PM Modi cautions about biases in AI, shares ways to address job loss fears
PARIS: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the world was at the dawn of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) age where this technology was fast writing the code for humanity and re-shaping our polity, economy, security and society.
Emphasising that AI was very different from other technological milestones in human history in terms of impact, he called for collective global efforts to establish governance and standards that uphold shared values, address risks and build trust.
At the Plenary Session, French President Macron invited PM Modi to deliver the opening address as the co-chair of the summit.
The Prime Minister began his address with an observation on the potential of AI by stating that AI can cut through jargon and summarise medical prescriptions in a language that can be understood easily.
“If you upload your medical report to an AI app, it can explain in simple language, free of any jargon, what it means for your health. But if you ask the same app to draw an image of someone writing with their Left hand, the app will most likely draw someone writing with their Right hand. Because that is what the training data is dominated by.
“It shows that while the positive potential of AI is absolutely amazing, there are many biases that we need to think carefully about,” he said.
The Prime Minister further said that AI can help transform millions of lives by improving health, education, agriculture and so much more.
He added that governance was not just about managing risks but also about promoting innovation and deploying it for the global good. In this regard, he advocated for ensuring access to AI for all, especially the Global South.
He called for democratising technology and its people-centric applications so that achieving the Sustainable Development Goals becomes a reality. Alluding to the success of the India-France sustainability partnership through initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance, PM Modi stated that it was only natural that the two countries were joining hands to forge an innovation partnership for a smart and responsible future.
PM Modi highlighted India’s success in building a Digital Public Infrastructure for its 1.4 billion citizens based on open and accessible technology. Talking about India’s AI Mission, he noted that India, considering its diversity, was building its own Large Language Model for AI. He underlined that India was ready to share its experience to ensure that the benefits of AI reach everyone.
The Prime Minister announced that India will be hosting the next AI Summit. The summit featured discussions on critical themes, including greater access to AI infrastructure to ensure inclusion, the responsible use of AI,
Sounding a note of caution about the biases in AI, 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 cybersecurity, disinformation, and deep fakes,” PM Modi said, as leaders from across the world listened.
He 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,” he 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 added that “the nature of jobs change with time, and new types of jobs are created.”
To address the concern of job losses, he noted that “we need to invest heavily in skilling and re-skilling our people for an AI-driven future.” 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. Highlighting India’s pragmatic approach to Artificial Intelligence in good governance, he 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 no one 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,” he said.
PM Modi and President 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. In his concluding remarks at the summit, Modi said that the discussions have clearly brought out that there is “unity in vision and unity in purpose across stakeholders.”
