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The Economic Survey 2026 has called for enhancement of transparency, coordination on AI safety issues and conducting training programmes to build awareness. This comes at a time when AI-related fake contents are spreading across social media.
The Economic Survey says the chief among the priorities being the enhancement of transparency. "Safety evaluations conducted in an ongoing and anticipatory manner will help safeguard public interest and foster trust in emerging technologies," it said.
The survey stresses the necessity for the country to push the envelope in managing the risks associated with the proliferation of AI. "As with nuclear energy or pharmaceuticals, where the promise of progress coexists with the possibility of harm, AI must be treated as a general-purpose technology whose capabilities necessitate not only enabling institutions but also constraining ones," it said, stressing on the need for regulating AI firms.
With the increased adoption of AI, global tech giants are now reducing their workforce. The survey pointed out that one of the most urgent responsibilities of an AI Economic Council is to calibrate the pace of AI adoption within the country. "India is a labour rich economy, and the unchecked replacement of the workforce by automation has destabilising effects. The institution must work closely with private sector firms to develop a roadmap for AI deployment over the next decade, outlining crucial details such as the profile of jobs affected, the geographies where displacement will be most concentrated, and the magnitude of jobs that will be both automated and augmented due to AI," it said.
It called for a comprehensive sectoral mapping of jobs outside the white-collar workspace, which have a high-skill requirement but are understaffed. The focus should also be on upskilling employees so that they are ready for jobs in this AI era.