Artificial Intelligence can be a tool to threaten and bully, perpetuate discrimination: CJI DY Chandrachud at IIT Madras

While Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the buzzword these days, it has its flip sides and can end up being a tool to perpetuate discrimination, Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud said on Saturday..In this regard, the CJI cited the example of how AI recruitment tools deployed by companies preferred men over women. "AI can also undermine right to fair treatment and perpetuate discrimination.. many AI systems have shown prejudiced decision making based on data inputs which show societal prejudices. For eg: AI recruitment tools deployed by firms preferred men over women because the tools were trained on profile of successful employees who, for gendered reasons, were males," he explained.Thus, AI can also end up causing harm to people and society in its real world application, the CJI cautioned."Today Artificial Intelligence are the two words on everybody's lips, and AI is being deployed to increase computer efficiency. In a relatively short time, AI tools such as ChatGPT has shown that even a computer can crack a joke or finish a task. Even in the Supreme Court, we are using AI on a pilot basis. Always remember what values AI creates and what affordances it creates. I have been fascinated with AI image-generating software, which allows you to insert written prompt and generate image, but I am also aware how it may be used to create fakes to mislead, to threaten, and to bully," he said.The CJI stressed that technology should not create fear in the minds of users about online abuse or harassment as the same directly impacts the ability to express thoughts. The CJI was speaking at the 60th Convocation Ceremony of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, in Chennai.At the outset, he highlighted the contributions of IIT Madras to research and development in the country. The CJI began by posing a question as to what principled values technology represents."It is often said technology develops at a speed with which the law cannot keep up with. This may seem true in the heat of the moment, but if we take a step back, our history would be a testament to the fact that technological developments share a dialectic relationship. At one point in time in history, ships were considered the epitome of technological evolution but with every voyage there was a risk of losing goods and human lives. It was the law of corporate ownership and financing that helped businesses to manage the risk of overseas voyages."He elaborated on how virtual hearing before courts in the country necessitated by COVID-19 pandemic, helped the judiciary realise the difficulties female lawyers earlier faced in appearing physically due to the gendered demands of domestic work and caregiving. "With video-conferencing (VC), they could argue from their homes. VC helped in live-streaming of Constitution bench proceedings. Here the values of video-conference extend beyond mere communication and encompass inclusiveness and access to justice," he opined. The CJI adverted to the recently-released biopic of Robert Oppenheimer to make the point that technological evolution does not take place in social vacuum; rather it involves an 'intricate tapestry of societal realities and legal, economic and political structures'. "A key architect of the atomic bomb, he later sought a ban on nuclear bomb and creation of larger bombs not to acclaim or denounce them but recognize the impact of theoretical science in the real world. No technology is neutral and when deployed in real world it fulfills certain human values," the CJI said. .The CJI also touched upon the looming fear of surveillance through technology."With the advent of emails you may never know that your email is being intercepted and while electronic communication shows values of communication and collaboration but it also creates possibility of mass surveillance of our most personal details and ideas. Privacy, confidentiality are some of the basic requirements from a technology used and technology and law has striven to achieve this. We all want our messages to now be end-to-end encrypted and this shows how every new technology creates new affordances which leads to finding of new technology," he stated. In conclusion, he emphasised that the marketplace of ideas had gotten a new meaning in the age of social media and the internet. However, this has also promoted certain kinds of negative behaviour, he pointed out."The ease of communication has led to new behaviors such as online abuse and trolling. This is one example of how new technological affordances which law and technology has to anticipate. When technology fails to address the negative behavior facilitated by new developments the law will step in to safeguard individual rights and continue the century long dialogue between scientific development and legal regulation."