RAISE 2020 – Responsible AI for Social Empowerment

The main aim of Digital India is to make optimum use of digital technologies to achieve social empowerment, good governance, and inclusive growth. Digital technologies and their benefits are accessible to everyone. As the technologies change rapidly, the existing systems should also evolve continuously. Additionally, the changing technologies also need higher building capacities and faster regulatory changes. RAISE 2020; the AI virtual meet was organized by the MeitY and NITI Aayog. The RAISE 2020 Theme was to outline India’s vision to harness the power of Artificial Intelligence for a better future for the country. 

About RAISE 2020

RAISE 2020 is a global virtual summit on Artificial Intelligence. The RAISE 2020 full form is Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020. It was a platform where leaders of the global technology world met and discussed various aspects of Artificial Intelligence. The RAISE 2020 Theme was to provide a platform where global industry leaders, AI experts, key policymakers, academia, and government representatives can participate in discussing the future of AI in the development of India. This virtual summit was conducted from 5th October 2020 to 9th October 2020 between 10:30 AM to 9 PM. This conference was inaugurated by our Prime Minister, Sri Narendra Modi. 

What is Artificial Intelligence?

When machines or systems mimic human intelligence to perform varieties of tasks and repeatedly improve themselves based on the information collected, it is termed Artificial Intelligence (AI). With AI, machines learn from experience, adjust when new inputs are given and do human-like tasks. Artificial intelligence aims at enhancing human capabilities, not replacing them. The first-ever global virtual meet RAISE 2020 Theme was to bring technological leaders across the world on a single platform to outline the use of AI for social empowerment in India. 

Artificial Intelligence and India

Over the last few decades, there has been a significant transformation in technology. The rapid technological changes have forced us to change our way of thinking, working, and living. In recent times, the latest technology is Artificial Intelligence. Like the organizations and the governments around the world, the Government of India is also planning to leverage the power of AI for social empowerment. The RAISE 2020 Theme was to discuss opportunities for AI in India.

• India has a huge pool of AI-trained workforce
• The young population of India is highly skilled and ready to adopt AI
•  Indian institutes like IITs, NITs, and IIITs have huge potential for research and startups
• In India, AI can revolutionize various sectors such as education, agriculture, healthcare, and manufacturing
• India generates a huge amount of data daily
• The National AI Strategy was published by the Government of India in 2018, and since then, many initiatives have been taken to create a strong AI ecosystem
• The National AI Portal was launched as a single digital platform

Though the announcement About RAISE Conference 2022is not been made, India is continuously working towards becoming a leader and model to guide the world on how to responsibly use AI for social empowerment. 

Future of AI in India

• In healthcare, AI helps in accessing and learning data of a huge number of patients and prevention and diagnosis
• Weather prediction, crop monitoring with image processing technology, smart irrigation, monitoring the soil health, and driverless tractors are some of the usages of AI in the agricultural field
• For smart mobility, Intelligent Transport Systems, autonomous trucking, community-based parking are the contributions of AI. AI is also used in railways for tracks, signals, and ticket counters

Along with the use of AI in different sectors of Indian society, how Artificial Intelligence can be used ethically and responsibly was also the RAISE 2020 theme. 

Preventing the misuse of Data

In the development of Artificial Intelligence, the role of data resources is very crucial. At the same time, the Artificial Intelligence Systems should be designed in such a manner that it can prevent data misuse and privacy breach. 

Ethical and Legal Concerns of AI

The algorithms used in the Artificial Intelligence System must be unbiased and prejudice-free. One of the best examples is the Face Recognition System. The algorithm of the Face Recognition System cannot be written in such a manner that it displays the information about the race or ethnicity of the person. The time has come to incorporate changes in the conventional laws as they are now challenged by transitional technologies like Artificial Intelligence. 

Conclusion

The power of Artificial Intelligence must be harnessed for the well-being of human society. The Indian Government is planning to use Artificial Intelligence for inclusive development. Representing India’s ‘AI for All’ strategy, the RAISE 2020 Theme was to provide a platform where ideas can be exchanged to create public awareness about the need to develop and practice Artificial Intelligence (AI) ethically. Artificial Intelligence is a powerful digital tool, and India has the potential to become the global leader in Artificial Intelligence.