Dr. Arvind Kumar*
One of the biggest concerns is bias, as AI systems learn from historical data, which may contain societal prejudices, leading to unfair or discriminatory outcomes. Additionally, AI can be misused for malicious purposes, such as deepfakes, cyberattacks, or misinformation campaigns. AI models can inherit biases from training data, leading to unfair decisions in hiring, law enforcement, and lending. Automation through AI threatens jobs in various sectors, including manufacturing, customer service, and data analysis.AI decisions can be difficult to explain, raising concerns about responsibility when things go wrong.AI-generated fake content can spread false information, influencing public opinion and elections. So how to use AI intelligently and without bias?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a powerful tool that can revolutionize industries, improve efficiency, and solve complex problems. A recent IBM survey shows that 42% of large companies have adopted AI, and 40% are considering it. Generative AI has been implemented by 38% of organizations, with 42% considering it. As AI advancements continue at a rapid pace, its impact on society in the future remains to be seen. At the recent AI Action Summit in Paris, co-hosted by India and France, Prime Minister Modi said, “while the positive potential of AI is absolutely amazing, there are many biases that we need to think carefully about”. AI will serve as a significant milestone in shaping AI governance worldwide. Generative AI has expanded its capabilities and applications but it also comes with significant risks. While AI can enhance decision-making, automate tasks, and provide insights from vast amounts of data, it can also be dangerous if not managed properly.
One of the biggest concerns is bias, as AI systems learn from historical data, which may contain societal prejudices, leading to unfair or discriminatory outcomes. Additionally, AI can be misused for malicious purposes, such as deep fakes, cyberattacks, or misinformation campaigns. AI models can inherit biases from training data, leading to unfair decisions in hiring, law enforcement, and lending. Automation through AI threatens jobs in various sectors, including manufacturing, customer service, and data analysis.AI decisions can be difficult to explain, raising concerns about responsibility when things go wrong. AI-generated fake content can spread false information, influencing public opinion and elections. So how to use AI intelligently and without bias?
In developing countries like India Artificial Intelligence offers a chance to revamp their economies, enhance public services, and improve the overall standard of living. Countries can diversify their economies by incorporating AI into sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, and services, moving beyond traditional sectors. AI can aid in resolving challenges in essential areas like healthcare, where it can assist doctors in making judgments and ensuring optimal treatment, especially in places where specialized knowledge and medical expertise are scarce. AI in agriculture can boost crop yields, revenues, food security, and efficiency by delivering more precise weather forecasts, assisting in the selection of suitable crops for different regions, optimizing use of pesticides, and designing irrigation systems. At the summit, the Prime Minister of India emphasized the country’s achievements in creating a digital backbone for its massive population using open-source technology. India will host the subsequent AI Summit, showcasing its commitment to shaping the future of AI.
India leveraging AI to drive inclusive growth across key sectors?
India is strategically harnessing AI to drive inclusive growth across key sectors, supported by initiatives like the ₹10,370 crore India AI Mission, which focuses on creating a massive language model in the country and funding AI applications in agriculture, learning aids, and climate change, are a part of this effort. The AI for India 2030 initiative complements this by giving a clear plan for integrating AI into India’s economy and society. The Union Budget 2025 shows that the government is dedicated to developing AI talent by giving ₹500 crore to establish a Centre of Excellence in AI and teaming up with foreign partners to establish five National Centres of Excellence for Skilling. These efforts aim to equip India’s workforce for an AI-driven future, while AI is projected to potentially contribute $500 billion to India’s economy by 2025, revolutionizing sectors from agriculture to manufacturing. The AI Playbook and Sandbox work streams operationalize AI adoption, offering start-ups and SMEs a controlled environment for testing AI solutions. Furthermore, India actively collaborates with global tech giants and institutions, leveraging public-private partnerships and regional initiatives to integrate global best practices into its unique context.
