Centre for Internet and Society

Technology-facilitated Gender-based Violence and Women’s Political Participation in India: A Position Paper PDF

pranav — 2025-01-07T11:32:02Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/technology-facilitated-gender-based-violence-and-women2019s-political-participation-in-india-a-position-paper-pdf

Symposium on India’s Cyber Strategy: Opportunities and Challenges

pranav — 2018-08-30T07:50:38Z

CIS is organising a symposium on India's Cyber Strategy in New Delhi on the 31st of August, 2018, with Ambassador Asoke Mukerji (former Permanent Representative to the United Nations) delivering the keynote address.

Global discourse on cyber security has become increasingly fragmented since the inability of the UN GGE 2017 to arrive at a consensus report. Various initiatives, comprised both of state and civil society actors have attempted to pick up the pieces and galvanize consensus despite core ideological differences between states on the nature of cyberspace itself. CIS has undertaken some preliminary research in this space- in the form of a paper on the norms formulation process that was published by the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace (GCSC) and a set of briefs on the substantive aspect of norms and standards of International Law that could drive India’s strategy in relation to the United Nations Group of Governmental Experts (UN-GGE) process.

The standards of international law combined with strategic considerations drive a nation's approach to any norms formulation process. With the cyber norms formulation efforts in a state of flux, India needs to advocate a coherent position that is in sync with the standards of international law while also furthering India's strategic agenda as a key player in the international arena. Further, norms, saliencies and pragmatic strategic considerations would also drive the formulation of a credible cyber doctrine that underpins the approach undertaken by various regulatory bodies, including the military, sectoral regulators and the private sector.

Exchange of ideas between government officials, private sector actors and research organisations will help formulate India’s strategic agenda. This symposium endeavours to delve into certain thorny questions in the norms formulation process and explore how India should approach these issues-both while framing domestic policy and engaging globally.

RSVP: pranav@cis-india.org

Concept Note

Agenda:

1:00pm to 2:00pm: Scene Setting - Keynote Address by Amb. Asoke Mukerji. and Presentation of Research by CIS

2:00pm to 3:00pm: Lunch

3:00pm to 4:30pm: Moderated Panel Discussion - Speakers: Geetha Hariharan (CCG), Amb. Asoke Mukerji, Parminder Singh (IT for Change), Madhulika Srikumar (ORF)

4:30pm to 4.50pm: Tea

4:50pm to 6:00pm: Extended Comments and Questions from Audience

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/symposium-on-india2019s-cyber-strategy-opportunities-and-challenges

StateGovtCovidApps PDF

pranav — 2020-07-14T08:03:10Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/stategovtcovidapps-pdf

State of Consumer Digital Security in India

pranav — 2021-07-05T11:07:24Z

This report attempts to identify the existing state of digital safety in India, with a mapping of digital threats, which will aid stakeholders in identifying and addressing digital security problems in the country. This project was funded by the Asia Foundation.

Since 2006, successive Union governments in India have shown increased focus on digital governance. The National e-Governance Plan was launched by the UPA government in2006, and several digital projects led by the state such as digitisation of the filing of taxes, appointment process for passports, corporate governance, and the Aadhaar programme(India’s unique digital identity system that utilises biometric and demographic data) arose under it, in the form of mission mode projects (projects that are part of a broader National e-governance initiative, each focusing on specific e-Governance aspects, like banking, land records, or commercial taxes). In 2014, when the NDA government came to power, the National e-Governance Plan was subsumed under the government’s flagship project of Digital India, and several mission mode projects were added. In the meantime, the internet connectivity, first in the form of wire connectivity, and later in the form of mobile connectivity has increased greatly. In the same period, use of digital services, first in new services native to the Internet such as email, social networking, instant messaging, and later the platformization and disruption of traditional business models in transportation, healthcare, finance and virtually every sector, has led to a deluge of digital private service providers in India.

Currently, India has 500 million internet users — over a third of its total population — making it the country with the second largest number of Internet users after China. The uptake of these technological services has also been accompanied by several kinds of digital threats that an average digital consumer in India must regularly contend with. This report is a mapping of consumer-facing digital threats in India and is intended to aid stakeholders in identifying and addressing digital security problems. The first part of the report categorises digital threats into four kinds, Personal Data Threats, Online Content Related Threats, Financial Threats, and Online Sexual Harassment Threats. Threats under each category are then defined, with detailed consumer-facing consequences, and past instances where harm has been caused because of these threats.

Read the full report here.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/state-of-consumer-digital-security-in-india

Roundtable on Cyber-security and the Private Sector

pranav — 2018-10-15T09:18:35Z

The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) invites you to a roundtable discussion on cyber-security and the private sector. The event will be held at Omidyar Network office in Bangalore from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.

