Context

• A recent industry report focusing on Generative AI (GenAI) suggests that GenAI holds the potential to contribute up to 1.5 trillion dollars to India’s GDP by 2030. 
  • Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence technology that can produce various types of content, including text, imagery, and audio.  
• AI can be harnessed to solve societal challenges in health care, education, and agriculture, build innovative products and services, increase efficiency, elevate competitiveness, and enable economic growth, contributing to an improved quality of life. 

India’s Approach 

• Recognising the transformative potential of AI, the Government of India has undertaken concrete steps to encourage the domestic adoption of AI in a responsible manner and build public trust in the use of this technology, placing the idea of ‘AI for All’ at its very core. 
• The Government of India’s flagship initiative, the National Programme on Artificial Intelligence (NPAI), aims to nurture the building blocks of the domestic AI ecosystem through four key interventions: 
  • National Data Management Office (NDMO): Recognising data as the foundational element for AI innovation, the NDMO aims to enhance data quality, utilisation, and accessibility, modernising government practices to fully unlock the potential of data and the AI innovation ecosystem. 
  • National Centre on AI (NCAI): NCAI is envisaged as a sector-agnostic entity that identifies AI solutions for public sector problem statements and facilitates their nationwide deployment, aiming to drive large-scale socio-economic transformation. 
  • Skilling for AI: This pillar aims to revamp technical education infrastructure, particularly ITIs and polytechnics by building data labs that can help equip the workforce with AI-ready skills and mitigate the disruptions caused by the accelerated adoption of AI. 
  • Responsible AI: Emphasises the need to address potential biases and discrimination in AI adoption through the development of indigenous tools, guidelines, frameworks etc., and suitable governance mechanisms. 
• Large datasets may be utilised to harness the potential of AI to foster data-driven perspectives and facilitate the effective development and implementation of robust policies and schemes. 
• This shift towards data-driven governance is also enhancing transparency and enabling participatory governance. 

Key Government Initiatives Leveraging AI 

1. UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for NewAge Governance): 

• UMANG serves as a unified platform, offering all Indian citizens a singular point of access to pan-India e-government services, spanning from central to local government bodies. 
• Launched in 2017, the platform provides access to 1836 vital government services encompassing a wide spectrum of areas such as education, Covid-19 vaccinations, public transport, employment guidance, passport applications, utilities, cybercrime reporting, and more. 
• To eliminate technology and language barriers and enhance the long-term adoption of key Government programmes and initiatives, AI was leveraged to transform UMANG into a more inclusive solution. 

2. DigiYatra:

• The DigiYatra initiative, spearheaded by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, marks a revolutionary step towards leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the air travel experience for citizens. 
• DigiYatra is a biometric-based boarding system for Indian airports. The DigiYatra initiative, implemented through the DigiYatra App, eases entry into airports, security checks, and boarding with a seamless registration process. 
• The app uses facial recognition technology, where users upload a selfie, enhancing security and expediting the boarding process. 

3. Digital India Bhashini:

• Digital India Bhashini (National Language Translation Mission) is an initiative launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology that is building speech-to-speech machine translation systems for various Indian languages and dialects and evolving a Unified Language Interface (ULI). 
• The mission is working towards creating a ‘voice-based internet’ that is accessible in vernacular Indian languages and building multilingualism as well by developing the next generation of ‘conversational’ government apps and websites. 
• This will enable citizens to access digital services in their own language, further increasing digital inclusion and accessibility. 

4. Applications of AI in Urban Governance:

• Several government departments across States– including municipal corporations and police, are using image recognition and AI for near-real-time monitoring of traffic and the infrastructure of the city. 
• These models are also used to detect traffic infractions, including overspeeding, rash driving, failure to wear a seatbelt, etc. 

5. Applications of AI in Healthcare:

• DRDO’s Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR) has developed ATMAN AI, an AI-based Covid detection application software using Chest X-rays (CXRs), which can classify the images into normal, Covid-19, and pneumonia classes using a limited number of sample images. 
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also implemented projects wherein AI-based models are being used to analyse X-Ray and mammography images to detect tuberculosis and breast cancer. 

6. AI-Based Pest Management System:

• CottonAce, an AI-driven early warning system, is aiding farmers in safeguarding their crops by offering timely, localised advice on pesticide application. Developed by Wadhwani AI (independent nonprofit institute), the AI system has undergone successful piloting. 

7. AI Applications in Agriculture:

• The Government of Telangana has deployed an AI solution that has the capability to leverage agricultural data and provide actionable inputs that can potentially increase crop yield. 
• The solution is also enabling landscape monitoring and event detection models to deliver valuable information on crop types, sow and harvest schedules, as well as the identification of water bodies. 
• Another AI-based solution deploys sensors in crop fields that help estimate moisture content in the soil. Mapping it with weather data regarding rains and the stage a crop is in helps make predictions of the irrigation needed, and the farmer gets prompts on his mobile phone about when he should be switching on the submersible pump for irrigation and for how long. 
• It is estimated that this simple solution can save up to 42% of water for paddy.

8. AI-Based Attendance Monitoring (Shiksha Setu):

• The Government of Assam has developed a mobile application called ‘Shiksha Setu’ for recording the digital attendance of both students and teachers. 
• The application includes an AI-based facial recognition attendance system, which has been implemented across 44,000 schools in the state. 

Concerns

• With these amazing capabilities have also come many concerns about AI. 

1. Gender-Bias: 

• One widely held concern about AI is whether it might amplify humanity’s worst impulses. 
• Large language models (LLMs) are trained on text from the internet, which reflects some of humanity’s best qualities but also some of its worst, including some of our prejudices, hatreds, and misconceptions. 
• If one asks an LLM after its initial training to fill in the blank. The blank was a CEO, many models would be prone to choosing the word ‘man’ i.e., The man was a CEO. 

2. Job Losses: 

• The pace of technological change might outpace the ability of people to reskill and adapt to new job demands, leading to unemployment and income inequality.

3. Hallucinations and Misinformation: 

• Another concern is that AI can sometimes ‘hallucinate’ inaccurate information with complete confidence. It can even invent its own references, sources, and deep fakes that are non-existent. 

4. Plagiarised Content: 

• LLMs sometimes output plagiarised content. If any enterprise uses that in their operations, only they are held accountable when the plagiarism is discovered, not the AI model. 

Way Forward

• To overcome these challenges, India needs a  multi-pronged approach:  
• Building a robust cyber security ecosystem: This includes strengthening government  agencies like CERT-In, promoting public-private partnerships, and fostering collaboration  among stakeholders. 
• Investing in AI-powered cyber security solutions: While AI can be misused, it also holds immense potential for proactive threat detection and response. Investing in research  and development of secure AI solutions is crucial. 
• Promoting digital literacy and awareness: Educating the public about cyber hygiene,  online scams, and data privacy practices is essential to build a resilient digital society.  
• Developing a strong legal framework: India needs robust cyber security laws and regulations to deter cybercrimes, protect critical infrastructure, and ensure data privacy.  
• Investing in cyber security training and skills development: Addressing the skill shortage by providing training programs and attracting  talent to the field is essential for long-term  cyber security preparedness. 

Conclusion

• As the proliferation of AI in citizen-centric public services accelerates, the imperative for establishing robust ethical guardrails becomes increasingly evident to safeguard against potential misuse and ensure responsible deployment.