India has a unique opportunity to lead the global AI governance discourse by championing a development-centric approach that prioritizes innovation, inclusivity, and sustainability. To harness AI’s full potential, India must adopt a risk-based and proportionate regulatory framework that focuses on specific use cases, ensuring clarity for developers while mitigating potential risks. Strengthening the copyright framework to allow AI systems to utilize diverse datasets for training, while safeguarding intellectual property rights, will be crucial for fostering innovation. Facilitating cross-border data flows will further integrate India into the global AI ecosystem, reducing IT costs, enabling AI models to be trained on diverse datasets, and enhancing competitiveness in international markets. At the national level, a cohesive AI policy with inter-agency coordination is essential to avoid fragmented governance, while conducting a regulatory gap analysis will help assess AI’s impact on existing laws. Investing in open data initiatives and strengthening public-private partnerships in AI research will further accelerate India’s technological progress, enabling the development of AI-driven solutions for economic and social advancement.
The environmental impact of AI?
Leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, emphasized the importance of sustainable AI development and the pressing need for green energy to power AI. Experts raised concerns about the rising energy demands of AI models, particularly large language models like ChatGPT, which consume significantly more electricity than traditional online searches. According to Goldman Sachs, global data centre power demand could rise by 160% by 2030, with AI potentially accounting for 21% of total electricity consumption. The US, Europe, and China are expected to witness exponential growth in AI-related energy use, with data centres consuming electricity equivalent to the total demand of Portugal, Greece, and the Netherlands combined by 2030. To mitigate this, AI infrastructure must prioritize energy-efficient algorithms, integration with smart grids, and reliance on renewable energy sources.
AI for Global South
AI holds immense promise as a catalyst for development in the Global South, offering pathways to bridge existing digital divides and accelerate socio-economic advancement. While the early stages of AI development were largely concentrated in Western nations, countries across Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean are increasingly recognizing and harnessing the potential of AI technologies to address their unique challenges. From agriculture, where AI assists in diagnosing crop diseases and optimizing farming practices, to healthcare, where it powers predictive models for maternal care and clinical decision support, AI applications are transforming key sectors. In education, AI is helping to identify at-risk students and enhance learning experiences, while in climate action, it supports forest monitoring and conservation efforts. Recognizing that structural limitations related to infrastructure, data availability, and skilled talent can widen the “AI divide,” there’s a growing emphasis on investing in basic AI infrastructure, fostering local education, and building a sustainable talent pipeline. Grassroots organizations and community-building initiatives are playing a crucial role in developing datasets, translating tools for low-resource languages, and nurturing AI researchers and developers within the Global South. Successful examples, such as the Microsoft Africa Development Center and Google’s digital skills training in Latin America, highlight the power of collaboration between technology providers and local communities. Ultimately, realizing AI’s full potential in the Global South requires governments to enact robust regulations, cultivate thriving AI ecosystems, and prioritize training for local researchers and developers, ensuring that AI benefits local communities and contributes to a more equitable technological order.
Way forward
At the international level, India’s presidency of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) presents a strategic opportunity to shape AI governance in a way that aligns with the interests of the Global South. Given that AI regulations have largely been shaped by the Global North, often overlooking the socio-economic realities of developing nations, India can advocate for a governance model that ensures AI is inclusive, ethical, and aligned with sustainable development goals. Addressing the dangers of AI requires a combination of regulation, ethical design, transparency, and human oversight. First, governments and international bodies should establish clear regulations and guidelines to ensure AI is used responsibly, with legal consequences for misuse. Second, AI systems must be designed with fairness and accountability in mind, incorporating diverse and representative data to minimize biases. Developers should implement explainability and transparency features, allowing users to understand how AI makes decisions. Third, continuous human oversight is essential—AI should be treated as an assistive tool rather than a fully autonomous system, with humans making the final critical decisions. Regular audits, independent reviews, and public reporting can help detect and correct biases or unethical behavior. Public awareness and education about AI risks and best practices are also crucial so that users and organizations can make informed decisions. Finally, collaboration between policymakers, researchers, businesses, and civil society can ensure that AI develops in a way that prioritizes safety, fairness, and societal well-being.
*Editor, Focus Global Reporter
