Karnataka forms committee to develop ‘responsible AI’ policy

THe mysore regime has constituted a citizens committee on responsible for(p) unreal Intelligence (AI) to prepare a policy framework for the safe and transparent use of AI across government systems and technologies that affect citizens.The committee is chaired by Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-founder of Infosys, and co-chaired by N Manjula, secretary of the department of electronics, information technology, biotechnology and science & technology. It includes experts from industry, academia, policy and law.The committee held its first meeting in Bengaluru on Thursday. According to an official statement, members discussed the rapidly evolving AI landscape and the need for governance frameworks for technologies that affect citizens during their first meeting.“The committee will develop a responsible AI policy and implementation roadmap for Karnataka, aimed at enabling innovation while ensuring that AI systems deployed across government are safe, fair, transparent and accountable,” the statement said.The panel will submit an interim report within 60 days and a final set of recommendations within 90 days, officials said, adding that the report will outline a policy framework, a risk classification system for AI applications used in governance and an implementation roadmap for adoption across departments.The committee is examining the creation of responsible AI principles and policy guidelines for the state and a framework to categorise AI applications based on potential risk and impact.The panel will also identify AI practices that should be prohibited or restricted, including social scoring of citizens, unlawful or disproportionate surveillance, discriminatory profiling or exclusion and automated decision-making in high-stakes situations without meaningful human oversight, the statement said.It is also expected to recommend safeguards and review mechanisms for high-risk AI applications in sectors such as welfare delivery, healthcare, education, policing, recruitment, financial decision-making and public safety.Other areas under discussion include data governance, privacy safeguards, transparency and accountability mechanisms, cybersecurity protections and the implications of generative AI and social media technologies. The committee will also frame procurement guidelines and vendor due diligence frameworks for AI systems used by the government.IT/BT minister Priyank Kharge said the initiative aims to balance innovation with safeguards as the state expands its AI ecosystem. “The Responsible AI Committee brings together leading experts from industry, academia and policy to help shape a governance framework that promotes innovation while safeguarding transparency, accountability and citizen trust. This initiative will help Karnataka continue to lead in building an AI ecosystem that is both cutting-edge and responsible,” he said.Kris Gopalakrishnan welcomed the initiative. “If we can leverage this opportunity effectively, Karnataka can become the first state in the country to develop a comprehensive framework for responsible AI, one that drives better citizen services, creates the jobs of the 21st century, and strengthens our innovation ecosystem. Thoughtfully and responsibly, we can accelerate the growth of the economy significantly,” he said.Separately, speaking in the Karnataka legislative assembly, Kharge said the government is reviewing the state’s data centre policy due to concerns over water and energy consumption.Responding to a question by Doddaballapur BJP MLA Dheeraj Muniraj, the minister said there are 32 private data centres operating in the state. “We already have a data centre policy, which we’re reviewing,” he said.Kharge said data centres are necessary for technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning but require significant resources. “Data centres are a necessary evil. Data centres are needed for AI, machine learning and emerging technologies. But data centres are also heavy water and energy guzzlers,” he said.Explaining the economics, the minister said a one-megawatt data centre requires about ₹70 crore in investment and about one acre of land. “One megawatt needs about ₹70 crore. One acre can yield one megawatt. We have to spend 25 million litres per megawatt per year for one data centre. Five questions on ChatGPT will consume 500 ml of water,” he said.Kharge said the government is examining a “sustainable data centre” policy and is looking at coastal regions such as Mangaluru for future facilities. “Our focus is on Mangaluru and the coastal areas. Hyperscale data centres won’t suit Bengaluru, which doesn’t have a port and faces shortage of water,” he said, adding that facilities requiring more than 40 megawatts of power are considered hyperscale.He said he had written to the telecom ministry seeking support for a subsea cable landing point in Mangaluru and is in discussions with private companies.Muniraj alleged Bengaluru was losing data centre investments because the state had not developed dedicated data centre parks. He also suggested establishing facilities in the proposed KWIN City near Doddaballapur, where about 6,000 acres are being acquired.