India’s journey into Artificial Intelligence (AI) governance takes a momentous leap with the establishment of the AI Knowledge Consortium (AIKC). Twelve research institutions and think-tanks have joined forces to establish this initiative, dedicated to championing this multi-stakeholder approach to AI governance.
Mission of the Consortium
As AI becomes an integral part of our daily lives, the AIKC recognises responsible business practices and comprehensive societal oversight are dual imperatives.
Vivan Sharan, Partner at Koan Advisory, which serves as the Secretariat of the AIKC, said, “AI is not a monolith, but a complex mosaic of technologies and our interactions with it. And to govern its use, the AIKC will endeavour to simultaneously atomise AI and our response to it.”
NS Nappinai, Senior Counsel of the Supreme Court, and founder of Member organisation CyberSaathi, said, “The AI revolution in India needs to be inclusive, equitable, and reflective of our shared values. We need to evaluate how the four foundational pillars can guide further action on AI namely – empowering communities, stewarding knowledge, building capacity, and fostering inclusive dialogue”.
The launch also marked the unveiling of the AIKC’s debut member organisation report titled “What Indian Parliamentarians Think of AI.” This publication presents findings from a survey of 37 Members of Parliament, shedding light on their perceptions of this transformative technology.
Manish Tiwari, Founder of the AIKC Member organisation Institute for Governance, Policies and Politics, said “nearly all MPs emphasised the importance of a human-centric approach to AI regulation, while 82% also stressed the centrality of innovation-centricity”.
The AIKC launch also saw the participation of leading global AI companies such as Microsoft, Google and Amazon Web Services, alongside emerging Indian start-ups like CoRover and Level AI.
During the event, AIKC members and roundtable participants discussed the need for a public-private partnership led approach to developing hardware infrastructure to ensure equitable compute capacity for AI advancement in India.