Context:

Government agencies and policymakers are using AI tools to analyze patterns, forecast scenarios, and offer informed recommendations. Yet, AI adoption in decision-making has potential downsides.

More on News:

• The biases inherent in AI, often a reflection of the biases in the data they are trained on or the perspectives of their developers, can lead to skewed or unjust outcomes and represent a significant challenge in the integration of AI into governance.
• Using prompts with generative AI models can raise various ethical concerns.
  • Prompts about the role of women in leadership positions can generate content that portrays women stereotypically and subordinately, reinforcing gender biases.

About Artificial Intelligence (AI):

• Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions.
  • For Example:  ChatGPT 

Types of Artificial Intelligence

• Weak artificial intelligence: It embodies a system designed to carry out one particular job. 
  • For Example:  Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri. 
• Strong Artificial Intelligence: These systems carry on the tasks considered to be human-like. They are programmed to handle situations in which they may be required to problem solve without having a person intervene.
  • For Example: These kinds of systems can be found in applications like self-driving cars or in hospital operating rooms.

India’s Initiatives for Developing AI:

• NITI Aayog Contribution: 
  • NITI Aayog has come with the ‘National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence’ Discussion Paper that focuses on establishing the International Conference on Tools with Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI) in the country through private sector collaboration.
  • NITI Aayog is to set up India’s first AI-specific cloud computing infrastructure called AIRAWAT. 

• Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI): In 2020, India joined with 15 other countries to form the GPAI to establish frameworks for the responsible utilization of emerging technologies.

Benefits of AI:

• Increase in Global GDP: A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) predicted an increase in global GDP by 14% or $15.7 trillion by 2030 due to ongoing technological advancements in AI. 
  • Further, a report from Goldman Sachs Research in April 2023 said that generative AI alone could raise global GDP by 7% or almost $7 trillion over a 10-year period. 
• Boosting annual growth rate: The discussion paper’  ‘Towards Responsible#AIForAll’  by Niti Aayog states that there is a potential for large-scale adoption of AI which can boost the country’s annual growth rate by 1.3 per cent, by 2035.
• Enhanced Productivity: There is broad consensus on increasing productivity by adopting AI in producing goods and services. 
  • For Example: In a study called “Generative AI at Work, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) economists showed that AI tools boosted worker productivity by 14% and improved consumer satisfaction.
• Creation of New Job: AI may result in automating some routine jobs but will also result in job creation in various data science, data curation etc. 
• Innovation: A recent survey among employees of LinkedIn’s top 50 companies in the United States shows that almost 70% of them found AI helping them to be faster, smarter, and more innovative.
• Effective Policy Implementation: Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) plans to use Artificial Intelligence technologies to carry out pilot studies for Optimization of Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) in various States.

Ethical Issues  associated with Artificial Intelligence:

• Labour Replacement: AI can automate repetitive tasks and with generative AI, even creative tasks can be done efficiently and fast, thereby replacing labor.
  • For Example: A research paper titled “Robots and Jobs: Evidence from US Labor Markets” by Daron Acemoglu of MIT found that robot adoption has a negative effect on workers, on average — it reduces the labor share, employment and wages.
• AI Bias: AI systems can perpetuate existing biases present in training data, leading to discrimination against certain groups. Ensuring fairness and minimizing bias in AI models is a significant challenge.
• Social Manipulation: AI-powered algorithms can be used to spread misinformation, influence public opinion, and manipulate social behavior.
• Rights of AIs: AIs are still simple and mostly disembodied programs. But, as AIs become more complex and start to have physical, possibly human shapes, and more numerous, what rights they should have is debatable.
• Unintended Consequences: AI systems can produce unexpected outcomes due to their complexity, which can have negative impacts on society.
• Disruptive Nature: AI could be highly disruptive as it is more likely to displace middle-class, white-collared jobs; in comparison, earlier technological advancements displaced people from lower-paid farm jobs to higher-paid factory floor jobs. 
  • For Example: Analysis by Goldman Sachs has suggested that 15%-35% of work in the U.S. economy is exposed to automation. 
• Multiple Challenges: AI could create deep challenges for society, including in the labor market, politics, data privacy, crime and warfare; these challenges are difficult to anticipate and plan for. 
• Contrary to Ethical Philosophy:  Immanuel Kant’s ethical philosophy emphasizes autonomy, rationality, and the moral duty of individuals. 
  • Applying Kantian ethics to the use of AI in decision-making within governance could lead to serious concerns. 
  • If decisions that were once the purview of humans are delegated to algorithms, it could threaten the capacity for moral reasoning.

Way Forward:

• Reskilling and upskilling: To match with the age of AI, it  will require reskilling and upskilling of the workforce.
  • For Example: MeitY has initiated FutureSkills PRIME, an upskilling programme for 10 emerging technologies.
• Integration of AI with Curriculum: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announced its plan to introduce Artificial Intelligence as an elective for students from classes 9 to 12. 
• Stepping up Cyber regulations: Governments would have to step up their cyber regulations with respect to the new challenges posed by AI.
• International Collaboration: Member States should work with international organizations, educational institutions and private and non-governmental entities to provide adequate AI literacy education to the public on all levels in all countries in order to empower people.
• Focus on online Education: The PwC report suggests that the greatest economic gains from AI will come from China, with a projected 26% boost to GDP by 2030. 
  • Thus, it would be prudent for India to focus more on education and training in AI; this could be a lot easier now with online education having larger acceptance after the COVID-19 pandemic.

News Source: The Hindu