Centre for Internet and Society

Talks at National University of Juridical Sciences Today

Admin — 2019-09-20T14:45:35Z

Arindrajit Basu delivered two lectures at the National University of Juridical Sciences on September 18, 2019.

The first one was part of a symposium being conducted by the soon to be set up Intellectual Property and Technology Law Centre. I spoke on "Conceptualising India's Digital Policy Vision" The other speaker today was Mr. Supratim Chakraborty (Partner, Khaitan&Co.) Tomorrow's speakers are Prof. Mahendra Kumar Bhandan and Nikhil Narendran (Partner, Trilegal)

Abstract

The past year has seen vigorous activity on the domestic data governance policy front in India. Across key issues including intermediary liability, data localisation and e-commerce, the government has rolled out a patchwork of regulatory policies that has resulted in battle lines being drawn by governments, industry and civil society actors both in India and across the globe. The Data Protection Bill is set to be tabled in the next session of Parliament amidst supposed disagreement among policy-makers on key provisions, including data localization. The draft e-commerce policy and Chapter 4 of the Economic Survey refer to the concepts of ‘community data’ and ‘data as public good’ respectively. Artifiicial Intelligence is also the new buzz word among policy-making circles and industry players alike.

The implementation of each of these concepts have important implications for individual privacy, the monetisation of data by (foreign tech companies) and the harnessing of-as the e-commerce policy puts it-India’s data for India’s development. Meanwhile, at international forums such as the G20, India has partnered up with its BRICS allies to emphasize the notion of ‘data sovereignty’ or the right of each country to govern data within its jurisdiction without external interference.
In his talk, Basu unpacked each of these policies and followed up with a discussion on what these developments meant for Indian citizens and for India’s role in the multilateral global order.

The second one was on 'Constitutionalizing Artificial Intelligence' conducted by the Constitutional Law Society. Here, I drew from some preliminary findings from a paper I am working on with Elonnai and Amber.

Abstract

The use of big data and algorithmic decision-making has been touted world over as a means of augmenting human capacities, removing bureaucratic fetters and benefiting society. Yet, with concerns arising around bias, fairness and a lack of algorithmic accountability, an entirely new domain of discourse on data justice has emerged - underscoring the idea that algorithms not only have the potential to exacerbate entrenched structural inequality but could also create and modulate new forms of injustice for the vulnerable sections of society.

There is a need for a reflexive turn in the debate on data justice that adequately considers the broader narrative and entrenched inequality in the ecosystem. Transformative constitutionalism is a new brand of scholarship in comparative constitutional law which celebrates the crucial role of the state and the judiciary in bringing about emancipatory change and rooting out structural inequality.

Originally conceptualized as a Global South concept designed as a counter-model to the individual rights-driven model of Northern Constitutions, scholars have now identified emancipatory provisions in several western constitutions such as Germany. India’s constitution is one such example. The origins of constitutional order in India were designed to “bring the alien and powerful machine like that of the state under the control of human will” and to eliminate the inequality of “status, facilities and opportunities.”

What is the relevance of India's constitutional ethos in the regulation of modern day data driven decision-making? How can policy-makers use constitutional tenets to mitigate structural injustice and transform the bearings of 21st century Indian society?

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/talks-at-national-university-of-juridical-sciences-today

AI in Healthcare

Admin — 2019-09-19T16:15:24Z

The Center for Information Technology and Public Policy (CITAPP) and the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIITB) invited Radhika Radhakrishnan for a talk at IIIT-Bangalore on September 13, 2019.

In her talk, she critically questioned the dominant narrative of “AI for social good” that has been widely adopted by various stakeholders in India (including the private sector, non-profits, and the Indian State) from a feminist standpoint. Specific to healthcare in India, such a narrative has been employed towards solving development challenges (such as a shortage of medical practitioners in remote regions of the country) through the introduction of AI applications targeted towards the sick-poor. Through her research and fieldwork, she analysed the layers of expropriation and experimentation that come into play when AI technologies become a method of using 'diverse' bodies and medical records of the sick-poor as ‘data’ to train proprietary AI algorithms at a low cost in the absence of effective State regulatory mechanisms. She argued that structural challenges (such as lack of incentives for medical practitioners to join public healthcare) get reframed into opportunities to substitute labour (people) by capital (technology) through innovation of “spectacular technologies” such as AI. Throughout the talk, she also highlighted the methodologies she used to conduct this research.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/ai-in-healthcare

Impact of Industrial Revolution 4.0 - IT and Automotive Sector in India by the Dialogue and FES

Admin — 2019-08-27T00:13:32Z

On August 21, 2019, Aayush Rathi, attended a report launch event and focus group discussion on the "Impact of Industrial Revolution 4.0 - IT and Automotive Sector in India". Research conducted by the Dialogue in collaboration with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) were being presented.

At CIS, we have previously produced research on the future of work in these sectors. Aayush attended the event to understand how other researchers are approaching the subject of the future of work in terms of the methodological approach and the questions being asked and policy responses being proposed. In what may be treated as validation of our research design, FES and the Dialogue have addressed similar questions and adopted an empirical+desk based approach to do so as well.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/impact-of-industrial-revolution-4-0-it-and-automotive-sector-in-india-by-the-dialogue-and-fes