PM Modi calls for ethical AI, urges data sovereignty framework and transparent safety rules

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday underlined the need for ethical use of artificial intelligence and laid out three suggestions on data, safety, transparency and human oversight, as he unveiled the ‘MANAV’ vision for human-centric AI at the AI Impact Summit.

Modi said ethical use of AI is “absolutely important” and called for a data framework for AI training that respects data sovereignty.

He also said AI platforms must keep their safety rules “clear and transparent”.

“Third, AI requires clear human values and guidance. Technology is powerful, but direction must always be determined by humans,” he said.

Making a pitch for democratising AI, the Prime Minister said the direction of AI should benefit all of humanity. Referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said history has shown that collective action can make the “impossible” possible, and argued that AI governance must keep inclusivity at its core.

Modi also cautioned that technology has created divisions in the past and urged stakeholders to work towards making AI accessible to all, while placing the aspirations and priorities of the Global South at the centre of AI governance.

In his address, Modi presented the M.A.N.A.V. framework for AI, describing it as a human-centric approach. He said the acronym stands for moral and ethical systems, accountable governance, national sovereignty, accessible and inclusive, and valid and legitimate.

He said “welfare and happiness of all” should be the benchmark for AI, so that humans do not become “a data point or raw material”. Modi also said AI should be given “an open sky”, but its command must remain in human hands.

As part of India’s steps in the AI space, Modi said the government is adding GPUs to build capacity for innovators and is providing computing power to startups at affordable rates. He also referred to an AI Fund, and said more than 7,500 datasets and 270 AI models have been shared as national resources.

Global leaders, including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, French President Emmanuel Macron, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Swiss President Guy Parmelin, as well as CEOs of technology companies, were among those present at the summit.