Artificial intelligence could be leveraged for global needs, including India's needs: S Krishnan, Secretary, MEITY
Shri S Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India during his address emphasized that there is need to focus on how artificial intelligence could be leveraged for global needs, including India's needs. He was speaking at a plenary session on ‘Harnessing AI for Global Good’ during the Global Economic Policy Forum 2023 organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance in New Delhi on 7 December.
He shared that the positives of AI outweighed the negatives, with promising prospects in areas such as science, drug discovery, protein folding, and more. While acknowledging concerns about safety, deep fakes, and misrepresentation, the focus remained on the transformative potential of AI.
He highlighted that four key challenges in India's AI journey where India is putting its efforts includes infrastructure, availability of data, regulation of data, and skills. He also emphasized that research and innovation is one of areas where Indian government has been focusing a lot and collaborating with research institutions globally.
He further shared the very insightful remark of Dr. Gita Gopinath, the Managing Director of IMF, regarding AI's potential to drive productivity and economic change akin to the industrial revolution in the 19th century.
He touched upon the noteworthy event on global partnerships on AI, where India is set to assume the chairmanship, aiming to democratize AI use and improve access. He also talked about the need for global inclusivity and converting AI for the benefit of larger populations.
AI profoundly impacted all spheres of our lives, setting out to harness the technology. This was highlighted by Mr. Sandip Patel, Managing Director of IBM India, South Asia, during his opening remarks. He further shared that AI-based technologies revolutionized transportation, manufacturing, healthcare, and education, offering radical improvements in the lives of vulnerable populations worldwide. Particularly for developing countries, AI presented the potential to leapfrog outdated technologies, delivering services directly to those in need.
He further shared that deploying AI on a larger scale could add approximately USD 16 trillion to the global economy by 2030. If harnessed responsibly and made accessible to all, AI could supercharge climate action and contribute to achieving the 17 SDGs by 2030.
He highlighted that accountability, transparency and fairness would be the building blocks of any governance framework, as AI safety would become more relevant.
Dr. Mohan Kankanhalli, Deputy Executive Chair, AI Singapore, and Provost's Chair Professor of Computer Science, National University of Singapore (NUS) during his speech briefly touched upon various sectors where AI was a game-changer in terms of productivity and decision-making, outlining the challenges faced by AI Singapore. He shared the Grand challenges that were initiated by NUS to address societal problems and create an impact, necessitating collaboration across disciplines with government, regulatory agencies, and industry partners.
7 December 2023
New Delhi