"It's hard to find a parallel paradigm to what we are confronting with AI. The nuclear one is one which people often use, but here's the difference. In the case of nuclear technology, yes, it was regulated, but remember, there were very limited users of nuclear technology... AI is, in that sense, the mother of all technologies. It's going to be far more pervasive. It is going to be far more impactful on our everyday life. It's something in which everybody will have a stake," he said.
The External Affairs Minister said that while discussions around AI currently focused on technology leaders, computing power, chips, energy, water and financing, greater attention needed to be given to its practical applications and their consequences for people.
"Here's the issue. It is again like any technology which is emerging: the focus is on the immediate, the technology leaders. Then it becomes an argument about compute, about chips, about energy, even about water, about funding, about financing it. But at the end of the day, you're going to apply it to people. Where will the use cases be? Where will the applications arise, and what will they be? And what will be the consequences?" he said.
Jaishankar also highlighted the potential implications of AI for democratic societies, particularly its impact on politics and the credibility of democratic processes.
"As a democratic society, for example, there would be legitimate concerns about how it would impact politics, how it would impact the political exercise, which is so crucial for the credibility of democratic politics," he said.
Explaining India's approach to AI governance, Jaishankar said there was broad consensus within the government and society on the need for regulation, safeguards and a more substantive discussion on responsibility.
"So, if you ask me what the thinking in India is, I would say the thinking of the government, of the society at large, I think there's a pretty good consensus on this. That yes, there should be regulation; there should be guardrails. There is also a feeling that there needs to be a more purposeful, you know, more serious debate about responsibility," he added.
The External Affairs Minister further stressed the importance of making AI more accessible and ensuring that its benefits reached people, rather than leaving the technology controlled exclusively by forces beyond their influence.
"And also inclusiveness because it is going to affect everybody's life; this must be made in a way much more accessible to people and much more available in their daily lives to their own comfort, not necessarily controlled by forces on which they have no say," he said.
Earlier in October, while attending the Munich Leaders Meeting (MLM), Jaishankar turned to technology governance. He cited India's approach to artificial intelligence as a primary example of leveraging technology for social equity and public welfare, pointing to the vision showcased during the AI Impact Summit hosted in February this year in New Delhi.
"On AI, our position was very amply demonstrated at the AI Impact Summit that we did in February this year... In this country, we have actually used the digital capabilities today to bring about a massive governance and social transformation," he remarked. "People perceive AI also as something which must become accessible, affordable, and used for a certain socio-economic purpose. It is a sort of AI for humanity; develop user cases which are relatable to people's needs. That is the kind of vision that we have."
He further stressed the imperative for policy oversight and safety frameworks in emerging domains, noting, "There is also a concern about the safety and security issues that arise. This is too major an issue to leave it to the market, so to speak."
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