AI must empower people, not just machines: PM Modi at G7 Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the outreach session on "Ensuring a Safe, Rapid and Efficient Rollout of Artificial Intelligence", at the G7 Summit in Evian, France.

The Prime Minister highlighted that while "Artificial Intelligence was a transformative force with the potential to redefine the direction of human civilisation, it must also empower people, according to an official statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Taking to his official X account, PM Modi in a post wrote: "Spoke at the session on ‘Ensuring a Safe, Rapid and Efficient Rollout of AI.’ This is a subject of immense importance for the global community. AI’s transformative potential is widely known, having touched all aspects of human life. However, the true test of AI is not how powerful our machines become. Its real test lies in how much it empowers ordinary human beings."

PM Modi elaborated that it was with this larger thought that India had hosted the AI Impact Summit recently, the MEA statement said.

"Underlining India's human-centric or MANAV (human) vision for AI, PM Modi said that the technology must be anchored in the principles of inclusivity, security, and public good," the MEA added.

In another X post, PM Modi wrote: "India firmly believes that cyberspace has to be one that furthers the global public good. Access to AI technologies must also be broad and inclusive. All democratic countries should have access to such AI models so that they can protect their critical information infrastructure and respond effectively to growing cyber threats."

"Noting that India has always viewed cyberspace as a global public good, Prime Minister emphasised that democratic countries must have access to AI models that can secure their critical information infrastructure and help them deal with cyber threats," the MEA statement added.

"PM Modi called for an integrated approach to AI development where safety, speed and efficiency are dealt together. In this regard, he made four suggestions: AI systems should be safe-by-design; AI deployment must be accompanied by common standards, testing frameworks, and regulatory guidelines; there should be effective global cooperation to deal with deepfakes, misinformation and cyber fraud; and the benefits of AI must reach countries of the Global South to ensure an inclusive world," the MEA statement said.

The Prime Minister concluded his speech by stating that "AI must expand human potential, empower human choice and protect human dignity", and noted that India would continue to work with partners to promote these objectives.