Tamil Nadu’s Safe & Ethical Artificial Intelligence Policy 2020 launched on Saturday by Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami aims to provide a framework for inclusive, safe and ethical use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in government domain. It also aims to build fairness, equity, transparency and trust in AI assisted decision making systems.

The policy released at CII Connect 2020 also aims to establish guidelines for the evaluation of an AI systems before it is rolled out for public use. Further, it aims to build a mature and self-sustaining AI community to aid the growth of AI in the State and to train and skill people in AI, the policy document said.

One of the objectives of the policy is to build a regulatory 'sandbox' that can be used for researching, building and deploying AI-based applications for start-ups, private and public enterprises and academic. It is also aimed at promoting investment in AI research and development in the State.

AI Sandbox

The State Government will create an AI sandbox for start-ups and individuals for encouraging innovation at the grass-roots level in Tamil Nadu. The high-cost of computing and data infrastructure for AI experimentation and algorithm development could be a barrier to entry for start-ups and individuals for development of AI-based solution. To mitigate this risk and encourage talented individuals and start-ups to work in AI, the Government would create a sandbox environment which would help experimentation with new and innovative ideas without the risk of failure.

Tamil Nadu government wants to make AI inclusive free of bias, fair, equitable, ethical and transparent. It also wants to encourage fast, efficient, secure and transparent public service delivery with the help of AI driven e-governance applications.

The Tamil Nadu State’s policy for Safe & Ethical AI has been carefully crafted, after considering the pros and cons of the technology, to provide a road map for the state’s policy makers for the adoption of AI-based solutions.

The policy recommends the Six-Dimensional TAM-DEF Framework for evaluation of AI-based systems. The framework’s factors like transparency and audit; accountability and legal issues; misuse protection; digital divide and data deficit' ethics and fairness and equity; ensure that the evaluation is aligned to democratic values.

In addition, the policy also recommends the use of DEEP-MAX scorecard, which provides a path to guide the roll-out of AI solutions. Further, the policy also provides guidelines for government agencies, so that they can procure AI-based solutions that adhere to the policy norms.

To ensure that the benefits of AI and related technologies reach all sections of the society, all departments are encouraged to use the technology, wherever appropriate. The government with the help of the Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency will help identify AI opportunities across departments, the policy document said.

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