Opinion: Regulate AI for democracy
It should be used for upholding constitutional values rather than using it against those ideas
By Manish Narwade
Hyderabad: Yuval Noah Harari in a recent article in ‘The Economist’ argued that artificial intelligence (AI) has hacked the operating system of human civilisation. The AI industry is booming and is at its peak with MNCs in the race to build their AI. ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence chat box which is trained to follow instructions. Microsoft, Google and other tech giants are already investing billions of dollars in efficient AI toolboxes. However, without formal guidelines from the government, AI can be dangerous not only to the economy but also to humankind.
Barring the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulations, there is no fixed and definite regulation. Developing nations like India which do not have a data protection Act are way behind in the race. The data protection Bill will be introduced in the Monsoon session. Hopefully, it will get passed with proper discussion. The Bill may not be the solution to AI regulation, but it certainly will offer some support in developing AI policies.
No Clarity
For now, there is a big dilemma in the process of regulations — the government wants better self-regulating mechanisms from the industry, but the industry says it needs an explanation from the government to know what to regulate. Developed nations are paving the way to regulate AI. In 2021, the European Commission published the draft of the Artificial Intelligence Act. In the United States, the Algorithmic Accountability Act of 2022 was introduced in both houses of Congress. Canada too has proposed Artificial Intelligence and Data Act.
Regulating AI is important to ensure it does not hamper innovations but to help innovate and design efficient systems. The emphasis must be on a risk-based, agile and multistakeholder process rather than a one-size-fits-all obligation or prohibition. The regulation should be guided by the three philosophies of social consciousness — human dignity, diversity and inclusion, and sustainability.
The major challenge the regulatory authorities will face is to create fair competition for AI in the market — big MNCs will have the upper edge in deciding the way for AI’s future technologies. The way forward is to have soft regulations, such as non-binding guidelines and standards, on the innovation part, and hard regulations, that is, proper codifications of laws, for data protection and privacy. Regulations should be able to manage the risks of AI so that they will not outcast the human mind in the future while at the same, they should also reform and promote the implementation of AI.
International Authorities
The United Nations should set up autonomous institutions for AI. These should be fair and a torchbearer to the nation-state to form policies on AI, which can be a tool to reduce inequality. If developed countries have all the innovations, there would be an increase in inequality among the nations. There would also be a wide gap between developed and developing nations. These autonomous institutions should disseminate information to all nations.
The AI tool will also be used massively in the election procedure. Harari has argued that AI’s role in American presidential elections could produce massive political content, fake stories and scriptures for political discontent resulting in social discontent. One way is to bring the nations of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) under one umbrella and raise their shared concerns about AI. If not regulated efficiently, the result would be disrupting and devastating — the impact would be not on millions but billions of people. If unregulated, AI would be a greater threat than nuclear weapons.
India’s Case
India is the most populous nation, and the impact of AI would be wide in the country. The Indian government should make the regulation of AI its top priority. The government can form a committee led by union ministers from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and The Department of Science and Technology, the nominee of Leader of the Opposition, well-versed lawyers and individuals from the domain of AI to formulate policies. India should lead the way for regulation and raise concerns in international institutions.
At the same time, various States can set up a committee to inspect the changes and reforms that AI can bring to their territories. The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy reports that the unemployment rate in India climbed to 8.11% in April. Unregulated AI may seriously threaten the unemployment rate. The States can also look at the effect of AI on unemployment and accordingly launch skilling programmes for the youth.
AI should be the tool to bring political harmony and reduce social and economic inequality rather than creating social tensions and be a cause for exploiting underdeveloped states by developed ones. AI should not be rooted as the tool for ‘technology-colonising’ of developing and under-developed nations. It should be saved from crony capitalism and mercantilism through proper regulations. The technology should be used for the lived experience of democracy and constitutional values rather than using it against those ideas. The way is only through efficient regulations.
