Introduction
Recently, there has been a series of Artificial Intelligence related developments such as the EU AI Act: first regulation on AI, the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) held in India, UK AI Safety Summit (London Summit), issue of AI Executive Order by President Biden, adoption of AI principles and Code of Conduct by G7, China launching Global AI Governance Initiative, etc. These country specific and global developments are reflective of the unmatchable pace with which AI has progressed in the last decade and the efforts to build norms related to its use and development.
AI refers to the computer systems which are capable of performing tasks that historically required human intelligence, such as recognizing speech, making decisions, and identifying patterns.[i] AI promises of doing ‘everything’ (manufacturing, transportation, agriculture, climate change, healthcare, etc.), however, serious concerns have been raised regarding privacy (human rights and ethical concerns), safety (deepfakes) and security (geopolitical concerns). This has compelled the governments around the world to draw national strategies as well as come together to develop a global framework to promote the responsible use of AI but there is a long way to go.
This issue brief aims to understand AI, what are the current global and national conversations going around AI and the urgent need to draw a responsible global governance structure for AI.
About AI: A brief introduction
Ancient Greek myths were replete with artificial beings (Pandora) and intelligent robots, so AI concept is not new[ii]. AI uses computers and machines to imitate the problem-solving and decision-making capabilities of the human mind.[iii] AI is an umbrella term that encompasses a wide variety of technologies, including machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing (NLP).[iv] AI learns from massive data in order to look for patterns to model in their own decision-making. In many cases, humans will supervise an AI’s learning process, reinforcing good decisions and discouraging bad ones. But some AI systems are designed to learn without supervision.[v] Artificial intelligence allows machines to model, or even improve upon, the capabilities of the human mind. And from the development of self-driving cars to the proliferation of generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, Siri, Alexa, Google search, conversational bots, Netflix’s recommendations etc., AI is increasingly becoming part of everyday life.[vi] AI systems are already being used across several domains of everyday life including employment, housing, health, transport, education, accessibility etc.
While AI technology and its many applications certainly carry significant potential to improve human living, at the same time there are also risks associated with AI. There are growing concerns over the disruptions it could bring to the labour market as AI promotes automation in an unprecedented way, leading to large scale unemployment, putting millions of people out of work. The 2022 edition of the Oxford Insight’s Index on Government AI Readiness warned us that AI should be careful in not reinforcing existing biases and inequalities prevalent in the society.[vii] AI applications in transportation sector (e.g. self-driving cars) have raised concerns regarding human safety. Moreover, the use of the Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) in the battlefield has generated ethical concerns regarding the agency of machines vis-à-vis humans. AI works on piles of data and data is never neutral. It contains various imprints related to our sex, age, choices, etc therefore who processes our data, who has access to it, what rights does the data principal have etc are questions that raise apprehensions about AI’s use. The right to privacy and personal data is often at risk of being compromised in the form of intellectual property theft, mass surveillance, deepfakes etc. For example, China is using AI based facial recognition for mass surveillance in Xinxiang and Tibet. This practice makes China a pioneer in applying next-generation technology to watch its people, potentially ushering in a new era of automated racism.[viii] The deep fake technology is another area which can lead to privacy breach by spreading disinformation and false propaganda. As Prime Minister Modi has rightly cautioned against deepfakes and the negative effects of AI and stated that India is committed to working on a global framework for AI.
Global Conversations and National strategies around AI
AI has emerged as one of the most fundamental of the technologies of our times the Nation States are pushing the states into competition over who will govern AI. In the AI race both at the global level and national level in the past one decade there have been a series of regulations and initiatives to set the template for responsible AI. Very recently, European Union became the very first to set clear comprehensive laws to regulate the use of AI.[ix] EU act aims to balance innovation and ensuring ethical and responsible AI development by basing its law on a risk based approach. It has clear restrictions against Facial Recognition technology, AI’s use to manipulate human behaviour and the law also developed risk-based categorisation.[x] Also, the G7 leaders reached an agreement on a set of international guiding principles on artificial intelligence and a voluntary code of conduct for AI developers, an outcome to the Hiroshima AI process established at the G7 Summit in May 2023 to promote global guardrails for advanced AI systems.[xi] The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has also developed AI principles that is innovative and trustworthy and that respects human rights and democratic values.[xii] Meanwhile, the UN Secretary-General is forming a high-level advisory body that could lead to the creation of a new AI UN agency.
Considering the geopolitics around AI, countries are positioning themselves to lead the AI governance structure and set guidelines as per their respective national interests. US is trying to go through it’s new presidential Executive Order (EO), which aims to tackle risks from advanced AI systems and requiring those developing such systems to share information with the government and to also initiate the development of standards.[xiii] The EO is not just important domestically—it is also a signal to the international community that the United States intends to take action on AI governance.[xiv] As technological rivalry grows between China and the US, AI has become a major field of tension as both strive to lead for setting global standards and regulation.
China launched the Global AI Governance Initiative, a framework designed to promote equal rights and opportunities for all nations in the development and governance of AI.[xv] In November 2023, the UK government held the first AI Safety Summit and announced the Bletchley Declaration, which aims to enhance global collaboration on AI safety. It has a two-fold focus: identifying shared AI-related risks and enhancing scientific understanding of these risks, as well as creating cross-country policies to address them.
