In the early hours of Tuesday, US President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order to manage the risks of artificial intelligence (AI), advance equity and civil rights, stand up for consumers and workers, and promote innovation and competition. While the Indian government hasn’t signed any such order, the US government’s move is likely to pressure India to come up with AI safety frameworks and regulations.

Jaspreet Bindra, AI thought leader and Founder of Tech Whisperer, told Business Today, “This order will put pressure on all nations, including India, to come up with their own AI safety framework and regulations. India does prefer to participate in a global framework for such technologies. India has the opportunity to take a leading position in AI safety and privacy, especially from a Global South and eastern viewpoint, and should grasp this. One option will be to expand the data protection Bill and legislation to include AI and generative AI safety principles and laws.”

Bindra also told Business Today that before issuing this executive order, the Biden administration had consulted widely on AI governance frameworks over the past several months. This included India as well, since the country was the chair of the Global Partnership on AI.

“The Indian government has been proactive in fostering AI adoption. Thanks to a robust home-grown ecosystem, India has the intent and insights to frame its own AI policies, tailoring them to address the nation’s unique challenges and opportunities,” says Prabhu Ram, Head of Industry Intelligence Group (IIG) at CyberMedia Research (CMR). Earlier this month, Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar also stated that India has 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.

As AI is not just any other technology but will be the overarching interface between humans and everything else, including infrastructure, it is crucial to proactively ensure it is safe, secure, and trustworthy. Faisal Kawoosa, founder and Chief Analyst at Techarc, suggests, “I think for us in India, we should also look at proactive regulatory mechanisms for AI that are not only governed by policies and guidelines. But after rigorous, preferably third-party and neutral testing of any such implementation before that can be put to use for people.” He adds that the government of India could consider setting up an autonomous body that could be entrusted with this task. This could bring in experts from defence, cyber security, and other relevant stakeholders to ensure we have safe, secure, and trustworthy AI implementations in the country, leading to responsible AI.

In India, the American Executive Order on AI is being looked upon as a key step forward, as it addresses key priorities for an AI-led future, including new standards for responsible and trustworthy AI, safety and security, privacy, and fostering AI talent across sectors. However, currently, it is a wait-and-watch situation for the implementation of the order in the coming days to see how the intent is translated into tangible action.