Reimagining governance in the age of Artificial Intelligence

The term Artificial Intelligence (AI) was coined in 1956 by John McCarthy, an American scientist. AI is defined as the “simulation of human intelligence in machines to think, learn and solve problems”.

In India, institutes like IIT Kanpur and IISC Bangalore began working on this between the 1960s and 1980s. The first AI programme was initiated in 1986 by the Knowledge Based Computer Systems (KBCS) system. Thereafter, it was enhanced by supercomputing in the 1990s, followed by software companies like TCS, Wipro and Infosys picking it up and expanding AI and Machine Learning programmes in the 2000s.

The concept of Digital India hit the market when NITI Aayog launched the National Strategy for AI in 2018. It focused on economic growth and social inclusion, which resulted in several start-ups being established.

Today, AI has become the norm of the time and a priority for the government and industries to scale India to be the AI hub through the initiative titled ‘AI for All’, where varied sectors like healthcare, education and agriculture form an important part.

AI can be a powerful enabler to ensure sustainability if the government uses it well and strategically in the areas of governance, development and while designing policies. To ensure this, the government must understand how this can be done.

Agriculture sustainability

Reduce food waste by optimising the supply chain

• Gain advanced knowledge through AI predictions of crop disease
• Optimise irrigation, farming and soil testing by precision farming
  

  Smart cities and urban planning

• Introduce AI-enabled waste segregation
• Control traffic movement and save use of fuel and control emissions
• Promote renewable energy integration and reduce the waste of electricity
  

  Protect environment

• Track poaching of wildlife and illegal activities in the forest using drones
• Detect pollution by using sensors
• Analyse forewarning of floods, droughts and cyclones through AI-driven satellite data
• Policy and Governance
• Create awareness and engage with communities using AI platforms
• Use AI tools to evaluate outcomes of government initiatives and programmes
• Analyse and use data to formulate and design policies

Reduce risks in disaster

Use AI simulations to design disaster-proof urban structures

• Allocate resources by optimising re-settlements and evacuation exercise

Challenges in using AI for governance

Ethical and Social Concerns: One of the key aspects is lack of transparency where the decision-making process becomes unclear. Added to these errors made by using AI lacks ownership and in turn communities begin to distrust AI driven decisions.

Unavailability of data: No reliable or updated data, lack of privacy and security and increase in using biased data which leads to incorrect analysis.

Legal barriers: Problems in tackling Intellectual Property as to who has generated the AI insights. Lack of comprehensive AI regulations and inefficiency in managing international alliances with reference to AI governance.

Lack in interdepartmental management: Due to unskilled and inexperienced workforce and old-age bureaucratic system (in some cases), adopting AI tools becomes difficult.

A report published by NITI Aayog in 2018 titled ‘National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence’ clearly defines some of the challenges faced by the government. Broadly, the report cites the following challenges based on their analyses of five key sectors — Healthcare, Agriculture, Education, Smart Cities and Infrastructure, and Smart Mobility and Transport:

• Lack of enabling data ecosystems
• Low intensity of AI research
• Inadequate availability of AI expertise, manpower and skilling opportunities
• High resource cost and low awareness for adopting AI in business processes
• Unclear privacy, security and ethical regulations
  

  Advantages of Using AI in Governance

• Reduces delays, paperwork and bureaucratic inefficiencies
• Helps governments identify trends, predict risks and design evidence-based policies
• Track service delivery in real time to improve accountability and transparency
• Allocate resources effectively and smartly
• Evaluate programmes and policies by using data and improve policy evaluation

Case of the Government of Meghalaya

The Meghalaya Legislative Assembly reportedly began using AI to transcribe assembly proceedings under the National e-Vidhans project, enhancing accuracy and speeding up turnaround for official records. It elaborated that “the implementation of Artificial lntelligence as a tool in the 
Reporter’s Branch is expected to significantly expedite the reporting process, reduce errors and provide legislators with more timely and accurate information.

This invariably serves as a testament to Meghalaya’s dedication to embrace technological advancements for the betterment of its legislative functions”.

In doing so, the government has consistently used AI in an effective manner, which has made a significant impact.

The Government of Meghalaya’s commitment to using AI strategically has made an impact on various sectors. It has also made policies and programmes more efficient, transparent, inclusive and citizen-friendly.

By incorporating AI, the Government has made significant opportunities in administrative procedures and improved services to citizens.

(Dr Annapoorna Ravichander is a freelance consultant)