During the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the need for a worldwide framework to ensure the responsible advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. He stressed the importance of evidence-based delivery of public services and highlighted the potential risks associated with AI, such as deepfakes, data theft, and exploitation by terrorists. Addressing the diplomats, ministers, and industry participants present, Modi urged them to approach AI development with utmost caution and prioritize safety measures.
During the GPAI Summit inauguration, Prime Minister Modi emphasized the critical necessity of transparency in AI systems to ensure their sustainability. Recognizing the transformative power of AI, Modi emphasized the responsibility to ensure its transparency and impartiality. Hiroshi Yoshida, Japan’s first minister for policy coordination, attended the event as Japan handed over the GPAI chair to India in 2024.
Modi stressed the urgency of establishing a global AI framework, akin to international treaties, within the current year. He highlighted the significance of inclusive AI development to achieve fair outcomes and cautioned against perpetuating historical disparities in technology access. Modi concluded by underscoring the importance of preserving emotional space and ethical standards in the progress of AI.
Modi, the Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, and the junior IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, all emphasized the potential of AI in various sectors such as agriculture, personalized education, and healthcare. Vaishnaw expressed his hope for a consensus on AI regulation by the end of the summit.
Modi also highlighted the importance of using AI to provide information in local languages, considering India’s linguistic diversity. He even posed the question of whether AI could revive dead languages or fill missing volumes on Vedic mathematics.
Furthermore, Modi drew attention to the vast amount of data held by central and state governments, emphasizing its potential for evidence-based policymaking. He stressed the need for a risk and harms-based approach to AI regulation, categorizing risks and harms as red, yellow, and green.
Addressing the issue of deepfakes and artificially generated content, Modi emphasized the importance of increasing the credibility of AI-generated information. He proposed the development of a “software watermark” to identify AI-generated information.
Modi also expressed concerns about cybersecurity, data theft, and the potential misuse of AI tools by terrorist groups. He called for global discussions and consensus to prevent the misuse of AI, as it poses a threat to global security.
Lastly, Modi emphasized the need for standardization in testing and training AI models before their public deployment, as the industry continues to explore and develop these models.