Davos 2024: WEF's Cathy Li highlights India's role in global AI landscape

WEF's Cathy Li said that AI is not the first technology to disrupt the labour market.

India's large youth population and thriving start-up ecosystem position the country well in artificial intelligence technology, according to Cathy Li, the head of AI data and Metaverse at the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Speaking to Moneycontrol at Davos, where global leaders have gathered for the 54th annual meeting of the WEF, Li said that while many advancements in AI technology coming from the West, the first-mover advantage doesn't always guarantee the best position.

"As AI models become not only more powerful but also capable of running on smaller datasets a sea of opportunities emerge. Countries like India can truly leverage these opportunities," Li said.

In 2023, there was a sudden boom in AI development, prompting countries worldwide to scramble for effective governance of this nascent technology.

Addressing the challenges in regulating and overseeing the technology, Li said, "Everyone is trying, but at the same time, the pace at which technology is being developed is something we have never seen before. So, everyone is struggling to catch up."

"The policy itself must be adaptive and flexible, emphasising principles over excessive prescription. A highly prescriptive approach would not benefit anyone and could create regulatory burdens and compliance costs for smaller businesses."

To address the uncertainties associated with AI and the need for robust governance frameworks, the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) at the WEF launched AI Governance Alliance in June 2023.

Speaking on the idea behind setting up the AI Governance Alliance, Li said that the primary objective was to demystify the technology, explaining it to the general public, but more importantly, to bring practitioners and policymakers together.

Li added that the goal is "to understand how we can responsibly design, develop, and deploy the technology in a manner that is both responsible and human-centered."

One of the most discussed issues regarding AI is its impact on jobs. However, Li said that AI is not the first technology to disrupt the labour market.

"We need to look at how to protect the labour market, particularly at the country level. This involves identifying the types of jobs and roles that can be created based on the principle that technology should complement human work rather than replace it," Li said.

"Hallucinations in AI models is seen as a downside, but we should consider them not as bugs but as features. Think about models that can help foster creativity and tailor roles that can be complemented by such technology within the current boundaries," Li added.