Economic Survey 2025 advocates for 'responsible AI adoption' to safeguard jobs

The Economic Survey was released on January 31, on the eve of the Union Budget

The Economic Survey 2024-25, presented on January 31, underscored the critical need for a responsible approach to artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in India.

The report highlighted concerns that rapid AI integration, if not managed prudently, could intensify economic disparities and adversely affect the nation's labour market.

The survey, while referencing economists like Korinek and Stiglitz (2021), cautioned that labour- and resource-saving automation may lead to a 'winner-takes-all' scenario. And that it may disadvantage labour-rich developing countries like India.

"Technological developments that worsen inequality can erode any possible benefit that the innovation brings, leaving the public sector responsible for addressing the cost of the transition," the survey said.

To mitigate these risks, the Survey advocated for the establishment of 'stewarding institutions' aimed at managing AI's impact on employment.

These institutions would play a pivotal role in guiding the ethical deployment of AI technologies, the survey said.

The survey also said that the democratisation of artificial intelligence (AI) risked jeopardising critical priorities like energy, water, housing, and even food security. It added that it is time to scale down their resource consumption.

“Without ground-breaking innovations and strategies to make AI scaling economically viable —both financially and in terms of resource consumption — efforts to democratise AI will jeopardise critical global priorities such as energy and water security, and even housing or food security,” the survey said