Need to ensure regulation matches technology sprint in AI era: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said that regulatory overview needs to match the sprint of fast-changing technologies in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) era. She called for the need of “soft touch” regulations, with the idea that too much should also not impact the strides being made in the field of technology.

“RBI is creating sandbox for various user testing applications and so on. Sandboxes were also used when we were talking about about the digital currencies. So RBI will create sand box for financial sector AI application, and insurance sector,” Sitharaman said, while addressing NITI Aayog’s launch of AI for Viksit Bharat Roadmap in New Delhi today.

“These sand boxes maybe used to see where the regulatory mechanism can come in with a soft touch approach and not to clamp down on it. So that we are happy that we are regulating, but in the process probably we are not killing the technology itself. You do not want regulation that literally wipes of the technology itself. We want regulations because we want responsible application,” Sitharaman added. 

On the significance of regulation amid the fast changing technology paradigm, Sitharaman said, “Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not static. It is a rapidly progressing, real-time and dynamic. Therefore, all of us will have to be conscious that we don't sit back on the ethics. We need to be clear that regulation has to run the race equally as much as the technology is running it. If the technology is on a sprint, the regulation has to be on the sprint, too.”

Meanwhile, NITI Aayog has emphasised the role artificial intelligence (AI) and research and development (R&D) will play in giving 8% GDP growth rate to India in a report released today.

The report ‘AI for Viksit Bharat’ unveiled on Monday revealed that AI adoption is expected to add over $1–1.4 trillion to India’s GDP by 2035, helping bridge the gap to achieve the $8.3 trillion GDP target. Without AI, the GDP growth rate is expected to be just at 5.7%, when for Viksit Bharat, the rate must be 8% or more.