AI for Peace: South Asia's Scope for Cooperation?
Published Date: 23/08/2024
As AI reshapes the global landscape, South Asian countries face challenges in developing and regulating AI. Can they collectively leverage their potential or be left behind?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the world at an unprecedented pace. However, beyond India's growing AI leadership, South Asian countries are struggling to develop and regulate AI due to a lack of technical skills, research and development, and capital for setting up AI infrastructure.
The European Union (EU) has passed the AI Act, a legal framework to protect private information and data in AI use. But what about other regions? Can South Asian nations collectively leverage their potential in the AI revolution, or will they be left behind? The AI race is driven by economic goals, technological innovation, and geopolitical competition. But it also adds a new layer of anxiety around the uncertainty of its harmful potential to humankind.
The invention of nuclear weapons in the 1930s soon led to the use of atomic bombs for mass destruction in World War II. Since then, the global community has established safeguards in the form of monitoring mechanisms, from the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
Not surprisingly, policy experts have drawn parallels between nuclear and AI safety, with some referring to the need for a Manhattan Project for AI. Technological developments with AI seem to move faster than policy and regulation for AI safety.
In May 2023, the heads of AI labs OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind, as well as researchers like Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio and prominent figures like Bill Gates, signed an open letter stating, “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.
FAQS:
Q: What is the current state of AI development in South Asia?
A: South Asian countries face challenges in developing and regulating AI due to a lack of technical skills, research and development, and capital for setting up AI infrastructure.
Q: What is the role of India in AI diplomacy in South Asia?
A: India can naturally play a leadership role in integrating AI diplomacy in the region, given its highest number of AI projects implemented, huge data repository, and continued growth in the IT sector.
Q: What is the importance of international cooperation in AI development?
A: International cooperation is essential for national security, conflict prevention, and norm setting in the region, as well as for minimizing risks to humankind and maximizing efficiency.
Q: What is the potential risk of AI to humankind?
A: AI poses a similar existential threat to nuclear weapons, with some likening it to an apocalyptic takeover, while others believe any remote job will cease to exist in five years.
Q: What is the role of organizations like SAARC in AI diplomacy in South Asia?
A: Organizations like SAARC can enable cross-border communication on AI to ensure South Asian countries' voices are heard, but they face challenges due to political tensions and diplomatic disputes.