Convergence of interests has been the defining paradigm of
exceptionally cordial India-French relations. Leaping forth with an exuberant
trust in the strategic partnership, the leaders of both countries addressed and
co-chaired the third AI Action Summit in Paris on 11th February. Two
core aspects received a great focus in the India-France AI Partnership-
Sustainability and innovation.
In a major fillip to renewable energy production, bolstering
the vision with action and reaffirming their commitment to climate change,
India and France jointly inaugurated the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in
November 2015. With 120 signatory countries, the ISA has become a responsive
force to reckon with to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. The ISA is shaped by a
motto of providing sustainable solutions to mitigate energy security challenges
developing countries face. On the sidelines of the 2021 COP 26, in partnership
with the ISA and World Bank Group, India and the UK launched the One Sun One
World One Grid (OSOWOG) Initiative.
Doubling on its stellar record for climate change efforts, India
launched the Coalition of Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). France was
among the initial members to join it and is currently the co-chair. The nub of
the India-France strategic partnership is complementarities and shared values.
Together they have evolved a framework for climate change action paving the way
for a green planet.
Now shifting gears, India which has made outstanding
technological advancements in terms of developing a robust digital payment
system evinced great interest in scaling the heights of advanced technologies
in collaboration with a reliable partner.
Endorsing the potential of the Indian Digital Public
Infrastructure (DPI), France welcomed its operationalisation and usage at the
Eiffel Tower from September 2023. To harness mutual interests and mutual
ambitions, in sync with global technological innovations, India and France affirmed
the need for collaborative AI for global partnership and “development of
safe, secure and trustworthy Artificial Intelligence, for public good and
innovation” on the eve of President Macron’s visit to India for the 75th
Republic Day.
India first launched the National Strategy for Artificial
Intelligence in 2018 and approved the National AI Mission in 2022. Objectively
clear about its approach towards AI, India at the G20 Delhi Declaration
affirmed its commitment to “harness AI responsibly for good and for all”.
Expounding its future course at the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) Summit, held
in New Delhi in December 2023, India advocated for equitable access to critical
AI resources and collaborative AI for Global Partnership. At the 2024 Future
Summit, India championed the responsible use of technology for global good.
In recognition of India’s approach to AI and advocacy of
democratisation of AI, which aligns with the five themes of the AI Action
Summit in Paris, President Macron invited PM Modi to co-chair the summit. The
five themes were Public Interest AI, the Future of Work, Innovation and
Culture, Trust in AI and Global AI governance.
At a time when major powers are clamouring for global
leadership in AI, the Paris summit has largely pitched for the “development
of AI systems for the global good and the benefit of all”. While
underscoring the need for safe, secure and trustworthy artificial systems,
France and India stressed the conception, design and development of AI and
generative AI that doesn’t “result in discrimination and inequality nor in
the dissemination of misinformation and disinformation, exacerbating bias”.
With an unquestionable positive potential, AI is absolutely
amazing. However, the flipside is inherent bias, which can be dangerous if AI
systems are not properly trained. Highlighting the importance of ridding the AI
systems of bias, PM Modi cited the example of an AI app tasked with drawing the
image of a person writing with the left hand would end up drawing an image of
the person writing with the right hand.
Globally, transformative technologies with immense
socio-economic development potential have inadvertently created a deep divide.
While countries with deep pockets continue to invest and take huge
technological strides, nations lacking the financial wherewithal are deprived
of the resourcefulness of technology.
The Paris Summit aims to address these divides. Aptly titled
“Inclusive and Sustainable Artificial Intelligence (AI) for People and the
Planet”, the focus has been on the “development of free and open
resources for all countries, innovators, researchers and citizens, to promote
decentralisation”. AI technology can be successfully deployed to accelerate
the realisation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. However, a lack of
inclusivity and decentralisation can prevent the Global South from harnessing AI’s
immense potential.
The launch of ChatGPT in 2022 prompted the need for
guardrails. The inaugural AI Summit on Safety held in Bletchley Park, UK in
2023 and the AI Seoul Summit in South Korea attempted to assess the risks and
capabilities of AI and emphasised the safety aspect.
The sudden splash of disruption caused by China’s DeepSeek
has prompted the need for a discussion on open-source versus closed-source with
underlying accessibility issues associated with it. It also raised questions
about the ethical use of AI such as discrimination, disinformation and bias.
Finally, it highlighted the resource-intensive and energy-intensive nature of
AI.
To deal resource-intensive aspect, countries have resolved
to adopt a multistakeholder, collaborative approach. India, Kenya, Germany,
Chile, Finland, Slovenia, France, Nigeria and Morocco have launched a public-interest
AI Platform and Incubator to build a trustworthy AI ecosystem. An
ecosystem supporting technical assistance and capacity-building projects in
data, model development, compute, talent, financing and collaboration. However, the energy-intensive nature of AI was
almost sidelined by all the countries.
For the first time, France and India attempted to address
the energy-intensive nature by promoting a discussion on AI and the
environment. As per IEA estimates, a single chat-GPT query requires 2.9
watt-hours of electricity against a 0.3 watt-hours of Google search- almost 10
times higher. As the race for AI intensifies, the cumulative “social cost” in
terms of increased carbon emissions will be $140 billion by 20301.
The demand for power is bound to rise with the rapid expansion of data centres.
This can exacerbate environmental deterioration.
Turning attention to the implicit burden on the environment
and the need to reduce the carbon footprint, PM Modi advocated for green power
and called for Sustainable AI. He said, “Sustainable AI does not only mean
using clean energy. AI models must be efficient and sustainable in size, data
needs and resource requirements”.
Modi’s advocacy of sustainability is in continuity with its
partnership with France on climate action and innovation—the development of
safe, open-source AI systems that enhance transparency. India and France signed a joint declaration
on AI, to sustain the momentum through a collaborative partnership.
The Declaration of the first and second iteration of the AI
summit were signed by 28 and 10 countries respectively. Barring the US and the
UK, 58 countries including India signed the declaration of the Paris AI Action
Summit. The Summit heralded the establishment of the AI Foundation and the
Council for Sustainable AI.
Endowed with world’s largest AI talent pools, India leads in
AI adoption. It is developing AI applications for the public good factoring in
huge cultural and linguistic diversities of a vast population. Ardently
abetting the deployment of AI systems for a “smarter and responsible future”,
donning the leadership role, India announced to hold the next AI Summit.
Showcasing its abilities to leverage digital technology for
governance and public services, India is leading by example. With a world
vision of “AI for global good”, India is now championing the concerns and needs
of the developing world as a responsible voice capable of leading, guiding and
partnering.
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