New Delhi: India should draw up its own blueprint for artificial intelligence that will at once harness its benefits yet be mindful of socio-economic disruptions, industry veterans have said.
Software experts, in an open letter, have urged policymakers, academicians, thinkers, and civil society, to debate for “a national consensus on how best to utilise this powerful technology for achieving our national goals…”
The letter was jointly signed by Rajiv Kumar, former vice-chairman NITI Ayog and chairman of Pahle India Foundation, Sridhar Vembu, CEO of Zoho Corporation and Sharad Sharma, co-founder of iSPIRT Foundation.
These men cited a recent open letter by Future of Life Institute (FLI), a non-profit working to reduce harm from AI and which counts Elon Musk among its advisers.
This letter has asked all AI labs to stop training AI systems more powerful than GPT-4, which is the model behind ChatGPT.
The letter argues that AI has been “locked in an out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more powerful digital minds that no one — not even their creators — can understand, predict, or reliably control”.
Saying AI was becoming, or could become, “powerful digital minds”, the letter calls for a six-month ban on AI development.
The Indian experts acknowledge AI’s “transformational potential”, but warn it could be the “harbinger of chaotic – and potentially catastrophic – consequences for humanity”.
“Finding an answer to this existential question is a categorical imperative for all nations including India,” they said.
They said this would encourage the global community to firm up the “rules of the game”, as was done in the case of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and the cloning technology.
“We are fully aware that for a developing country like India, application of AI in various fields provides an opportunity to pole-vault the traditional, linear growth paths… 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,” the letter acknowledged.
Dr Rajiv Kumar, former Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog and Chairman, Pahle India Foundation @RajivKumar1 Sridhar Vembu, CEO, Zoho Corporation and Chairman Swadeshi Shodh Sansthan @svembu and Sharad Sharma, Cofounder iSPIRT Foundation @Product_nation jointly sign and release an open… pic.twitter.com/AmVaCvs5IM
— Pahle India Foundation (@PahleIndia) April 3, 2023
It then warned that AI, at the same time, can put millions of jobs at risk almost overnight. “The dizzying pace of the ongoing digital revolution has meant that AI is inveigling itself into the economic, psychological, and cultural aspects of human life at an unprecedented speed,” Kumar, Vembu and Sharma said.
They said 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”.
They added this technology must be managed carefully to avoid “unmanageable socio-economic disruptions at scale”.
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