Artificial Intelligence mechanism should protect safety of citizens, promote equal opportunity for research: Amitabh Kant

There must be a robust and reliable enforcement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) mechanism that protects the safety of citizens, government and businesses while promoting equal opportunity for research and innovation, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Monday.

He was addressing a programme jointly organised by United Nations India and OP Jindal Global University.

Speaking on 'Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. Exploring Pluri-Perspectives', Kant said based on several stakeholder considerations on the subject, the NITI Aayog had released two working documents last year on responsible AI for the public comments.

Any mechanism to regulate AI must be proportional to the risk and strike a balance between innovation and responsible use. This requires a holistic understanding of the "complex interactions of the AI with our daily lives," he said.

Earlier, Renata Dessallien, UN Resident Coordinator in India, said that for the past four to five years, India has seen a flourishing of frameworks on ethical AI.

"They tend to focus on a set of recurring themes - privacy, bias, safety, security, etc. These are important issues, but at the same time, we know that ethical AI means more than this. The issues of AI-induced digital distraction, isolation, depression, the impact of AI on human agency, relationality, intentionality, human flourishing, well-being, culture, etc are often absent or dealt with in a cursory manner," she said, adding that these issues are fundamental.

Dessallien said that it seems only natural that India with its diverse, philosophical and spiritual heritage, contributes proactively to the topic of ethical AI and brings together other philosophical schools of thought from the east "to nourish our collective understanding".

Speaking in the event, the Vice-Chancellor of OP Jindal Global University Professor C Raj Kumar said AI permeates various aspects of work.

"AI is everywhere. We are at an important juncture to discuss how we balance this transformation while maintaining the moral compass of AI to make a scalable and sustainable impact," Kumar said.

( With inputs from ANI )