An increased proliferation of cyber attacks from multiple vectors and a variety of actors has necessitated a multi-stakeholder response to cyber-security that requires private sector involvement, both at the policy and technical fields. This contribution has come in the recent past not only through active involvement at the domestic levels but also through norm-setting in the international arena.

This symposium seeks to discuss the various cyber-security concerns in the Indian private sector and maps initiatives being undertaken by various actors towards furthering cyber-security in an attempt to identify challenges, points of tension, brainstorm solutions-thereby mapping the way forward through engagement not only with private sector actors but also in dialogue with civil society and policy-makers. CIS has undertaken some preliminary research in this area to further discussion in this area and serve as a forum for sharing perspectives for various stakeholders.

The symposium will be divided into three sessions, broadly in the form of a roundtable with different modus operandi in each session.

A Concept Note for the event can be found here, and the agenda can be found here. If you would like to attend, please rsvp pranav@cis-india.org, or register here.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/roundtable-on-cyber-security-and-the-private-sector

Roundtable on A.I. and Governance in India

pranav — 2018-04-20T07:41:21Z

The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), Bangalore is organizing a roundtable on ‘A.I. and Governance in India' at India Islamic Cultural Centre in New Delhi on March 16, 2018 from 10.00 a.m. to 1.30 p.m.

Download the Event Report

The Roundtable seeks to discuss the various issues and challenges surrounding the design, development and use of AI in Governance (including law enforcement and legal institutions).

In line with the changing times, the government, as well as its agencies, have started using technology and digitization to make governance more efficient and accessible. For example,through its flagship project Digital India, the Indian government has undertaken digitization and revamping of systems related to railways, land records, educational resource etc. As the government pursues its digital agenda, artificial intelligence can be a tool for efficiency and decision making. To realize the potential of AI, a clear understanding of the technology and how it can and should be used is necessary. The first step towards a robust AI policy is a sound Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy that lays the edifice for algorithmic decision making using AI.

Though the adoption of AI in the public sector is still in its nascent stages, the government of India is taking various steps to increase the scale of adoption. The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry has constituted a task force on AI to facilitate India's economic transformation. This year’s Union Budget also recognised the need for government investment in research, training and skill development in robotics, AI, digital manufacturing, Big Data intelligence and Quantum communications. Though the adoption of AI in the public sector is still in its nascent stages, the government of India is taking various steps to increase the scale of adoption. The Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry has constituted a task force on AI to facilitate India's economic transformation. This year’s Union Budget also recognised the need for government investment in research, training and skill development in robotics, AI, digital manufacturing, Big Data intelligence and Quantum communications.

Our research on the application of AI in Indian governance aims to examine five broad sectors of application: law enforcement, discharge of governmental functions, defense,judicial/administrative decision making, and education. A few of the existing government research initiatives identified by CIS include the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR) hosted by the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization which focuses on research and development of ICT solutions for defense, and the Ministry of Finance’s use of geospatial analytics for their economic survey on human settlements. There are already instances where government bodies are using AI, an example being the case of the Indian Police force, which is revamping its investigation procedures by using Big Data and Artificial Intelligence. The Delhi police has already started using data and analytics to control crime. In the field of agriculture too, the Indian government has partnered with Microsoft to use AI to improve crop production.

While AI can aid governance in numerous ways, there needs to be a system of checks and balances in order to ensure effectiveness, transparency, and accountability. Hence,governance mechanisms must be able to ensure inclusiveness, while minimising the risks that might arise with the use of the technology. Experts have also predicted that, as the government incorporates AI into specific areas of governance- such as service delivery, it will simultaneously need to incorporate it into broader policy structures such as cyber security and the national education framework.

The process of designing a governance ecosystem is a complex one, and AI poses several pre-existing ethical and legal for each application within this ecosystem. The effectiveness ofAI and Machine learning inherently depends on the availability of data, and it is predicted that the most imminent challenge will also involve the same, especially as India becomesincreasingly data dense and the government is entrusted with its citizens’ data. These challenges could range from the collection, storage, and use of data, to having to answerquestions of fairness, safety, and prevention of misuse. This roundtable seeks to deliberate on these questions and more so as to understand how to optimise the use of AI ingovernance for the public interest. In doing so, the roundtable will use preliminary research that CIS has undertaken into the use of AI and governance in India as an entry point into broader discussions on the challenges and benefits and way forward for AI.

