GS Analyst: Daily Current Affairs

Context:

India's hosting global AI summits and a nationwide call for AI ethics is necessary to highlight AI's impact on economy and child safety concerns.

Importance of AI Summits in India

• AI summits: India is hosting global AI summits, highlighting AI's economic significance, projected to add 500 billion dollars by 2025.
• Urge for a framework: Prime Minister of India has also called for global AI ethics framework.
• Considering Children: There is a need to focus on protecting children as they access AI-based digital services.

Challenges in Regulating AI for Children

• Threats associated to AI: It can poses risks like addiction, mental health issues, and cyber threats to young users.
• Dark patterns: Digital services often exploit children with opaque algorithms and dark patterns.
• Lack of protection laws: India's data protection law doesn't adequately safeguard children's interests or facilitate safe online experiences.

Recommendations for Child-Centric AI Regulation

• To safeguard AI environment: International best practices, like UNICEF guidelines, can guide India in creating safer AI environments.
• Setting a model: Regulation should adapt to different age groups, using California's Age Appropriate Design Code as a model.
• Consulting stakeholders’: Establish institutions for regular dialogue with children to incorporate their perspectives in AI regulation.

Context:

We must discuss ‘delimitation’ soon to avoid delaying seat allocation due to the freeze for a longer time.

Need for Delimitation

• The Women’s Reservation Bill: Constitution Amendment Bill promises 33% women's reservation in Indian Parliament.
• Fair seat allocation for Women: Delimitation of electoral constituencies is crucial for fair representation.
• Removing old traces: Freeze on constituency delimitation since 1970s needs addressing.

Current Delimitation Challenges

• The 1971 Census must be changed: Freeze based on 1971 Census data distorts current population representation.
• North-south imbalance: Imbalances in population growth between north and south India pose concerns.
• Representation and Misogyny: Delimitation impacts representation and raises distrust among states.

Urgency of Delimitation Discussion

• Addressing gaps: Upcoming delimitation requires addressing logistical and qualitative concerns.
• Impact and after-effects: Delayed Census and its potential impact on representation need attention.
• Assam’s Picture: Recent delimitation in Assam highlights community representation concerns.

Context:

India is on the path to becoming the third-largest economy around 2027 as estimated by many. The GDP estimates based on an outdated base would not adequately capture new activities being undertaken in the economy.

India's Economic Growth and GDP Measurement

• A five Trillion economy: India aims to become a 5 trillion dollar economy by 2025, though COVID-19 has created hurdles.
• Future predictions: Projected to be the third-largest economy by 2027.
• Goals defined: Achieving this goal requires accurate GDP measurement and collaboration among stakeholders.

Urgent Need for Base Year Revision

• Base issue: Current GDP calculation uses an outdated base year (2011-12).
• Lack of accurate representation: Delays in base year revision hinder accurate representation of new economic activities.
• Factors to be considered: Recent government investments and foreign capital inflow require proper inclusion in GDP estimates.

Improving GDP Compilation and Validation

• Need of revised base: Revision of the base year is complex, requiring assessment of data sources and new data sets.
• Steps forward: Initiatives like Supply Use Tables (SUTs) should be validated before GDP release to reduce discrepancies.
• An Agency must be responsible: Suggests forming advisory committees and working groups for the base year revision process.

Context:

One of the prominent geopolitical risks of AI is its capacity to produce deepfakes, which can be any audio-visual content that depicts real individuals in fictitious situations. This can poses a geopolitical risk across nations.

Risks of Deepfakes in Geopolitics

• Geopolitical Threat of Deepfakes: Deepfakes, realistic fake videos, pose a significant geopolitical risk.
• Global Recognition of Deepfake Risks: G20 nations and organizations like Europol recognize deepfake threats.
• Disruption and Vulnerabilities: Deepfakes can disrupt institutions, jeopardize elections, and impact financial markets.

Challenges in Detecting Deepfakes

• Technological glitch: Detecting deepfakes is challenging due to evolving technology.
• Detection methods have limitations, including vulnerability to compression and distortion.
• Process and identification: Deepfake creation involves an iterative process, making detection more difficult.

Combating Deepfakes

• Cross-border issues: Banning deepfakes is ineffective due to cross-border content
• Agencies involved: The US NSA suggests using a combination of detection and provenance methods.
• Funding mechanism: G20 nations should consider financing deepfake detection, similar to funding energy transitions, to safeguard digital truth.