Voluntary commitment can make a bigger difference: MeitY secretary on AI summit declaration
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: A set of common initiatives and directives signed by India, the US, China and 83 other countries at the recently concluded India AI Impact Summit will shape global collaborations on artificial intelligence (AI) despite the agreement being non-binding in nature, said a top bureaucrat who spearheaded the declaration. On Saturday, the government released the New Delhi declaration that was signed by 88 entities, including the European Union (EU) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
The declaration underlined the setting up of two platforms for global sharing of tools and principles in AI, as well as a global network of scientific institutes that pledged to collaborate in various areas of research using the technology. In an interview with Mint, S. Krishnan, secretary in the ministry of electronics and information technology (Meity), said that the countries signing the declaration expressed their intent to adhere by the pledges, and ultimately it is adherence that matters.
“We should not be so concerned with the declaration being binding or non-binding. Ultimately, it is adherence to the declaration that will be important and relevant," Krishnan said. “On this note, if nations voluntarily bind themselves to a declaration, this likely would make a bigger difference, than making a compulsion in some form." To be sure, this was the fourth global AI summit, with the previous editions held in the UK, South Korea and France, and the next year’s event slated for Switzerland.
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