No digital divide in my rule: Modi
Warns against unskilled people accessing AI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi ruled out a digital divide in India under his rule while sounding confident of his party returning to power with a huge majority in the Lok Sabha elections.
Pointing to technology's role in sectors like agriculture, education, and healthcare, while stressing on rural empowerment through initiatives like “Namo Drone Didi”, while interacting with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, he reiterated his commitment to bridging the digital gap in rural areas.
Modi told Gates on Friday that he wants to allocate funds to scientists for local research in cervical cancer to develop vaccines at a minimal cost and that his “new government” will work to ensure vaccination, especially for all girls.
The Prime Minister also cautioned about a significant risk of misuse of a powerful technology like artificial intelligence (AI), especially when placed in unskilled hands and suggested that Ai-generated content should carry clear watermarks to prevent misinformation.
Mentioning that it is not to devalue AI creations but recognising them for what they are, he stressed on the need to establish some dos and don’ts.
“In the case of deepfakes, it is crucial to acknowledge and present that a particular deepfake content is Aigenerated, along with the mention of its source. It is really important, especially in the beginning,” Modi asserted.
Discussing the issue of AI, the Prime Minister said it should not be seen as a magic tool or something people should resort to out of their laziness to do some work and explained how he used AI in the G-20 summit as an interpreter and also to broadcast his addresses in different languages at several events.
The Prime Minister stated that a technology like CHATGPT should be used to constantly improve oneself.
Highlighting his use of AI, Modi asked Gates to take a selfie through his (Namo) app and then showed him how it could be located through the facerecognition technology.
The Prime Minister said that he believed in the democratisation of technology, as it gives everyone an equal opportunity. He added that he is taking technology to villages.
On Gates’s query, Modi said that he is fascinated by technology but is not a slave to it. “I am not an expert but have a childlike curiosity for technology,” he said. Speaking of the digital revolution in India, Modi noted that he believed that nobody should have a monopoly over it and that it should be driven by people.
In this context, Modi highlighted the “Drone Didi” scheme for women to use drones in agriculture and the initiative to provide long-distance treatment to patients.
Modi pointed out that technology is being used to plug the shortcomings of teachers in education. He said digital technology will have a big role in the fourth industrial revolution and he is confident that India will do well.
Modi also talked about how India used the Cowin platform to provide Covid vaccination slots and certificates to people while the world was struggling to do it during the pandemic. When Gates asked if the green approach could be made more affordable for easier adoption, Modi said that the world needs to adopt a two-pronged strategy — first, nature and climatefriendly innovation and second, environmentally friendly lifestyles. Modi said, “Our current challenge is how we perceive progress. For example, a country's development is often judged by its steel consumption and energy usage. Based on these criteria, we calculate country’s economy.”