Abhivardhan represented ISAIL at the 7th Indian Think Tank Forum 2025 by ORF

From Abhivardhan, our Chairperson

Ending this week with something grateful to share.

It was honour representing the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law at the 7th India Think Tank Forum 2025 organised by the Observer Research Foundation, to speak and discuss AI policy realities with a Global South angle.

Here are some highlights to share for you, which you might be delighted to ponder upon:

1️⃣ Around 100+ Indian think tanks / research bodies / academic organisations / industry forums were duly invited to participate in this event. This looked like a mini-Mahakumbh of think tank representation in India.

2️⃣ Unlike most forums, 7th ITTF had a wider pan-India presence. While New Delhi dominated with its 52.94% presence, Bengaluru (5.88%), Noida (3.92%), Kolkata (2.94%), Lucknow (2.94%) and Mumbai (5.885) had the second highest representation. Underrated places like Shillong, Thiruvananthapuram, Kashmir and even Guwahati had at least 1 representation, so this is improved.

3️⃣ I was part of a Panel Discussion on "Critical and Emerging Technologies: Power, Access, and Equity" moderated by James J. Nedumpara from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade. The panelists made specific points about the democratisation of AI, and the risk-regulation dynamic of it.

4️⃣ I made sure to discuss about DeepSeek R1, Kimi AI and why the recent Chinese innovations matter for us. Broadly, the necessity for the AI ecosystem in India (as also concurred by Meghna Bal, Esya Centre) is that the Government of India should give access to necessary sector-specific datasets to let companies innovate, and that discussions on AI standards in India & the Global South can only be possible, when we focus on market realities around AI.

5️⃣ I had the chance to discuss about aiact.in (V4), India's first privately proposed AI bill, as to how the feedback related to the draft bill led us at the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law to shape up our position to advocate for AI Standardisation in India. We really need to document our practices effectively, when it comes to AI. Similarly, as I had said in the case of deepfakes before - enable better forensic practices, open-source them, and make people aware. We need real-life discussions on how use of third-party or embedded AI itself affects stakeholders, in as many sectors as possible.

6️⃣ If India thinks to posit itself as the leader of the Global South, especially on AI, it needs to set its actionable priorities straight, because let's be blunt - the AI industry dynamics keep changing in every 3 months (not even 6) now. Yes, there is a lot of hype too, but AI research breakthroughs are far from impossible. Generative AI isn't everything.

And yes, it was lovely to meet colleagues and friends after long.

Happy to discuss my experience later in detail once the video of the discussion is out. Until then, enjoy the weekend.