Meanwhile, India’s approach has been to pitch itself to the world and the Global South as a country that has effectively used technology to deliver people centric governance like Digital Public Infrastructure.[xvi] According to India trust in AI can only be developed if the economical, ethical and societal aspects are addressed. The G20 and Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) were used by India to project the need to mitigate risks arising from the development and deployment of AI systems, and promoting collaborative approach and equitable access to critical resources for AI research.[xvii] India through G20 (under India’s presidency) New Delhi Declaration stated that to unlock the full potential of AI, equitably share its benefits and mitigate risks, we will work together to promote international cooperation and further discussions on international governance for AI while calling for promoting responsible AI for achieving SDGs.[xviii]
Similarly, India hosted GPAI 2024 and came out with another set of Delhi Declaration which supported the development of a comprehensive framework that encompasses shared principles for safe and trusted AI.
Responsible development of AI
AI has the potential to improve the welfare and well-being of` people, to contribute to positive sustainable economic activity, to increase innovation and productivity, and to help respond to key global challenges.[xix] It is being used in sectors ranging from transport, production, finance and in healthcare. Alongside benefits, AI also raises challenges for societies and economies, notably regarding economic shifts and inequalities, competition, transitions in the labour market, and implications for democracy and human rights, privacy, safety and intellectual property theft.
A safe and secured AI is only possible if countries nationally and internationally promote a human-centric AI approach which fosters research, preserves economic incentives to innovate, and is inclusive. To realize this, a lifecycle approach for AI should be adopted beginning from design to development and deployment, and it should be used in a manner that is safe. The international community’s efforts to cooperate on AI is appreciable, however, much needs to be done faster and sooner.
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*Anubha Gupta, Research Associate, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi.
Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal.
Endnotes
[i]“What Is Artificial Intelligence? Definition, Uses, and Types,” Coursera, Nov 29, 2023, Available at https://www.coursera.org/articles/what-is-artificial-intelligence, Accessed on 30th November, 2023.
[ii]Alex Shahskevich, “Stanford researchers examines earliest concepts of artificial intelligence, robots in ancient myths,” Stanford News, Feb 28, 2019, Available at https://news.stanford.edu/2019/02/28/ancient-myths-reveal-early-fantasies-artificial-life/, Accessed on 16th November, 2023.
[iii] “What is Artificial Intelligence,” IBM, Available at https://www.ibm.com/topics/artificial-intelligence, Accessed on 16th November, 2023.
[iv] Ibid.
[v] Alyssa Schroer, “What is Artificial Intelligence?”BuiltIn, July 27, 2023, Available at https://builtin.com/artificial-intelligence , Accessed on 17th November 2023.
[vi] Ibid.
[vii] Annys Rogerson, Emma Hankins, Pablo Fuentes Nettel and Sulamaan Rahim, “Government AI Readiness Index 2022,” Oxford Insights, December 12, 2022, Available at https://oxfordinsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Government_AI_Readiness_2022_FV.pdf Accessed on 20th November 2023.
[viii] Paul Mozur, “One Month, 500,000 Face Scans: How China Is Using A.I. to Profile a Minority,” New York Times, April 14, 2019, Available at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/14/technology/china-surveillance-artificial-intelligence-racial profiling.html#:~:text=Law%20enforcement%20in%20the%20central,for%20such%20capabilities%20is%20spreading. Accessed on 25th November, 2023.
[ix] Anil Sasi, “EU ‘historic’ deal: What does the world’s first law on regulating AI propose?” Indian Express, Dec 11, 2023, Available at https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-sci-tech/eu-worlds-first-law-regulating-ai-9062105/, Accessed on 13th December, 2023.
[x] Ibid.
[xi] Cindy Gordon, “G7 Leaders Release AI Governance Code Same Day USA Signs AI Executive Order,” Forbes, 31st October, 2023, Available at https://www.forbes.com/sites/cindygordon/2023/10/31/g7-leaders-release-ai-governance-code-same-day-as-usa-president-signs-an-ai-executive-order/?sh=65c2bf964b44 Accessed on 20th November 2023.
[xii] “OECD AI principles overview,” OECD, Available at https://oecd.ai/en/ai-principles accessed on 25 November 2023.
[xiii] Hadrien Pouget, “Biden’s AI orders is a much needed assurance for the EU,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Nov 1 2023, Available at https://carnegieendowment.org/2023/11/01/biden-s-ai-order-is-much-needed-assurance-for-eu-pub-90888 Accessed on 29th of Nov 2023.
[xiv] Ibid.
[xv] Dewey Sim, “Belt and road forum: China launches AI framework, urging equal rights and opportunities for all nations,” South China Morning Post, 18 October, 2023, Available at https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3238360/belt-and-road-forum-china-launches-ai-framework-urging-equal-rights-and-opportunities-all-nations Accessed on 1st December 2023.
[xvi] Soumyarendra Barik, “GPAI members back equitable AI access in New Delhi declaration,” Indian Express, 14 December 2023, Available at https://indianexpress.com/article/business/global-partnership-ai-members-adopt-declaration-equitable-access-resources-9067270/ Accessed on 15TH of December 2023.
[xvii] Aroon Deep, “Modi kicks off global AI summit,” The Hindu, 13th December, 2023 Available at https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pm-modi-kicks-off-ai-summit-calling-for-inclusivity-and-warns-of-challenges/article67631297.ece, accessed on 15th December 2023
[xviii] G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration, 9-10th September, 2023. Available at https://www.mea.gov.in/Images/CPV/G20-New-Delhi-Leaders-Declaration.pdf Accessed on 27th December, 2023
[xix] “OECD AI principles overview,” OECD, Available at https://oecd.ai/en/ai-principles accessed on 25 November 2023.