It is the season of summits in the Indian capital. New Delhi hosted the 2023 summit of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) on 12–14 December. It resulted in the finalisation of the New Delhi Declaration, although its text has not been placed in the public domain.
GPAI is an organisation of 29 countries from the Americas (North and South), Europe and Asia. It has important players such as the US, France, Japan and India, but it excludes China.
The last summit was held in Japan. India will chair GPAI in 2024.
A forum created in 2020, its mission is to bring government representatives and experts together to support and guide the responsible adoption of Artificial Intelligence grounded in human rights, inclusion, diversity, gender equity, innovation, economic growth, environmental and social benefit, while seeking to contribute concretely to the 2030 Agenda and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The summit in New Delhi drew special attention as rapid and dramatic strides have been made in the field of AI in the past year. They have generated both excitement about its potential benefits as well as fears about its misuse.
While researching for this article, this author was introduced to ‘Pi, your personal AI’, by an IITian visiting India from the Bay Area in California.
When asked to define Artificial Intelligence, my Pi responded instantly that it is the ability of a computer programme to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence such as understanding language, recognising objects, and solving problems.
AI systems use algorithms and enormous amounts of data to learn how to perform these tasks. It is a new and fast-developing technology that can be used widely and is also liable to be misused. Indeed, many ethical and societal questions surround the development, deployment and use of AI today.
The GPAI summit deliberations took place in the backdrop of the G20 summit hosted by India in September 2023. There, consensus was reached among the members of this premier international economic forum on the means to harness AI responsibly for “Good and for All.”
Member nations agreed to solve AI-related challenges “in a responsible, inclusive and human-centric manner while protecting people’s rights and safety.”
The essential strategy developed is to share equitably AI’s benefits and mitigate its risks. The path to achieving this goal is to promote international cooperation and dialogue on international governance for AI.
The GPAI summit was a major step in that direction.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, easily one of the most tech-savvy and tech-conscious world leaders, set the tone for the dialogue on AI.
To make any system sustainable, he observed, it should be made transformative, transparent and trusted.
“There is no doubt that AI is transformative, but it is up to us to make it more and more transparent.”
As to trust, this would grow, he added, when related ethical, economic, and social aspects are addressed suitably.
AI could be both a tool for development, but also a weapon for destruction in the hands of terrorists. The latter scenario requires effective counter-measures. There is a pressing need to make AI more inclusive and more reliable. “The direction of AI’s future development will depend on human and democratic values,” he stressed.
Following detailed deliberations, the summit participants unanimously agreed on a plan to forge international cooperation on several aspects of AI. According to Rajeev Chandrasekhar, minister of state for Electronics and Information Technology, the declaration promised to promote GPAI at the forefront of shaping AI in terms of innovation and collaboration, increasing applications of AI in healthcare, agriculture and other areas of interest.
Multiple concerns regarding misinformation, unemployment, bias, personal data protection and threats to human rights were discussed frankly. Participants reiterated their commitment to nurturing safe, secure and trustworthy AI within their jurisdictions.
This overarching vision will be realised through a cluster of measures ranging from the development of regulations, policies, standards and other important initiatives. The declaration, pointed out an expert, “has attempted to find a balance between innovation and the risks associated with AI systems.”
When viewed in the larger context, AI has thrown up several critical issues that demand close attention and scrutiny.
First, there is the question of regulation. Three different approaches are in operation. The UK government prefers a soft approach to regulation – “the less, the better” – so that innovation is fostered optimally. The European Union (EU), on the other hand, has taken a tough line, intending to introduce a new AI Act that may classify Artificial Intelligence “according to use-case scenarios based broadly on the degree of invasiveness and risk”.
The third approach is followed by the U.S. which, through its executive order issued at the end of October, has shown a preference for a middle path between the UK and the EU.
India’s position was clearly articulated by Union Minister for Electronics & Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar at the recent conference at Bletchley Park, UK, who stressed that steps should be taken to ensure AI represents safety and trust. India views AI as a big opportunity. “We look at AI and indeed technology in general,” he said, “through the prism of openness, safety, trust and accountability.”
Second, in the middle of global conversations on AI, experts suggest that India could be a global leader. For instance, Markham Erickson, of Google’s Centres for Excellence, maintained that India’s workforce, the university system, the technology stack and the population gave it a leading position on the table where AI is discussed. But he expressed the hope that regulations devised by India would be “interoperable” with those of other nations so that the country’s small and medium businesses can derive optimal benefit.
Third, the likely impact of AI on employment is a widespread apprehension, much like the earlier decades when the Internet began to bloom. The consensus seems to be that many jobs will not be affected, but some jobs may be disrupted as AI grows more and becomes smarter. The way to deal with the emerging situation will be to have “a more AI-skilled workforce,” as Erickson argued.
Finally, a major concern relates to deepfakes defined as ‘digital media, video, audio and images, edited and manipulated, using Artificial Intelligence (AI).’
This seeped into public consciousness in India when a video featuring Rashmika Mandanna, a popular actor, became viral on social media in November. The danger of deepfakes can spread, given the Parliamentary elections due next year. The government maintains that the existing laws are enough to deal with the challenge, but perhaps more counter-measures may be required in the coming months.
Two more observations are in order here.
First, enlightened or on-the-go business leaders like Shailendra Singh, managing director at Peak XV Partners, believe that every company now needs to have ‘an AI strategy’.
Second, the study of international relations, foreign policy and diplomacy can no longer be separated from the impact of digital technology and AI. Scholars have already begun reflecting and writing on ‘the geopolitics of AI’.
In this sense, what the GPAI summit discussed and achieved in New Delhi this week is of wider significance.
Rajiv Bhatia is Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies, and a former ambassador.
This article was first published by WION.