2023 Global Technology Summit

Book Discussion: The Third Way: India’s Revolutionary Approach to Data Governance

The Third Way reviews India’s digital public infrastructure (DPI) from a governance lens. It also showcases how DPI helped India leapfrog decades in development. By introducing the “DPI approach” to governance, the author proposes a new way to embed regulatory principles directly into the code of the digital ecosystems they govern, so that private entities can freely innovate without worrying about overstepping the regulatory boundaries.

Panel: Globalizing DPI

The G20 Presidency of India has globalized the “DPI” terminology. More importantly, it introduced a unified framework that can help countries adopt the DPI approach to solve their problems through digital transformation, without having to reinvent the wheel. The panel discusses the strategies for overcoming DPI challenges and discovering collaborative opportunities to accelerate the globalization of DPI.

Video Message

Conversation: AI and the New Frontiers of Biotechnology

The field of AI has made rapid strides in the last few years. Biotechnology, too, remains as dynamic as ever, with rapid developments in this field to have both societal impact as well as commercial success. However, the framework of regulation adopted in both AI and biotechnology will be critical in determining whether the need for regulation will come at the cost of innovation, or whether it may perhaps even accelerate it. What should be the new normal going ahead?

Keynote Address: India’s Digital Age

Talk: DPI Design and Deployment Choices

Panel: DPI Adoption: Technology, Governance, and Society

The panel discusses the challenges and opportunities of different deployment and adoption strategies for DPI – with perspectives from India, Singapore, World Bank, and the private sector. While DPIs have been successfully deployed and implemented at scale, several challenges persist.

Lightning Talk: Geopolitics and Critical Minerals and Materials

Critical materials and minerals assume significance in tech supply chains, and thus play a key part in geopolitics. How can developing nations, including India, forge partnerships and international alliances by leveraging innovative production of critical materials and minerals?

Panel: Global Agenda for DPI

India’s presidency of the G20 has many lessons to offer, especially on the future of DPIs. There is now a need to detail the way forward for the global institutionalization of DPIs. The panel focuses on potential collaborations between various stakeholders and discusses broader issues regarding the governance and sustainability of DPIs.

Talk: Business Case for DPI

Panel: Economic Case for DPI

Private sector participation in the DPI ecosystem is key to unlocking innovation. Offerings by the private sector can reach consumers much faster and more efficiently when combined with DPIs. Allocation of risk, alignment of incentives, and market discipline are key for this sector. This panel explores how small and large businesses can build on top of DPIs.

Video Message

Conversation: AI, Innovation, and Payments

AI systems have proven to be a game-changer for payment systems. It ranges from simplifying payment systems to harnessing and making sense of the vast amount of data generated, among other advances. However, there are also attendant concerns, such as false declines and cybersecurity risks.

Ministerial Address

Lightning Talk: Innovation Beyond Boundaries: DPIs in Education and Lifelong Learning

Keynote Address: Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 Learning

Panel: Data Protection in the Global South

In recent years, many developing countries, such as India, Brazil, and Kenya, have passed data protection and data governance laws. This panel seeks to understand the approaches of these jurisdictions and the corresponding implications for the digital economy, human rights, and digital sovereignty.

Panel: Community-Driven Policy: A Multi-Stakeholder Approach

Government programs and policies play a crucial role in delivering fundamental services and tackling systemic issues. Meanwhile, philanthropy offers the adaptability and ingenuity required to address intricate, individualized, and localized challenges.

Conversation: Geopolitics of Technology

Panel: Fragmentation: The Future of Geopolitics?

Recent geopolitical events, like the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East, have reshaped the international stage. It has become increasingly essential to examine the state of global relations and the role that technology plays in an interconnected yet fragmented world. Given the current state of affairs, this panel delves into the future interplay between geopolitics and technology.

Conversation: Navigating the AI Landscape: Choices and Challenges

Regulation of AI by various countries has become an axiom for demonstrating a commitment to ensuring the safe and responsible development of AI. Here, regulation has been quick to evolve, with consensus on the overall direction of AI regulation, as seen with the commitment to the Bletchley Declaration and the consensus among various nations to adopt US and UK-driven principles on AI security.

Video Message

Panel: Intelligent Regulation of AI: The Way Ahead

The global discourse on AI has transformed over the last year, and there is increased talk about the need to regulate this technology. However, approaches to regulating developments in generative AI will differ from government-to-government. This panel unpacks the implications of these differing approaches for the AI ecosystem.

Keynote Address: GenAI: Early Learnings

Conversation: Responsible AI: Building Bridges for the Future

The massive surge of interest in AI is perhaps exceeded only by the global efforts underway to ensure that AI systems adhere to the principles of responsible AI. Here, both companies, organizations, and civil society are in agreement on the need to establish certain guardrails.

Keynote Address: Export Controls

Panel: A Fork in the Road: The New Approach to Export Controls

In recent years, the export control policies of advanced industrial economies have increasingly been used to regulate global commerce in high-technology products. A notable example is the restrictions imposed on the sale of high-technology products like AI chips to China. This panel unpacks the consequences of such export curbs for the current geopolitical scenario.

Ministerial Address

Keynote Address: Driving Global AI Regulatory Framework

Video Message

Panel: iCET: The Way Forward

Officially launched in January 2023, the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) elevated India-U.S. ties and modernized them. It has promoted more frequent government-to- government interactions and prioritized engagement among a broader coalition of non-governmental stakeholders. This panel charts the roadmap for the future of iCET.

Keynote Address: Military Applications of AI

Discussions regarding the harms of AI have largely focused on misinformation and labor force displacement. However, the Global North appears to be increasingly concerned about the national security risks posed by military applications of generative AI. This panel outlines these risks and discusses the scope of regulating them.

Panel: Military Applications of AI

Talk: Compute Power for AI

Video Message

Lightning Talk: An AI Strategy for an Adbhut India: Leveraging India’s Strengths

Panel: The Evolving AI Landscape: Risks and Responsibilities

Conversations around the state of AI involve several “either/or” exaggerations—potential applications are discussed without a fair analysis of the possibilities and limitations, and risk assessments are either downplayed or overblown. This panel addresses the need of the h our: a clear understanding of the evolving state of AI and its foreseeable future.

Keynote Address: AI, Skilling, and Innovation

Video Message

Panel: AI: Skilling and Innovation

An important dimension of the socioeconomic debate on AI is the scarcity of talent in the field. Given the radical transformations likely to occur in the labor market, the role of policymakers in preparing the workforce for the AI revolution cannot be understated. Accordingly, this panel discusses the AI skilling frameworks of various countries.

Video Message

Conversation: Ambassadors’ Journal

Panel: Geopolitics Today: Shifting Sands or Structural Transformation?

Thirty years ago, the Cold War ended, leading to an era of “unipolarity,” which morphed into various versions of bipolarity and arguably, multipolarity too. Today, we possibly stand at the crossroads of a new era. This panel discusses the current age of uncertainty and whether it marks a more pronounced shift toward a new world order.