Context:
It hugely transforms the very nature of the global industries, economies, and geopolitics. So, this field’s proper governance is extremally necessary now. India ranks among the most rapid adopters of AI technology in the entire world. Hence, its vibrant contribution to international initiatives for developing AI safety assures that the high-tech future can be made a safe one. India embraces AI so highly and it has a big population of users in AI and still, no national AI safety institute is in existence and this country hasn’t also joined global efforts to address crucial AI governance issues.
Key Highlights:
Dangers of Unchecked AI
- Unaccountable and Threatening
- AI system behaviors turned unaccountable and threatening in nature while it presented itself during the 2024 case with the chatbot provided by Google- Gemini that messaged a person a pretty astonishing and aggressive communication.
- Safety Regulations
- Such events call for having safety regulations on AI practices so as not to harm users by its unintended consequences.
- India needs to offer reasonable AI regulation to achieve the balance of safety and innovation.
International AI Safety Programs and India’s Lack
- The International Network of AI Safety Institutes
- It was launched in November 2024 to standardize global AI safety standards.
- The programme is based on the Seoul Statement of Intent, under which countries have agreed to cooperate on risk management in respect of AI.
- India’s Position
- India is not included in the list, though its AI adoption rate stands at 30%, which is more than half of the global average of 26%.
- This may be one of the exclusions of this country from formulating global AI policies that may emerge affecting its future AI ecosystem.
Cross Border Nature of AI and Necessity of International Collaboration.
- Transparency and Accountability
- It cuts across borders in AI, that is the necessity of international collaboration in facing some of the problems shared like areas in ethics, security threats, and to make AI accountable, and make AI use be transparent.
- India’s Status
- India is the highest consumer of AI which holds 10% of ChatGPT users at a global level.
- International level of engagement in AI governance will help India to make international rules shaping and protect its AI ecosystem.
The Geopolitical Risks of AI
- AI will become central to geopolitics, informing economic and security policies.
- The US is imposing export controls on advanced AI software mainly to slow down China’s rise in AI.
- India is being viewed as the “non China” alternative but may still face restrictions that limit access to the latest AI tools.
- Unless India engages proactively, it risks being sidelined in AI advancement and collateral damage in global tech rivalries.
Leverage AI governance strengths for India
- IT industry and a digital ecosystem, for instance, Aadhaar, UPI-an example of successful scaling of responsible AI solutions.
- This is an example of success on India where DPI has provided a model even for more inclusive and interoperable AI governance.
- Joining proactively global AI safety efforts, India can further attract investments and partnerships and make its stance stronger in policymaking of AI to work for the best interest of nations and help drive the world forward.
