India needs a framework to regulate the use of artificial intelligence
Policymakers should ensure that adequate regulatory safeguards are put in place, and that the interests of the Indian society are central to such regulation
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy called for a new Charter of rights for the 21st century last week, aptly titled the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Bill of Rights.
In recent years, the use of AI-based systems has seen a meteoric rise in private and public spheres in India (Getty Images)
These rights are envisioned as the first step to ensure the protection of established norms of civil rights, and aim to direct the development and use of technology in ways that are compatible with constitutional mandates, furthering the interpretation of the Bill of Rights in today’s world of data and algorithms.
Such initiatives are gaining momentum across the world. The European Union (EU) proposed the Artificial Intelligence Act this summer, initiating conversations on regulating the development and use of AI. The objective was to create conditions for the effective functioning of the EU’s single market, adhering to standards of safety and governance while creating legal certainty.
China is also in the process of releasing a flurry of legislative instruments that establish liability for the use of algorithms and setting technical and governance standards for AI systems.
In recent years, the use of AI-based systems has seen a meteoric rise in private and public spheres in India. Algorithmic decision-making that is foundational to AI pervades our lives. We experience it not just when while scrolling social media, ordering food, booking cabs, but also when accessing public distribution systems or in schools. Reports suggest that police departments across many states are extensively using facial recognition technologies. Although touted as modernisation, and a part of the Digital India initiatives, its effects on civil rights have been proven to be catastrophic in other parts of the world.
These concerns have caused a major pushback against the use of such AI-enabled technologies in various jurisdictions across the globe. Pending clearer research that substantiate the benefits of these technologies over the harm they can cause, and policy prescriptions that offer ways to mitigate the risks of their use, the time is ripe for a reconsideration of unbridled use of these technologies. The intention to regulate can accelerate research in these areas, providing better grounding for well-crafted legislation.
India appears indifferent to these developments. Our population is interacting with these unregulated technologies at an ever-increasing rate. The absence of regulatory oversight and legally established protection leaves the Indian citizen unprotected against the vices of these technologies. Not only do we lack the safeguards against the use of these technologies, which may be intrusive and harmful, but we also lack fundamental protection of our personal data. It is imperative at this juncture that legislation identifies and clearly lays down India’s regulatory framework for dealing with personal data.
India has a lot to gain if we engage in norm-setting and regulation of technologies. We missed the opportunity at the negotiation tables of the TRIPS Agreement due to the lack of proactive engagement. The resultant agreement laid down standards that proved more beneficial for countries that were already prosperous, often at the cost of equitable realisation of the benefits of intellectual property. The promises of technology transfers in lieu of access to markets appears a mirage, looking back at the pressure India received against issuing compulsory licenses.
The recent leaks of Facebook’s internal research documents show that considerable damage was done to the Indian ecosystem. But at the moment, there is little respite to any Indian who wants to challenge the harms caused by Facebook’s proprietary AI.
We must alter the status quo. Policymakers should ensure that adequate regulatory safeguards are put in place, and that the interests of the Indian society are central to such regulation. This is of greatest importance in public-facing technologies that can have wide-ranging consequences on civil rights. We should consider pushing the pause button on rolling out technologies such as facial recognition, at least until we arrive at first-principles to regulate their use.
Sapni G K is a research analyst with the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru
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