The stakeholder consultation on safety and ethics of AI is part of Unesco’s Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM), which includes an evaluation across multiple themes, with around 200 questions. RAM is a tool designed to help countries understand how prepared they are to apply AI ethically and responsibly for all their citizens. It is also a tool to support member states in their implementation of Unesco’s recommendation on the ethics of AI.
“For the regulations in AI to be effective, we have to ensure that the people are equipped with the right awareness, right ability, and the right tools,” MeitY secretary S Krishnan said, according to a post on the social media account of the government’s Digital India programme.
Abhishek Singh, an additional secretary at MeitY, said the IndiaAI Mission will focus on catalysing the safe and trusted development, deployment and adoption of AI for social good.
“The India AI mission and Unesco’s recommendations have a shared commitment to fostering ethical AI development,” Tim Curtis, director and representative at Unesco South Asia Regional Office in New Delhi, said in a statement.
By providing insights into different dimensions of AI readiness, RAM helps highlight any institutional and regulatory gaps, and enables Unesco to provide support for governments to fill those gaps.
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Law firm Ikigai is the programme’s implementation partner in India. Ikigai’s role is to gather and synthesise stakeholder feedback, including from government, industry, and academia, into a report. The process is ongoing, with multiple consultations planned across India.MeitY, and Ikigai did not respond to ET’s requests for comments.
