A word of caution about India and the AI wagon

May 25, 2023

Context:

There has been a rise in warnings against Artificial Intelligence (AI) by technology leaders, researchers and experts.

The World Health Organization called for caution in using AI for public health care. But there have been fewer voices in India supporting Responsible AI.

Immediate Threat: Reinforcing Biases and Trivializing Diversity

Algorithms and AI can perpetuate biases and inequalities.
Impact on marginalized groups and minorities.
United Nations Development Programme and Apti institute highlighted algorithmic bias in various industries.

The world of machine learning:

AI depends on Big Data or programmatic rules to learn about and simulate human intelligence, communication, and (potentially) actions.
Machines learn from massive volumes of data created and provided by humans and are programmed to identify patterns and learn to replicate to make decisions.

Issues:

Machines do not have a sense of fairness or empathy that a society, especially with minorities and disempowered communities, leans on.
Every bias that we have had in the past can be learnt as a rule and insight, and applied as a generalization.

What AI deployment in India needs:

We need clean, organized, digitized, and well-governed public data to build algorithms and models that benefit our people.
Both industry and governments must exercise caution and invest sufficiently in its research, development and scrutiny before embracing this innovation.
Need to prioritize the development of AI in a responsible and informed manner.
The private sector and practitioners should work collaboratively with governments on this journey.
It is crucial to emphasize that the goal must be to build intelligent machines that are inclusive and reflect the country’s diversity and heterogeneity.
Our adoption of this innovation should not hinder our progress towards equality and equity for all; it should support our reforms and endeavours for positive change.

Additional Information:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) describes the action of machines accomplishing tasks that have historically required human intelligence and includes technologies like machine learning, pattern recognition, big data, neural networks, self algorithms etc.

News Source: The Hindu