Neural Network: August Edition
A Monthly Newsletter on AI Policy and its Multistakeholder Regulation, from the AI Knowledge Consortium
Recent Developments in AI Policy
India’s governmental push to promote AI gathers momentum
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) initiated several initiatives under the INDIAai Mission, including a roundtable on startup financing, and an Innovation Challenge
MeitY recently hosted a roundtable under the INDIAai mission, a government initiative aimed at artificial intelligence (AI) innovation in India. The four-hour meeting explored funding strategies for AI startups where cabinet minister Jitin Prasada led the discussions with the gathered including key government officials, representatives of venture capital firms, global tech companies as well as AI startups. Participants talked through which AI startups should receive financing support and at what stage. The authorities also sought feedback on different funding mechanisms such as grants, investments, and capital equity with plans to allocate substantial monetary sums to promising AI projects.
Investors emphasised the government must prioritise ease of doing business and requested the swift deployment of INDIAai datasets, a unified repository of non-personal and anonymised statistics for researchers and startups
The ministry invited submissions for the AI Innovation Challenge under the Mission’s Application Development Initiative, aimed at scaling, and promoting transformative AI applications with the potential to drive significant socio-economic progress. Innovators, researchers, and entrepreneurs can submit their applications until September 16, 2024.
INDIAai also announced an open invitation for agencies to provide AI services on the cloud, a significant step towards democratising AI resources across India. The empanelled agencies will be tasked to offer high-performance computing, network, and storage services crucial for implementing various projects under the INDIAai Mission for a period of 36 months. The request for empanelment is open until September 6, 2024.
It is heartening to see progress across the different pillars of the Mission; these efforts will have to be ramped up in coming months as developers’ needs multiply.
Establishing AI Standards for India
MeitY establishes advisory group for AI regulation; BIS to develop AI standards in collaboration with key Ministries
As AI rapidly integrates in everyday life, the Indian government is stepping up efforts to regulate it. In response to a Lok Sabha query, the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Jitin Prasada announced the formation of a specialised advisory group, consisting of government officials, industry leaders, and academics. This group’s mandate is to create ethical guidelines for India while fostering innovation and protecting citizens from misuse and harm. Meanwhile, the country’s national standards body under the consumer affairs ministry, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is working on standards to regulate AI, in consultation with the ministries of consumer affairs, information technology, education, and various industry stakeholders. This initiative aims to regulate the emerging technology across its lifecycle, from development to deployment, with a focus on its responsible use across the country.
At AIKC, we recognise the immense value of diverse perspectives when it comes to crafting effective AI governance, and laud these efforts. To position India as a global leader in AI, the national body must prioritise targeted and flexible standards. AI use-cases are heterogenous and require nuanced treatment.
Global Governance
Unesco’s Consultation on AI regulation and EU AI Act Lead the Way
As the global race to regulate AI intensifies, UNESCO has launched a public consultation to end on September 19, 2024 on regulatory approaches to AI for stakeholders including parliamentarians, legal experts, and AI governance experts to guide evidence-based policymaking. .
Simultaneously, the European Union (EU) AI Act, the world's first comprehensive AI regulation, came into effect across all 27 EU member countries this August. The Act will be enforced in phases. Key rules about general AI provisions and banned uses will be enforced from February 2, 2025. Other important requirements, like governance and penalties, will be enforced from August 2, 2025. By August 2, 2025, EU countries must set up authorities to oversee AI regulations and share contact information with the public. AIKC identifies UNESCO's public consultation on AI regulation and the phased enforcement of the EU AI Act as critical initiatives. These efforts are pivotal in shaping a balanced global approach to AI governance, and AIKC stresses the importance of aligning regulatory strategies to support ethical and innovative AI development.
AI Blueprint for Bharat - Case Study Challenge
In association with IIT Kharagpur’s Public Policy and Governance Society, AIKC is organising a case study competition for students across India, focussed on analysing and calculating India’s compute capacity. The competition, which will run through the second week of September, is aimed at exposing students to the complexities of AI policy-making in India. Over 1300 teams have registered for the first stage of the contest.
We look forward to sharing the results from the competition in the next edition of Neural Network!
Work by AIKC Members:
Assessing the Net Impact of E-Commerce on Employment and Welfare, by Pahle India: This study takes stock of the impact of e-commerce in India through a national survey of over 4000 offline and online vendors as well as over 8000 consumers.
The humans behind AI: Co-creating best practices for data workers’ well-being, by Aapti Institute: Aapti announced a collaborative research study with Karya (an impact focussed organisation looking to extend smartphone-based gig work to communities across India) to engage in a wider inquiry into data workers in India.
Talking about Transitions: Can Digitalisation and AI Accelerate India’s Energy Transition? by Transitions Research: The virtual event focused on how AI can enhance grid management and energy optimisation, while also addressing deeper issues like governance, political economy, and data integrity.
Final Thoughts
California legislators are set to vote on SB 1047, a bill that would require AI developers to comply with certain rules before developing their models, including mandatory safety testing, kill switches, and third-party audits for advanced AI models. Big Tech is divided in its response: Anthropic has expressed support for the revised version of the bill that reduced obligations on companies, but giants like Google, Meta, and OpenAI oppose it over fears of stifled innovation and the creation of legal uncertainty.
How would Indian industry respond to such regulation? Should Indian law-makers take inspiration from such laws?
We’d love to hear your thoughts. Write to us at Secretariat@aiknowledgeconsortium.com.