[IndusThink] The Reality of Overall Technology Policy Discourse? It's Skewed
From Abhivardhan, our Chairperson
This is a post authored by Mr Abhivardhan, our Chairperson based on his LinkedIn post.
Here is a realistic take on technology policy as a field and an industry segment.
I have noticed this regularly that any #insights or #solutions proposed on any facet of technology policy from #Indians are ignored by think tankers, influencers and so-called policy experts from Western Europe and Northern America. This is not limited to me, but also extends to so many talented and hardworking technology law/policy specialists who come from independent backgrounds to offer credible perspectives on technology policy.
I guess there are some obvious reasons:
Many in the West have assumed by definition they know everything about #AIethics so anyone from West Asia, India, Singapore, South East Asia or the Global South may not matter.
They assume the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act is the nail in the coffin and any legislative or policy approach from India, Japan, Singapore, West Asia or China does not matter.
They over-obsess around the need for anti-competitive regulations and restrictions by hyping risks about AI or any digital technology without necessarily sensitising and helping people to understand why standardising is better than regulation.
Hyping works for them because it disenfranchises any business, innovation and regulatory efforts in India and the Global South. No UNGA resolution or European Parliament resolution can help in that case. Asia does not have a European Union. The Arab states do not have a European Community.
Anyways, I have been more than happy to provide my insights on digital technologies, including AI with a perspective beyond a European AI Act.
Let me further disclose why I had proposed the aiact.in (now Version 2) draft.
I had proposed the draft to ensure we discuss about the key legal and policy benchmarks that we can deliberate upon and examine, to ensure that policy reactions are not knee-jerk, remain democratic and foster a sense of transparent engagement in line with the trajectory of technological evolution that AI infrastructure & use cases may be subjected to.
Unfortunately, the technology policy discourse in #India, be it in HealthTech, AI or Blockchain has a "poverty of imagination" in the words of Sanjeev Sanyal. People are either not informed enough or are unclear beyond the hype of AI.
Let's call out hype, achieve standardisation one step at a time, across sectors one by one, and address what could be considered sustainable as a matter of innovation in any digital technologies.
Informed AI ethics = Sustainable & Responsible AI innovation = Mindful AI business environment = Proactive AI regulation.
I have tried to be as authentic as possible on the way technology policy is understood.
In my work and mentorship efforts that I did at a pan-India level through the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law, since 2020 - in the times even before AI was a topic of discussion in the legal circles, we developed immense literature on tech policy and AI policy across fields, with the intent and focus to open up and have more democratic discourse about digital technologies.
This is why, I am glad to state that the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law in conjunction with Indic Pacific Legal Research LLP will come with relevant standards on AI use cases across certain key sectors in India - in banking & finance, health, education, intellectual property management, agriculture and legal technologies.
Our aim would be to propose industry viability standards and not regulatory standards to study basic parameters for regulation, such as (1) inherent purpose of AI systems, (2) market integrity (includes competition law), (3) risk management and (4) knowledge management.
We will also come up with a third version of AIACT.IN to clarify upon the knowledge management and intellectual property interoperability standards and aspects covered.
Our aim is not to propose or lobby any top-down regulatory standards. I don’t think the Union Government has much idea how to standardise or regulate AI.
We aim to first document and conserve the Indian level legal and technical benchmarks through the efforts by Indic Pacific and ISAIL in that regard.
Hence, any company or startup in the AI space can participate in our initiative and contact me or our team at vligta@indicpacific.com.
I recommend people to read this fantastic post on AI Snake Oil on the realities of technology policy from an American perspective.
