India needs a specialized cadre for truly effective AI governance

Sectoral experts should be deployed across governance institutions to help make optimal use of AI

- AJAI GARG & VIVAN SHARAN

India recently unveiled a report to guide the governance of artificial intelligence (AI), marking the country's first structured vision in the era of Generative AI and transformative foundation models. While acknowledging AI's far-reaching and cross-sectoral impact, the report risks repeating past governance missteps by leaning too heavily on a centralized vision.

The pro-innovation report commendably adopts a first-principles approach and considers the roles of diverse AI stakeholders—developers, deployers, and end-users. It also highlights the need for multidisciplinary expertise from fields like law and economics. It aligns with global trends in discussing technology-driven governance tools such as water-marking of AI-generated content to curb disinformation and the use of regulatory technologies for automating compliance. The report also reflects on the fluid nature of AI governance and avoids taking too prescriptive a lens.

However, it doesn't go far enough. Despite advocating a "whole-of-government" approach, it suggests setting up a centralized committee along with a technical secretariat. This structure, while familiar, would fail to address the nuanced challenges posed by high-technology in areas such as sectoral regulation and public procurement.