India should draw up its own blueprint for AI, say industry veterans, experts

They believe the downstream effects of adopting technologies such as AI without essential due diligence and appropriate safeguards can cause ‘unprecedented disruption of the existing social order.’

The letter comes days after Italy’s privacy watchdog banned ChatGPT, after raising concerns about a recent data breach and the legal basis for using personal data to train the popular chatbot. Further, theFuture of Life Institute last week also called upon all AI labs worldwide to pause for six months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4.

The letter urged all stakeholders – IT researchers, policymakers, academicians in other disciplines, industry leaders, and members of the civil society – to join the ‘vital debate’ on how to harness the power of AI positively which in turn will help evolve a national consensus on how best to utilise the technology for achieving the country’s goals and meeting the aspirations of the young population.

“It is now evident that the emergence of powerful AI, with all its transformational potential, could also be the harbinger of chaotic – and potentially catastrophic – consequences for humanity,” the signatories of the letter said. “Finding an answer to this existential question is a categorical imperative for all nations including India.”

They said while there has been an exponential growth in the capabilities of AI, the emergent properties of generative AI are not understood or explainable by the modelers themselves.

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“While earlier foundations models were merely stochastic parrots statistically generating information based on what data they had been trained, new models of AI are emerging where they can use various tools, act, observe, and update its behaviour. These approaches can lead to far more powerful AI than GPT-4,” the letter read.In a developing country like India, Vembu, Kumar and Sharma said the application of AI in various fields provides an opportunity to pole-vault the traditional, linear growth paths.

They added deploying advanced technologies optimally and strategically can create a ‘potent mix’ of resources and infrastructure that can yield more equitable and more sustainable growth.

“For a remarkably young country like India, with a median age of 29, AI offers a huge opportunity to raise labour productivity, build a knowledge society and further enhance our demographic dividend. At the same time, it is also clear that AI could put millions of jobs at risk almost overnight,” they said.