Vaishnaw outlines the government’s plans to democratize technology in terms of AI, BharatNet, cyberspace, and monopoly

Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, has emphasized the “scary” aspect of artificial intelligence (AI), stating that a multifaceted strategy is required to maintain cybersecurity in society.

Vaishnaw talked at the G20 Conference on Crime and Security in the Age of NFTs, AI, and Metaverse’s closing session in Gurugram on cybersecurity difficulties, Big Tech monopolies, and significant government initiatives to address the digital gap.

In his address, the minister said that cybersecurity has been a difficult problem, and that AI would make the problem more worse.

He brought up AI and what Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, just remarked in response to the question of whether AI can do fundamental research. The Union minister quoted Altman as saying: “AI cannot perform basic research, but we are not far from the day when AI will be performing the same basic research that the best minds have done.”

Vaishnaw described the occurrence as’scary’ and said, ‘We need to establish a national cybersecurity plan, a second one at the organizational level, and a third at the individual level. We can’t just walk away from it believing that a firewall will keep us safe.

He also emphasized the necessity for other nations to work together and develop universal responses in the event of a cyberattack in one of their countries. He also discussed the creation of fresh instruments to lessen cybersecurity difficulties.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Telecom Ministry, IT Ministry, and state government, he stated, “one of these solutions was so effective that we successfully blocked millions of fraudulent accounts that were used to conduct cyber frauds.” He continued by saying that a similar strategy needs to be used on a global scale as well.

Vaishnaw asserted that efforts must be made at the national and international levels to promote cyber hygiene and the observance of cyber laws, much like how legal and educational frameworks were developed to teach everyone to drive on the right when highway networks were built.

Tech Democratization

The democratization of technology was one of the main goals of the Digital India program, according to Vaishnaw. A few large tech corporations, he said, dominate technology in many areas of the globe. He questioned if this was the best paradigm for a nation, democracy, or rapidly expanding society.

The Union minister continued by discussing a substitute strategy required for the democratization of technology. The three main points are that technology should never be monopolized by a small number of businesses, that everyone should have access to it, and that it should cover all aspects of daily life for the average person. It goes without saying that the government chose the public-private partnership to accomplish these aims.

India’s UPI revolution serves as the case’s initial illustration. The UPI platform was created by the government using public monies. It is an open platform that is accessible to everyone. Later, the platform welcomed banks, startups, and SMEs.

“Nearly 350 million Indian citizens have signed up for this platform, and the result is a payment system that currently processes about $2 trillion worth of transactions annually, with an average settlement time of less than two seconds,” he said.

However, comparable systems have been developed for other purposes. The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) for e-commerce and CoWIN for healthcare, both of which were developed during the height of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Internet Divide

The three main problems at the center of the digital divide have been literacy, a lack of infrastructure, and an inability to utilize technologies that are currently accessible. The divide would widen exponentially if we don’t focus on digital inclusion now, according to Vaishnaw.

He said, “but that is not enough” since about 850 million Indians have access to the internet. According to the minister, the government is aiming to provide excellent, high-quality 4G and 5G coverage over the whole nation, as well as broadband.

“We have a 4G saturation campaign to reach the most remote areas of the nation. In order to deliver telecom services to places where it would not be profitable for the private sector to use 4G services, we are spending around $4.6 billion, Vaishnaw said.

Additionally, he said that the government has already spent $8.3 billion building an optical fiber system to link every hamlet. By spending an additional $13 billion under the BharatNet initiative, this has now been enhanced.

“The same type of effort has to be put in to ensure that our internet connection, the optical fiber, and the telecom network reach the last individual in society,” he added. “We have invested in motorways and electricity grids in the past in industrialized nations and those who are developing now.​