18 Countries Finally Sign An Agreement To Regulate AI Safety

Date: November 29, 2023

Amid the rapid development of Artificial Intelligence technology, 18 countries have come forward to sign an agreement on regulating AI safety measures.

Artificial Intelligence has become the term of the year. One can simply witness a conversation around AI from tech leaders to children in their early school years. Even though it is still in the early stage of its evolution, it has gained global popularity as the next big thing built by humanity. However, the development of this incredible technology can also be quite harmful to humans. 

Here, we are not talking about the AI technology itself but the people who use it for various goals. The stage where AI becomes a threat to humanity after gaining sentience is still a distant and faded dream. To keep that dream from reaching its reality, 18 countries have come together to sign an agreement that enforces AI safety and regulation measures much more stringently.

Till now, there have been no official regulations around AI in the world. Most of the complaints filed are being treated under the IT, digital, and web usage laws, which do not provide concrete support to the victims or adequate punishment to the convicts. This measure of creating a unified agreement may help the authorities collaborate and speed up the process.

Which 18 Countries, if you may ask?

While you might expect all the world leaders to be on this list, you might be surprised after going through all the names. They are the US, Britain, Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Australia, Chile, Israel, Nigeria, and Singapore. The fact that all countries in the above list are the top technology users and developers makes sense rather than considering world leaders to be the most responsible ones. 

What is India’s take on this?

In recent times, Indians have seen many people becoming victims to the misuse of AI, from normal people to renowned celebrities. However, the 1.4 Billion-strong country has not joined this league of countries. It has taken standalone actions to enforce appropriate AI safety regulations that fit the nature of this country.

AI, like any other technology, will be disruptive, but criminals can also abuse it. As a result, we created the Digital India Act, a framework for all emerging technologies, including AI, and established the principle that technology can be used for any purpose but must not cause harm.

- Rajeev Chandrasekhar

The government has launched the Digital India Act, which encompasses major rules and regulations for AI development, data protection, security, and privacy. In 2018, India's planning commission developed the National Strategy on Artificial Intelligence. Niti Aayog also launched the AIRAWAT (AI Research, Analytics, and Knowledge Assimilation) platform to improve AI use and ensure the pro-human behavior of all AI products.