Can Artificial intelligence really manipulate the business dynamics to unfairly boost one brand and run down others, is a big question for Competition Commission of India (CCI), a market practices watchdog that keeps eye on the practices that have adverse effect on competition, protects the interests of consumers and ensures freedom of trade in markets in India.
AI, the latest disrupter on the horizon in the way we conduct life and businesses has had attention of CCI. It has mooted a market study of AI’s impact on competition, to understand its game changing capabilities as well as concerns arising among competitors from the its application in the businesses.
This is not the first time a major Indian regulator has raised the flag on AI.
Earlier, Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), the technical arm of Department of Telecommunications (DoT), had called for developing a framework for “fairness” assessment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML).
TEC wanted to know whether AI and ML systems are fair to all, enjoy public trust and are not dealing one demography over the other unfairly. TEC said this was necessary to build public trust in the AI and ML systems.
These questions become all the more pertinent in country that has largest population in the world, all the datasets are Big Data and the use of AI is inevitable in crunching the numbers of humongous scale.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning applications are increasingly being used in all domains such as Healthcare, Agriculture, Smart Cities, Smart Homes, Finance, Defence, Transport, Logistics, Natural Language Processing, Surveillance, and so on. Various Government Organisations are also using AI and ML systems for delivery of public services and e-governance.
Bias in AI and ML systems raises various ethical, social and legal issues. While the users expect these systems to be fair in their outcomes, a biased AI and ML system prefers a certain demography while discriminating against others. When AI and ML systems are used for e-governance or by the judiciary, checking for their fairness is bound to become a legal requirement in coming days. Therefore, one important requirement of “Responsible AI” is that the AI and ML systems should be unbiased and fair to everybody.
The “Market Study on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Competition” that CCI wants to launch will be a knowledge building exercise to develop an in-depth understanding of the emerging competition dynamics in the development ecosystems of AI systems and implications of AI applications for competition, efficiency, and innovation in the key industries.
The objectives of the study are to understand certain key AI systems and markets and ecosystems, including AI actors and stakeholders, essential inputs and resources, value chains, market structures and parameters of competition.
It will also examine the emerging and potential competition issues in these markets and ecosystems. It will study the scope and nature of AI applications cases, and assess associated opportunities, risks and ramifications from a competition standpoint. The regulator plans to reach out to all relevant stakeholders for a holistic understanding of the issues at the intersection of AI and the competition.
It is for these aforesaid reasons “Responsible AI” has become a watchword in the e-Governance and the Government considers artificial intelligence to be “a kinetic enabler” for the growth of India’s digital economy, investments and jobs.
The Government has taken various initiatives to expand AI ecosystem and connect the AI opportunities to the youth of the country. The Government has started re-skilling and up-skilling of IT manpower for employability in 10 new and emerging technologies which include AI, Blockchain, Robotics, Big Data & Analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), Virtual Reality, Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, 3D Printing, and Web 3.0.
In the universities it aims to enhance the number of PhDs in Electronics System Design & Manufacturing and IT, IT Enabled Services (IT-ITES) sectors including AI and Emerging Technologies.
The “Responsible AI for Youth” programme is designed to reach out to students from Government schools on pan-India basis and provide them with an opportunity to become part of the skilled workforce.
In schools, students from classes 8th to 12th are being encouraged to learn and apply AI skills in 8 thematic areas – Agriculture, Health, Education, Environment, Transport, Rural Development, Smart Cities and Law and Justice.
This is perfectly on lines of National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, which talks of introduction of contemporary subjects such as AI at all levels. Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has already introduced AI in its affiliated schools in the year 2019.
