Paris:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today addressed a global AI summit organised in Paris. He spoke extensively about how Artificial Intelligence is playing a crucial role in daily lives of humans. While he advocated sharing the benefits of AI with all, especially the Global South, he cautioned about the biases in Artificial Intelligence. PM Modi also spoke about the concern of job losses due to AI and highlighted how this must be tackled.
“We must pull together our resources and talent and develop open source systems that enhance trust and transparency and develop quality datasets, free from biases, in order to benefit the world. AI must be about people-centric applications. We must address concerns related to cyber security, disinformation, and deep fakes,” PM Modi said, as leaders from across the world listened.
Prime Minister Modi stressed on innovation and how “AI can help transform millions of lives”. This he said can be done in the fields of “healthcare, education, agriculture, and science.” He added that “AI can also help create a world in which the journey to sustainable development goals become easier and faster.”
“For technology to be effective and useful for humankind, it must be deeply rooted in local ecosystems,” Prime Minister Modi said, adding that “AI’s most-feared disruption is ‘loss of jobs’. But history has shown that work does not disappear due to technology.” He went on to say that “The nature of jobs change with time, and new types of jobs are created.”
He further noted that to address the concern of job losses, “We need to invest heavily on skilling and re-skilling of our people for an AI-driven future.”
The prime minister also said that AI needs to be sustainable. “There is no doubt that the high-energy intensity of AI needs to be scrutinised. This will require green power to fuel its future. India and France have formed the International Solar Alliance in order to harness the Sun to ensure there is plenty green energy supply for future technologies.”
Conservation of energy is key for the future of AI, PM Modi said, giving the example of a human brain. “A human brain can do everything from poetry to complex mathematics at a fraction of the energy needed even by an ordinary light bulb.” That is what the AI revolution must aim for, he noted.
INDIAN ADVANCES IN AI TECH
Prime Minister Modi also spoke about the AI revolution in India, saying “India has successfully built a digital public infrastructure for more than 1.4 billion people at a very low cost.” This, he said, “is built around an open and accessible network. It has regulations and a wide range of applications in order to modernise our economy, reform governance, and transform the lives of our people.”
“We have made digital commerce democratic and accessible to all. This vision is the foundation of India’s national AI mission,” he said, adding that “India has built an AI mission for good, and for all. Today, India leads in AI adaption and techno-legal solutions on data privacy. We are constantly developing AI applications for public good.”
Highlighting India’s pragmatic approach to Artificial Intelligence in good governance, the prime minister said that “India has one of the world’s largest AI talent pools. We are also building our own large language model in AI keeping in mind our diversity.”
“India also has a unique public-private partnership model for Artificial Intelligence,” PM Modi said, adding that “India is willing to share its experience and expertise to ensure that the future of AI is for everyone on the planet.”
“We are at the dawn of the AI age that will shape the future of humanity. Some people worry about machines becoming superior to human beings in terms of intelligence, but noone holds the key to our collective future and shared destiny other than all of us – humans. That sense of responsibility is what must guide us,” PM Modi said.
PM Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron co-chaired the AI Action Summit. The seminar, organised at the Grand Palais in Paris, saw participation by Heads of States and governments, leaders of international organisations, CEOs of small and large tech companies, representatives of academia, non-governmental organisations, artists, and members of civil society.
