Ethics at the Heart of AI
Syllabus mapping:- GS2: Technology in Governance + GS4: Ethical use of technology
While AI is redefining the future of innovation, its real value will be determined by how effectively it upholds human rights, strengthens democracy and promotes inclusive growth rather than merely enhancing computational capabilities.
Opportunities offered by AI
- AI-led growth: AI enhances efficiency across manufacturing, services, agriculture and logistics, boosting productivity and innovation. The NITI Aayog estimates that AI could add around US$500 billion to India’s GDP by 2025.
- Smart Governance: AI-based crop advisory, smart traffic management and healthcare diagnostics.
- Precision Healthcare: AI facilitates early disease detection, precision medicine, medical imaging and telemedicine, especially in underserved regions. Eg: cancer diagnosis
- Precision Agriculture: AI supports precision farming through weather forecasting, pest detection, soil analysis and yield prediction, improving farm productivity. AI-enabled crop advisory under the Digital Agriculture Mission.
- Personalized Learning: BHASHINI promotes AI-powered language translation across Indian languages.
- Enhancing National Security and Disaster Management: AI improves surveillance, cybersecurity, intelligence analysis, disaster prediction and emergency response. Eg: Mausam GPT
Why the challenge is no longer technological but governance-centric?
- Threat to Privacy and Data Security: AI relies on massive datasets, increasing risks of surveillance, data breaches and unauthorized profiling. Eg: The Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India recognised privacy as a Fundamental Right.
- Algorithmic Bias: Biased datasets can lead to discriminatory outcomes in recruitment, policing, lending and healthcare. The UNESCO warns that AI may reinforce existing social inequalities.
- Misinformation and Deepfakes: Generative AI enables the creation of realistic fake videos, images and audio, threatening elections and public trust. The World Economic Forum ranks misinformation and disinformation among the top global risks.
- Job Displacement and Labour Market Disruption: Automation may replace routine and repetitive jobs, requiring large-scale reskilling and workforce transition. The International Labour Organization highlights AI’s significant impact on employment patterns.
- Lack of Transparency and Accountability: The “black boxes” nature of AI makes it difficult to explain decisions or assign responsibility for errors.
- AI-Enabled Cyber Threats: AI-powered cyberattacks are increasingly recognised as an emerging national security challenge.
- AI Divide: Limited access to AI infrastructure and digital skills may widen inequalities between countries and within societies.
Ethical Principles in AI and suggested measures for better cooperation
- Human-Centric AI: : UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI (2021) places human dignity at the core of AI governance.
- Algorithmic Fairness: The OECD AI Principles emphasize fairness and non-discrimination.
- Transparency and Explainability: AI decisions should be understandable, traceable and explainable, particularly in critical sectors such as healthcare, policing and finance.
- Algorithmic Accountability: The G20 Hiroshima AI Process stresses responsible AI governance.
- Privacy and Data Protection: AI should respect individual privacy through informed consent, data minimisation and secure processing. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 provides India’s legal framework for data protection.
- Adopt a Comprehensive AI Governance Framework: Develop a risk-based regulatory framework balancing innovation with ethics through the IndiaAI Mission.
- Reskill the Workforce: Strengthen AI literacy, digital skills and lifelong learning to mitigate job displacement. Eg: FutureSkills PRIME and the IndiaAI FutureSkills initiative.
- Foster Global Cooperation: Collaborate through the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI), UNESCO, OECD and the G20 Hiroshima AI Process to establish interoperable ethical standards.
Ultimately, the goal should be not just Artificial Intelligence, but Responsible Intelligence—where innovation advances hand in hand with dignity, accountability and social justice.
PRELIMS BOOSTER
Seismic Doublet: Earthquake in Venezuela
- The twin earthquakes in and around Venezuela’s capital Caracas, feared to have killed tens of thousands. The US Geological Survey (USGS) described the disaster as a “seismic doublet”.
- Two independent earthquakes of similar magnitude originating from distinct but closely related ruptures, occurring in quick succession within seconds, minutes, or a few hours, and in close geographic proximity.
- Doublet vs. Aftershock Sequence: In a typical sequence, one larger earthquake is followed by progressively smaller aftershocks. A doublet differs both events are roughly equal in magnitude and are independent of each other.
- Venezuela lies along the boundary between the Caribbean Plate and the South American Plate, one of the most seismically active zones in northern South America.
- The two plates move horizontally past each other along fault lines, a phenomenon known as a strike-slip fault. Strike-slip faults are a major cause of shallow, high-intensity earthquakes in this region.
- A fault is a fracture in the Earth’s crust along which rocks move, releasing energy as earthquakes.
- Types of Faults
- Normal Fault → Tensional force; hanging wall moves down.
- Reverse (Thrust) Fault → Compressional force; hanging wall moves up.
- Strike-slip Fault → Horizontal movement; blocks slide past each other.
Tungabhadra River Basin Dispute
- In a landmark move reflecting cooperative federalism, the Union Government has proposed a High-Level Committee following a rare consensus among Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana sparked by their joint meeting to inaugurate 33 newly installed spillway gates at the Tungabhadra Dam to amicably resolve the decades-old Tungabhadra basin water-sharing dispute.
- Tungabhadra River: Tunga & Bhadra originate from Gangamoola (Varaha Parvatha) in the Western Ghats (Karnataka).
- Major right-bank tributary of the Krishna River.
- Formed by the confluence of: Tunga River & Bhadra River
- Confluence at Kudli (Shivamogga, Karnataka).
- Forms parts of Karnataka–Andhra Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh–Telangana boundaries.
- Joins the Krishna River at Sangameswaram (Andhra Pradesh), ultimately drains into the Bay of Bengal.
- Tungabhadra Dam: Located near Hosapete (Vijayanagara district, Karnataka).
Passport & Citizenship
- The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) clarified that an Indian passport is primarily a “travel document” meant to facilitate international transit, not a conclusive “citizenship ”
- Legal Status of a Passport: While the Passport Manual notes a passport is “strong evidence” of nationality (supported by the Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, 1978 judgment), it is not definitive proof in a citizenship dispute.
- Under Section 20 of the Passport Acts of 1967 the Union Government can issue passports to non-citizens in the public interest (e.g., the 2023 Madras High Court ruling permitting a stateless Sri Lankan refugee to apply for a passport).
- India does not have a single universal citizenship document. Citizenship is determined strictly under the Citizenship Act 1955 and proven through contextual documents establishing birth, parentage, and nationality.
- In Sarbananda Sonowal v. Union of India (2005), the Supreme Court held that the burden of proving Indian citizenship lies on the person claiming it.
- Ordinary citizens who acquire citizenship by birth or descent do not receive a citizenship certificate. A formal citizenship certificate is only issued when an individual acquires citizenship through registration or naturalisation.
