Biggest challenge in using tech is to gain citizens' confidence: KTR

Hyderabad: Industries Minister KT Rama Rao on Tuesday said that the biggest challenge in using technology, like facial recognition coupled with Artificial Intelligence, was to be able to gain citizens' confidence that the government was unbiased in the use of data and that they were not under surveillance.

The minister shared his thoughts on 'AI on the Street: Managing Trust in the Public Square' at a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Speaking at the session, Rao said the only way to be able to achieve this would be to first clearly identify the regulatory powers that each of the government organisations would require.

"These powers must be given to them in a parliamentary and a fully transparent method," KTR stated. He said, "facial recognition has reduced the dependence on physical resources and time taken to find criminals and missing people. With the right regulatory outreach, we can make it far easier for the police and also support the citizens with their needs."

Laying stress on making the process transparent, he said every single step that the government will take to be able to use facial recognition needs to be shared with the public first before it is used by a government organisation. This needs to be formally bestowed upon them following the rules of democracy."

The minister said obtaining public confidence was very important. "The government understands the advantages that facial recognition provides in regulation and policing. The confidence that the public has in this system needs to be bolstered by optional systems that can expose them to the method and only then scale up."

Talking about education of those in government, the minister said, "we need minds that are well-versed in AI, ML, Blockchain, data sciences and the risks that come with their use. The data being used must be fully secured; security must be verified."

The other members of the panel discussion included Takayuki Morita, president, Chief Executive Officer, and representative director, NEC, Japan, Angie Nicole, Executive Director Ushahidi, South Africa, and Coen Van Oostrom, CEO & Founder, Edge Tech.