Centre should partner with foreign govts, form global body on AI regulation: TRAI

This comes at a time when AI has become among the most important talking points for technologists and policymakers around the world.

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The Union government should collaborate with international agencies and other countries to form a global agency for the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI), the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended.

In a consultation paper titled ‘Leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in Telecommunication Sector,’ the telecom regulator has also recommended setting up a domestic statutory authority to regulate AI in India, through the lens of a “risk-based framework”.

The TRAI’s recommendation on forming an international body for responsible AI echoes sentiments of Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI, the company behind the viral sensation ChatGPT. Altman has called for an international regulatory body for AI, akin to that governing nuclear power.

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This comes at a time when AI has become among the most important talking points for technologists and policymakers around the world, for the potential impact it can have on the future of various industries, including entertainment, journalism, and core jobs. The IT Ministry is also working on the draft Digital India Bill, which is expected to regulate AI from the lens of user harm.

To ensure the development of responsible AI in India, TRAI said that there is an urgent need to adopt a regulatory framework by the government that should be applicable across sectors. “The regulatory framework should ensure that specific AI use cases are regulated on a risk-based framework where high risk use cases that directly impact humans are regulated through legally binding obligations,” it said.

An independent statutory body, called the Artificial Intelligence and Data Authority of India (AIDAI), should be formed for the development of responsible AI and regulation of use cases in India, TRAI said.

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The AIDAI should oversee all issues related to data digitisation, data sharing, and data monetisation in the country, define principles of responsible AI and their applicability on AI use cases based on risk assessment, and ensure that principles of responsible AI are made applicable at each phase of AI framework lifecycle including design, development, validation, deployment, monitoring and refinement.

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TRAI also recommended the creation of a multi-stakeholder body (MSB) to act as an advisory agency to the AIDAI and should include members from the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Home Affairs, along with legal and cybersecurity experts.