India to forgo AI legislation
The Indian government has assumed a strong stance regarding Artificial Intelligence function and developmental regulation.
When questioned on whether or not the government is taking steps to regulate the growth of AI, the Minister of Information Technology and Electronics, Rajeev Chandrasekhar replied in the absolute negative. Stating that “AI is a kinetic enabler of the digital economy and innovation ecosystem”.
The Indian government is intent on a mass integration of AI technology across both the public and private sectors. The prospect of using it to improve the speed, efficiency and effectiveness of digital services is very attractive to the South Asian nation.
This stance seems very extreme, however, the ethical issues, which are undoubtedly vast and diverse, have and will continue to be considered. IT and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw describes these “issues such as bias and discrimination in decision-making, privacy violations, lack of transparency in AI systems, and questions about responsibility for harm caused by it”.
The Indian government has taken some action on the matter, Chandrasekhar did mention that the government is collaborating with the tech industry to “standardize responsible AI development, use and promote the adoption of best practices”. This does seem like a very soft touch approach that seems to brush off these concerns.
Despite these very public concerns, India’s government is taking a highly converse approach to regulation. As other nations establish strong legislation, regulatory action and even prohibition, such as the case in Italy already, India would prefer to balance these risks by outweighing them with the hoped exponential growth, development and progression of the technology and all its applications.
The India government has taken some action on the matter, Chandrasekhar did mention that the government is collaborating with the tech industry to “standardize responsible AI development, use and promote the adoption of best practices”.
This is also in opposition to the sentiment voiced by several leading technology experts and industry innovators such as Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak who have in recent times called for a temporary halt to AI development from the top down. This would be to slow the immensely rapid and inevitable explosion of these technologies and their uses, in order to find suitable regulatory measures that seek to protect entities and people while still allowing for this development.
India’s actions will in all likelihood encourage developments and induce more rapid growth, however the cost of this is yet to be seen.
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