Technocrats flag AI backlash risk unless its benefits are 'useful'

New Delhi: Technocrats and industry leaders have cautioned that advancement of AI could trigger a backlash, unless its benefits are useful to society.

At a fireside chat with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei at the summit, Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani on Thursday said the stakeholders must accelerate efforts to ensure AI is applied for meaningful public good. Otherwise the resentment among white-collar workers could potentially derail the technology’s progress.

Nilekani added that today there is a race to the top and bottom in the field of AI, and the race to the bottom is faster. “So, all of us, who have a stake in AI being useful to humanity, have to accelerate and redouble our efforts to make the diffusion happen. Otherwise, the consequences are going to be very difficult. There is going to be a backlash,” he explained.

He noted that AI’s most-visible outcomes, like creating deepfakes, raising the price of power bills, etc could turn public sentiment against it.

Amodei said while AI adoption can boost growth, we need to ensure that AI systems are safe and predictable and autonomously behave in a way that’s under human control.

Vianai Founder Vishal Sikka warned that autonomous swarms of agents could act recklessly without adequate safeguards — an issue that must be addressed much like nuclear safety frameworks were developed over decades.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the government must serve as both regulators and innovators — bringing AI into public services while setting clear guardrails.

"The resentment of the blue-collar worker led to the train wreck of globalisation. The resentment of the white-collar worker is going to lead to the train wreck of AI. So, I think we really have to work very hard to show profound, useful cases of AI," Nilekani said.

He said that helping technology reach a billion people is a different game, and India has experience in implementing Aadhar, UPI and implementing the largest financial inclusion system.

"We learned that diffusion is a technique. It's both an art and a science. It involves institutions, it involves policymaking, negotiations, dealing with incumbents, dealing with newcomers, and strategies for execution. So the whole trust buildings, the whole host of things.

"I think if all the investments in AI are going to deliver the value to society, not just to individuals, we'll have to look at diffusion pathways, to take this to everyone. And I think India will lead on that. That's why I have always been saying that India should focus on becoming the use case capital of the world," Nilekani said.

Asked what needs to be done to achieve the expected economic acceleration due to AI usage, Nilekani said the focus has to be on inclusion; this AI has to carry everybody.

"Everybody must feel it. Everybody must benefit from it. And that's why I think the language is very important. We want people to be able to speak to the computer in their language, in their dialect, mixing English, Hindi, and Tamil. And then I think of making agents work for people. I think if you can make agents work for people, then it means more inclusion," Nilekani said.

Amodei, in his comments, had said the benefits of AI in the Global South are more pronounced than anywhere else in the world, emphasising that India's considerable technical expertise and eagerness to adopt AI present significant economic growth potential.

Amodei said that while AI adoption has the potential to boost growth, we need to make sure that AI systems are safe and predictable and autonomously behave in a way that's under human control.