Is AI capable of replacing humans? Know what Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar says on it
New Delhi, June 9: Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday noted that as of now, he does not see any threat to job loss from Artificial Intelligence (AI).
He said AI as a technology in its current form was largely task-oriented and not capable of dealing with a situation where logic and reasoning were needed. "While AI is disruptive, we do not see in the next few years the so-called threat of replacing the jobs," he added.
He was addressing the media to highlight initiatives taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central Government so far. "Jobs usually have reasoning and logic and AI is not as sophisticated at this point," the minister added.
On the AI regulation front, he said the government would regulate it taking into consideration the aspects of user harm. "We will safeguard digital citizens through this technology," he said, adding that companies willing to operate in India had to mitigate user harm in the first place.
"Our approach towards AI regulation is very simple. We will regulate AI as we regulate Web 3 or any emerging technologies to ensure they do not harm digital citizens," Chandrasekhar said.
Given India's strong IT industry and a large set of data, AI-based utilities can leverage huge potential in the country, though AI is still in its early stages. Many countries have been using AI technologies for better service delivery and to reduce human intervention, but the fear of job cuts remains as the technology evolves.
On Thursday, OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman, whose company deals with AI technologies and has created ChatGPT, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here in the national capital and discussed various aspects of AI, including the need for global regulation. Besides India, Altman is on a six-nation tour this week, including Israel, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE, and South Korea.
In a tweet, after meeting Altman, PM Modi wrote that the potential of AI in India's tech ecosystem is vast -- among the youth in particular. "We welcome all collaborations that can accelerate our digital transformation for empowering our citizens," PM Modi wrote.
- With inputs from agencies
