India must balance the rewards and risks of technology in 2019

2018 was a watershed year in India’s commitment to infuse modern technologies into how the economy runs – most notably with $480 million allocated by the central government for AI development this fiscal year. Additionally, the central government fulfilled its promise and rolled out a draft of India’s first data regulatory bill that builds a framework to control data usage that drives emerging technologies in consultation with citizens and industries. But while we are poised to reap many rewards with this digital transformation, the risks of the technology misuse should not be understated. As we saw throughout the year, issues with data privacy and potential threats from AI made the world take notice and create the need of a regulatory framework.

As 2019 beckons, businesses must take it upon themselves to build on these learning opportunities and minimize the unintended threats that these technologies may pose, as the latter underpins India’s evolution into a digital economy. Our journey will hinge on how we govern the use of these technologies as India targets to become a 5 trillion-dollar economy the next five years. Here’s a look at how the business community should look to govern data, AI, and automation to keep our economy on track: