World begins to heed dire warnings about AI

In a significant development, 28 countries, India included, and EU deliberated this week on safe uses of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and preventing its abuse. AI involves creation and application of algorithms mimicking human intelligence. That AI, with all its sub-sets viz., machine learning, deep learning, predictive analytics, and now prescriptive analytics, has humongous capabilities impacting complex decision-making in all areas of business is well-known. It is being harnessed in governance and personal spheres as well.

Amid a mad scramble to tap AI prowess and power comes a startling news that some leading nations have arrived at “a world-first agreement on AI Safety” in the words of UK PM Rishi Sunak. They signed The Bletchley Park Declaration, agreeing on certain ways and methodologies to tackle the “most urgent and dangerous risks” associated with AI. The venue of the summit is itself is symbolic of the grave situation that the summit deliberated on. Bletchley Park in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire), was the principal centre of Allied Forces code-breakers during the Second World War. “Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents enormous global opportunities: it has the potential to transform and enhance human wellbeing, peace and prosperity. To realise this, we affirm that, for the good of all, AI should be designed, developed, deployed, and used, in a manner that is safe, in such a way as to be human-centric, trustworthy and responsible,” the declaration reads.

Now, nations need to evolve their legislations to preclude AI misuse and abuse. It is incumbent upon them as AI already entering various domains like housing, employment, transport, education, health, accessibility, justice. AI is simply touted as the next big opportunity, with no limit to its transformative use. The very fact that a coalition of nations had to urgently meet itself points to its size and status. After the advent of every automation technology, the world feared it would eat up jobs, by automating routine and repetitive tasks. Many nations grappled with them and a few could offset any great harm. AI is beginning to cause a great disquiet in workforce worldwide. Jobs disruption and social disturbance on account of AI can be huge – but may not be in immediate future. Another concern is its brutal capacity to invade privacies and cause bias and discrimination. It is being felt that AI can indeed inherit biases in the data fed to it, and can impact decisions, say, in lending and employment. Already, weighed down by their helplessness in the face of mind-boggling cyber threats, governments are aghast at the prospects of AI use by criminals, and enemies, to gain into and wreak personal lives or public systems at large.

As one peruses how much AI can harm, one feels at once concerned and intimidated. AI is rightly feared to possess shocking abilities to exacerbate social and economic inequalities. Its strategic use in defence or potential exploitation by terrorists or misuse of autonomous machine applications is staggering. The realisation that one cannot fully comprehend the evolving threats of AI is what spurred a handful of nations to meet on how to curb the menace. Since the threat stares at the whole world, it’s in interest of every nation to join hands and work towards a shared understanding of AI risks and solutions, even as they should actively foster innovation and expand capacities via AI. It is heartening that the Modi government is seized of the issue, formulating policies for AI regulation.