"AI is already reshaping our polity, economy, security, and even our society," cautions Modi at the Global Summit in Paris

India, China, Canada on one page ... but US and UK do not sign the AI Declaration

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (Feb 11) called for collective global efforts to establish transparent and inclusive technological governance.

Addressing the much talked about AI Summit in Paris, he highlighted AI's transformative potential in reshaping society, economy, and security.

Modi asserted that AI is writing the codes of humanity in this century and urged for technological governance promoting innovation and transparency.

"AI is already reshaping our polity, economy, security, and even our society. AI is the code for humanity in this century. But it is very different from other technological milestones in human history. 

It is developing at an unprecedented scale and speed, and being adopted and deployed faster than ever before," Modi said. 

Therefore, he called for democratic and accessible technologies and bias-free data.  

"There is also a deep interdependence across borders. Therefore, there is a need for collective global efforts to establish governance and standards that upload our shared values, address risks, and build trust. 

But governance is not just about managing risks and rivalries. It is also about promoting innovation and deploying it for the global good. So we must think deeply and discuss openly about innovation and governance," he said.

PM Modi stressed the need for collective global efforts to establish governance in AI and called for greater transparency and accessibility in the field.

"Governance is also about ensuring access to all, especially in the Global South. It is where the capabilities are most lacking, be it power, talent, or data for financial resources. 

AI can help transform millions of lives by improving health, education,

agriculture and so much more. It can help create a world in which the journey to sustainable development goals becomes easier and faster," the Prime Minister said.

 

The US and the UK have refused to sign the Paris AI summit’s declaration on “inclusive and sustainable” artificial intelligence, in a blow to hopes for a concerted approach to developing and regulating the technology.

The two countries did not immediately explain their reasons for not adding their names to a document backed by 60 signatories on Tuesday, including China, India, Japan, Australia and Canada.

The UK prime minister’s official spokesperson said France was one of the UK’s closest partners in AI, but the government would “only ever sign up to initiatives that are in UK national interests”.

But they added that the UK had signed up to the summit’s Coalition for Sustainable AI and had backed a statement on cybersecurity.

US Vice President J D Vance’s speech, in front of leaders including the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, indicated dissatisfaction with the global approach to regulating and developing the technology. 

Keir Starmer, did not attend the summit.

Vance, in his first trip abroad as US vice-president, issued a caution against the EU’s regulatory approach, stating that “excessive regulation of the AI sector could kill a transformative industry”.

Speaking in front of the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, Vance added: 

“We need international regulatory regimes that fosters the creation of AI technology rather than strangles it, and we need our European friends, in particular, to look to this new frontier with optimism rather than trepidation.”

ends