AI is expected to boost India’s annual growth rate by 1.3% by 2035: NITI Aayog

According to a draft discussion paper by NITI Aayog, AI is expected to boost India’s annual growth rate by 1.3% by 2035. It also emphasised on the large scale adoption of AI in a variety of social sectors, boosting AI for All.

The draft paper titled 'Towards Responsible#AIForAll' has been prepared for an expert consultation which was held on 21 July 2020. It has also invited stakeholders to review the document and provide comments on or before 10 August 2020. 

The Indian government has been quite optimistic about the benefits that AI is going to bring for the overall growth of the country, and may even fund specific research projects in responsible AI. 

The draft paper suggested that India will see increased adoption of AI across government, private sectors and startup, and academia. 

It also highlighted various instances raising concern on the ethical use of AI. It specifically highlighted the issue of cognitive bias, and how it has been unfair for certain groups. It stated that large scale deployment of biased AI may lead to lack of trust and disruption of social order. 

It also highlighted issues such as accountability of AI decisions, privacy risks, security risks, and more, under system considerations.

To bring about responsible use of AI, it is looking to introduce ethics of AI into the university curriculum and also suggested the need to consider sector-specific laws for AI.

It also highlighted that the rapid rise of AI has led to the automation of a number of routine jobs, especially in the manufacturing industry and IT services. 

NITI Aayog has been quite optimistic about the growth and positive impact that AI can have on various industries in India. It recently conducted a workshop to give a boost to India’s AI ambitions.