Representational image of the Indian flag
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The first major multi-stakeholder coalition in India focused on the responsible development and deployment of AI technology, the Coalition for Responsible Evolution of AI (CoRE-AI), was created this week, bringing together over 30 key stakeholders in the tech space with a focus on fostering innovation among Indian AI startups and ensuring industry, academia and startup’s approach to regulating AI are heard by the government.
The coalition is housed within The Dialogue tech think tank based in New Delhi and brings together key stakeholders in the AI space from Big Tech players like Google, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services (AWS) to IT giants like Infosys and highly regarded academic institutions like Ashoka University and IIM Bangalore as well as a number of leading AI startups like BharatGPT-creator CoRover.ai and AI music startup Beatoven.ai.
The coalition primarily aims to create public trust in AI through voluntary industry guidelines and standards for the technology, robust AI regulatory frameworks, public-private partnerships, addressing bias and fairness in AI algorithms, transparency in AI operations and upholding user privacy and data protection.
“Government welcomes support, and interventions from a wide range of players who can bring the relevant information to the table on this aspect,” said Mr. S. Krishnan, Secretary, of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
“And taking in all of these inputs, undoubtedly a robust framework will emerge where India will also be able to not just use AI for the benefit of its own people, but play a leadership role globally. I’m confident the CoRE-AI forum will contribute to this larger national goal,” Mr. Krishnan said in a video statement.
With a vision of making AI in India and making AI work for India, the central government’s Cabinet approved the IndiaAI mission in March with a budget outlay of ₹10,372 crore.
The CoRE AI coalition said in an interview and statement to The Hindu that it will focus on exploring a “principles-based approach” utilising risk assessments to provide flexibility in addressing AI’s diverse challenges and will develop guidelines and contribute to a “robust governance framework,” in order to help create a trustworthy and innovative AI ecosystem in India.
“The Coalition will differentiate between regulating AI and regulating responsible AI practices, aiming to establish overarching principles for ethical AI development and deployment. This nuance will be essential as it shifts the focus from merely imposing restrictions on AI technologies to fostering an environment where ethical considerations, fairness, and transparency are integral to AI development and deployment,” CoRE AI told The Hindu.
Furthermore, the coalition said it will focus on understanding the impact of market forces on AI adoption and help provide clear direction when it comes to demand and governance frameworks “to boost confidence and innovation among startups,” a key focus of the entity.
“For AI to be responsibly built for the maximum collective good, there has to be explicit collaboration between start-ups, capital, policy-makers, big tech, academia and, yes, users. Only with frequent conversations and combined actions can we ensure that we are innovating at the scale and transparency that AI requires.” said Suparna Singh the CEO and Co-Founder of startup Frammer AI and the former President and CEO of NDTV. Singh is a Member of the Executive Committee of CoRE-AI.
CoRE-AI’s four key Working Groups which will work to execute the coalition’s responsible AI agenda are: Human-centred AI, ensuring that AI development prioritises human rights and societal values; AI and Innovation, focusing on fostering and showcasing AI innovation within India; AI Governance, developing frameworks and guidelines for the ethical and responsible governance of AI; DPI and AI, exploring AI in government welfare delivery and digital inclusion as well as public-private partnerships in DPI.
Late last year IBM and Meta, along with several prominent universities like IIT Bombay, and a group of tech startups and foundations, formed a global “AI Alliance,” which provides another pathway to responsible AI and potential competition for CoRE AI. The primary objective of the AI Alliance is to challenge the dominance of established players such as OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon in the field of AI, and prompt open innovation in AI.
Another new organisation involved in the space of of AI governance in India is the Artificial Intelligence Knowledge Consortium (AIKC) which was launched in March of this year by 12 research institutions and think tanks which joined forces to establish the consortium dedicated to championing a multi-stakeholder approach to AI governance.