Agenda

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/roundtable-on-a-i-and-governance-in-india

Rethinking Data Exchange & Delivery Models pdf

pranav — 2021-04-08T05:06:10Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/rethinking-data-exchange-delivery-models-pdf

Report - State of Consumer Digital Security in India

pranav — 2021-07-05T10:56:49Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/report-state-of-consumer-digital-security-in-india

Reclaiming AI Futures

pranav — 2021-11-17T19:56:07Z

Join us on 23 November (Tuesday) at 7:30pm.

The spectre of artificial intelligence looms large over us. According to the prevalent visions sold to us today, Artificial Intelligence will save us from ourselves — cut out humanity and let technology provide for our futures, mediating our interactions and our relationships with mathematical precision and computerised equanimity: 100 Smart Cities, ‘built from the internet up’, which recognise only the disciplined and data-annotated urban resident. Machines which prophesise on dishonesty and criminality and place us in an information straitjacket from which there is no escape. Technologies will mine data from the depths of our bodies and our environment, and, in turn, displace us from both.

What do these futures hold in store for us? Who do these visions of AI futures serve? How do we resist, reimagine and reclaim our technological futures? To paraphrase Ruha Benjamin, how do we imagine and craft the worlds we cannot live without, just as we dismantle the ones we cannot live within?

In early 2021, artists and activists from India were invited to reflect on the trajectory of Artificial Intelligence in India; to speculate, prophesise and craft new technological imaginaries through their art and writing, as part of Divij Joshi’s fellowship project with the Mozilla Foundation, the AI Observatory.

The resulting projects have been incorporated into the online exhibit – ‘Reclaiming AI Futures’. The projects and artworks in this exhibit span different digital media – films, gifs, written essays, interactive games, social media feeds – each of which critically reflect on AI and its political, cultural, economic and affective implications; on how technology mediates our identities, and how we might ‘reclaim’ agency from, or with, AI.

On November 23, 2021, from 7:30 – 9:00 PM, the contributors to this project will discuss their work and their visions for Reclaiming AI Futures in an online session, hosted by Divij and the Centre for Internet and Society.

The Contributors to Reclaiming AI Futures are:

All India IT and ITeS Employee’s Union and Critter’s Collective, ‘Reclaiming AI Futures for Economic Planning’, Mixed Media (Twitter)
Brindaalakshmi K., ‘Word!’, Speculative Fiction (English and Tamil)
Daksha Dixit, Simran Singh and Kartik Handa, ‘AlgoLeela’, Gifs
diane daayan, ‘I Am AI v.2.3.’, Roleplaying Game
Paulanthony George, ‘Illustrations for the AI Observatory’, Illustrations
Shristi Singh, ‘This Scene May Contain…’, Graphic Media
Vishal Kumaraswamy, ‘your dataset won’t let me thrive’ & ‘ your dataset must die’, Video Essays

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/reclaiming-ai-futures

Pvt Sector Cyber-security Agenda

pranav — 2018-10-15T09:16:59Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/pvt-sector-cyber-security-agenda

Privacy_Covid19_Event_Poster

pranav — 2020-07-15T10:07:06Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/privacy_covid19_event_poster

Privacy in the Age of the Pandemic

pranav — 2020-07-15T11:34:00Z

The Centre for Internet and Society, JKGA Law Chambers, and LawyersClubIndia invites you to the online panel discussion on ‘Privacy in the Age of the Pandemic.’

This event will happen on July 18 (Saturday), from 5:30pm to 7:00pm. The discussion will bring together an inter-disciplinary group of experts to unpack some of the core Privacy issues that will undoubtedly shape society, and future governance in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Register for the event here.

As panelists, we have:
1) Arnab Kumar, who was instrumental in coming up with the Aarogya Setu app and has led policy initiatives from the front at NITI Aayog;
2) Vrinda Bhandari - well known for her advocacy and academic work in this domain;
3) Sahil Deo - who is helping stakeholders make more informed decisions in policy using data analysis;
4) Mira Swaminathan - a policy researcher with deep domain experience in the dangers of surveillance; and
5) Antaraa Vasudev, founder of Civis, an initiative enabling the layperson to understand the effects of policy changes on them!

The session will be moderated by Shweta Reddy, and Akshit Goyal.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/privacy-in-the-age-of-the-pandemic

Presentation: Gender, Health Communications, and Online Activism in the Digital Age (PDF)

pranav — 2019-12-02T09:37:08Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/presentation-gender-health-communications-and-online-activism-in-the-digital-age-pdf

POSH Poster

pranav — 2019-04-01T10:40:11Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/posh-poster

Platforms, Power, and Politics Press Release pdf

pranav — 2021-06-29T13:06:22Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/raw/platforms-power-and-politics-press-release-pdf