To truly realize the full potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI), we need to figure out a way to embrace AI so that we can innovate faster while at the same time protect privacy, said Mr N Chandrasekaran, Chair, B20 India and Executive Chairman, Tata Sons, India. Mr Chandrasekaran said that having the right digital infrastructure like cloud, data centre, digital devices for everyone, etc is fundamental to make a large impact. He was speaking during Plenary Session 2 on ‘AI for Business and Societies: Opportunities and Regulations’ at the B20 Summit India 2023 in New Delhi on 25 August. The summit was organized by CII, the Secretariat for the B20 India.

Noting that India has made a big breakthrough in the privacy space, Mr Chandrasekaran said that the country has taken a techno-legal approach. “On one hand, we have got regulation for data privacy and protection, and on the other hand, we have DEPA (Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture). With both working together, we are able to safely secure, with consent, any transaction and sharing of data at an aggregate level with complete security and protection of privacy,” the B20 India Chair said. He said India has put in a unique digital infrastructure that has enabled us to deliver public services at a remarkable pace. In a country like India, AI will create jobs and it will empower people with little to no skill to perform higher level jobs, he said.

Mr Brad Smith, President and Vice Chairman, Microsoft, USA said that we should be excited about the opportunities of AI but at the same time be thoughtful about the downside, and construct guardrails from the outset, as industry, companies, governments and countries. “The demographic diversity in India is extraordinary. In some ways, Generative AI is more powerful in a country that speaks many languages because it is such a powerful tool that it can help people communicate across different languages,” he said. Talking about the benefits and applications of Generative AI, Mr Smith said that it can be used almost anywhere that involves data. “AI is an indispensable tool. You can take something like pancreatic cancer. It is difficult for doctors to detect it, but AI is already helping doctors detect it early,” he said.

Mr Michael Miebach, Chief Executive Officer, Mastercard, USA said that the immediate set of use case for Generative AI is improving efficiency and effectiveness. Generative AI can help small businesses automate the mundane task and enable the leaders to focus on the big picture, he said. Speaking about the regulation, he said that traditionally, the private sector needs to lead. Noting that regulations are behind on AI, he advocated for self-regulation and underlined the key principles -- privacy, security, transparency, accountability and integrity.

Mr Arvind Krishna, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, IBM, USA said that AI is expected to produce USD 4.4 trillion annually by 2030. He said AI or Generative AI can perform certain cognitive or mundane tasks for businesses of all scale, thereby making people more productive. “In effect, you will have more workers. This is a way to make GDP grow faster. Our goal is to make secure and accountable AI that can benefit the productivity of enterprises and government,” he said. Talking about the role of changing demographic, he said that since developing countries now have decreasing working age population, the deployment of technology is going to happen from the global south. Mr Krishna added that many jobs can be filled from the Global South remotely with the skills that are present, with little training.

Mr Shantanu Narayen, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Adobe, USA said that AI has the ability to further enhance and improve the building blocks of the past and noted that AI has applications in education, healthcare, financial inclusion, government engagement with citizens, among others.