India’s Role in AI Global Engagement
India accepted France's invitation to co-chair the AI Action Summit, marking its active participation in global AI policy-making.
India’s IT Minister recently announced plans to establish an AI Safety Institute, further advancing the country’s AI safety agenda.
India’s previous leadership roles in AI forums, such as the G20 and Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), have set the stage for enhancing global AI collaboration, focusing on safety and equitable access.
Voice of the Global South
India has consistently pushed for AI strategies that prioritize the Global South’s needs, which are often sidelined in global AI discussions.
The G20 under India’s presidency in 2023 endorsed a “pro-innovation regulatory approach” to balance AI development with safety measures.
India’s leadership at the GPAI meeting in December 2023 highlighted the need for “equitable access” to AI resources, stressing the importance of building infrastructure for AI research in the Global South.
Strategic Priorities for India at the Summit
Democratizing AI Resources: Advocate for access to critical AI resources such as datasets, cloud computing platforms, and AI development tools to avoid concentration of power.
Promoting Distributed Computing: Encourage innovative solutions like distributed computing, which can reduce dependency on centralized infrastructure.
Flexible AI Technology Transfer: Push for looser export control measures that currently hinder the development of AI models across borders while maintaining safety standards.
Context-Specific AI Use-Cases: Propose AI models tailored for the Global South, such as early disease detection and personalized learning tools for local contexts.
AI Use-Case Repository: Suggest the creation of a repository to help the Global South identify and prioritize AI applications that address their specific challenges.
Positioning India for the Future
By advancing these priorities, India strengthens its leadership role and could host the next AI summit.
Successfully advancing these priorities would not only benefit India but also solidify its role as a bridge between the AI superpowers of the Global North and the developing world.
COMMENTS