Policy think tank Broadband India Forum (BIF) on Thursday said any kind of ex-ante regulations on artificial intelligence (AI) technologies would restrict innovations.Comments from BIF come at a time when the government is deliberating over framework for regulating emerging AI technologies especially through the prism of user harm. In fact, the upcoming Bills — Data Protection Bill as well as Digital India Bill — will be compliant to handle the issues emerging from AI, according to the government. BIF represents companies such as Amazon, Google, Meta, Qualcomm, TCS, etc.
“AI will be a strong influencer in transforming the future of businesses and society and should be allowed the freedom of innovation for the next few years without stifling its growth with ex-ante regulations,” BIF said.According to BIF, AI and digital transformation will play a significant role in the growth of the economy to reach the ambitious $5-trillion mark.
On Thursday, BIF organised a summit on the theme — AI for Acceleration to a $5-trillion economy. Speaking at the event, N Ganapathy Subramaniam, COO, Tata Consultancy Services, said, “AI applicability in our business would mean 30-40% of what we are doing now will be done by machines…we very quickly launched what we call a machine first paradigm.”With regard to the risk involved from the use of AI, the think tank said the same can be managed through the implementation of appropriate risk management strategies and frameworks.
“BIF strongly advocates for the responsible and ethical deployment of AI to ensure that it maximises its positive impact while mitigating potential risks,” it said.Last month, minister of state for electronics and information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the government will regulate AI through the prism of user harm. “We will protect digital nagriks (citizens) from harm or from derived harm through technology. We will not let platforms operate in India that inflict user harm,” he said.