Top technocrats Rajiv Kumar, Sharad Sharma, Sridhar Vembu sound warning on AI, say it can have ‘catastrophic consequences’

(L-R) Rajiv Kumar, Sridhar Vembu, and Sharad Sharma

The emergence of powerful artificial intelligence (AI) could be the harbinger of chaotic and potentially catastrophic consequences for humanity, Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu, Ispirt’s Sharad Sharma, and former Niti Aayog vice-chairman and Pahle India Foundation Chairman Rajiv Kumar wrote in an open letter. This comes just after Elon Musk and a group of artificial intelligence experts and industry executives wrote an open letter calling on AI labs to pause training AI systems more powerful than GPT-4 for at least six months.

The letter by Vembu, Sharma and Kumar says that the emergent properties of Generative AI “are not understood or explainable by the modelers themselves.”

“While earlier Foundations models were merely stochastic parrots statistically generating information based on what data they had been trained, new models of Al are emerging where Al can use various tools, act, observe, and update its behavior. These approaches can lead to far more powerful Al than GPT-4,” the letter reads.

The letter adds that as powerful AI can have catastrophic consequences, it is imperative for all nations, including India, to find an answer to this existential question.

It says that finding this answer, in turn, will enable the global community to engage, negotiate and agree on the rules for the future development of AI, and ensure that it doesn’t cross ethical thresholds. The thus- far-no-further principle has been invoked in the past as well, it says.

The authors added that AI provides an opportunity to “pole-vault the traditional, linear growth paths” in a country like India.

“Deploying advanced technologies optimally and strategically can create a potent mix of resources and infrastructure that can yield more equitable and more sustainable growth. For a remarkably young country like India, with a median age of 29, Al offers a huge opportunity to raise labour productivity, build a knowledge society and further enhance our demographic dividend,” it says.

However, on the flip side, it can also put millions of jobs at risk overnight as AI is amalgamating itself into economic, psychosocial and cultural aspects of human life.

“The downstream effects of adopting technologies such as Al without essential due diligence and appropriate safeguards can cause unprecedented disruption of the existing social order. We know that technological progress is inexorable and overall beneficial. Yet we have to manage it carefully to avoid unmanageable socio-economic disruptions at scale,” the letter reads.

It also references the letter by Musk and a group of artificial intelligence experts calling for the six-month pause, and that India should use this time to draw up its own blueprint for AI development to harness the benefits of AI while minimising socio-economic disruption.

“Against this backdrop, we urge all stakeholders - IT researchers, policymakers, academicians in other disciplines, industry leaders, and members of the civil society to join this vital debate that will help evolve a national consensus on how best to utilise this powerful technology for achieving our national goals and meeting the exploding aspirations of our young population,” the letter says.