Nations need to adopt balanced approach in regulation of AI: G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant

Nations of the world need to adopt a balanced approach to artificial intelligence and should not bring in regulations that would stifle innovation, Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa, said on Monday.

Addressing the SAI20 Summit at Goa, Kant highlighted that rapid advancements such as generative artificial intelligence offer exciting new opportunities for human advancement, but also bring with them new risks (like fake news), fresh forms of discrimination and bias, threats to personal privacy and data protection.

“There has to be a balanced approach to this technology (AI). One that allows them to take the best advantage of all that AI has to offer, while minimising the harms that it could cause because technology will always be ahead of government, and the more regulation we do, will run the challenge of stopping innovation,” Kant said.

Minimum risk, maximum value

“As G20 countries, we need to have a pro-innovation approach that maximises the value of these technology and offers entrepreneurs the freedom to innovate within principle-based ethical framework,” he said.

The risk mitigation can only be effective with early warning of new risks and imminent threats, Kant added.

Kant highlighted the subject of AI is “very important” because this will determine how future challenges are met in the days to come.

“We are all interconnected today with technology. It plays a crucial role in the functioning and the transformation of the world enables us to collect, process and disseminate information more quickly and efficiently”, he said.

Climate change

Meanwhile, Kant also highlighted as to, how over the past few decades, there has been indiscriminate pollution of the seas and contamination of natural marine habitat.

This has resulted in marine pollution, unsustainable exploitation of fisheries, unplanned development of maritime infrastructure, ocean acidification from toxic waste and disruption of delicate marine ecology, he said. 

“Consequently, this has upset the balance role played by ocean in climate regulation and led to an adverse impact of climate change on the ocean”, Kant said.

He called upon G20 to take the initiative and draw up an action plan to counter the detrimental impacts of global warming and climate change by leveraging the oceans for conservation and preservation, protection and sustainable development of the seas and marine areas beyond national jurisdiction with the overall vision of clean and healthy oceans for a safe earth. 

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