UNESCO, MeitY host stakeholder consultation on AI Readiness
By TIOL News Service
NEW DELHI, JAN 22, 2025: THE UNESCO Regional Office for South Asia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, and Ikigai Law as the implementing partner, organized a two-day stakeholder consultation on AI Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM) in India. The event was held at IIIT Bangalore on the 16th and the Nasscom AI office on the 17th.
Second AI RAM consultation to shape India's AI policy
This consultation marked the second in a series of five consultations under the AI RAM initiative by UNESCO and MeitY. The initiative aims to craft an India-specific AI policy report, identifying strengths and growth opportunities within India's AI ecosystem. The report will provide actionable insights to promote the responsible and ethical adoption of AI across sectors. The AI RAM serves as a diagnostic tool to identify opportunities for governments to engage, particularly in AI regulatory and institutional capacity-building efforts. As India continues its rapid AI growth, aligning governance with ethical principles will foster a holistic AI ecosystem centered on safety and trust.
Day 1: Engaging Diverse Stakeholders
On the 16th, the consultation brought together diverse stakeholders from government, academia, industry, and civil society to explore strategies for aligning India's AI ecosystem with ethical principles in UNESCO's Global Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, emphasizing transparency, inclusiveness, and fairness.
Day 2: Focus on Startups
On the 17th, the same exercise was held, focusing on startups. This initiative comes at a crucial moment as India embarks on its ambitious INDIAai Mission, backed by over Rs.10,000 crore in funding. Central to the mission is the Safe and Trusted AI pillar, which underscores the commitment to ensuring safety, accountability, and ethical practices in AI development and deployment. By promoting indigenous frameworks, robust governance tools, and self-assessment guidelines, the mission aims to empower innovators and democratize AI benefits across sectors.
Both events featured expert presentations, breakout sessions, and discussions that provided actionable insights into responsible AI adoption:
Dr Mariagrazia Squicciarini, Chief of Executive Office, Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO, highlighted that the RAM aims to provide a comprehensive snapshot of a country's AI landscape-its infrastructure, legislation, components, and key stakeholders. She emphasized that, by engaging diverse voices, it identifies opportunities and addresses potential drawbacks in AI, ensuring its transformative potential is realized responsibly across all of the economy.
Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary, MeitY, emphasized the government's commitment to fostering a balanced, and innovation-friendly AI environment rooted in responsible governance during his address. He provided in-depth insights into the INDIAai Mission's seven pillars, highlighting key areas such as compute capacity, broad dataset access, skill-building initiatives, startup financing, and safety and trust in AI. The Additional Secretary emphasized on UNESCO and MeitY's shared commitment to translating the UNESCO Recommendations on the Ethics of AI into concrete policy actions, tailored to India's unique AI ecosystem.
He highlighted India's potential to lead responsible AI development and deployment, particularly benefiting the global south. He also underlined India's unique opportunity to set an example in deploying AI for social good in critical sectors like healthcare, education and agriculture, driven by inclusive, transparent, and secure practices through collaborations with academia, industry and government.
Project Presentation: As part of the IndiaAI mission's Safe and Trusted AI Pillar, a project shortlisted under the 1st EoI for indigenous Responsible AI projects, presented their work. In this, Mr. Deepthi Chand, Co-founder and Director, Civic Data Labs, presented Parakh AI, an open-source framework and toolkit for Participatory Algorithmic Auditing.
Building India's AI Roadmap
Breakout sessions facilitated in-depth discussions across key areas, including governance, infrastructure, workforce, and sectoral AI adoption. Participants provided valuable inputs, shaping the foundation for India's AI policy roadmap. These collaborative efforts aim to address gaps, prioritize opportunities, and ensure ethical AI practices that contribute to societal well-being.
