Exclusive। India’s AI Journey Needs Inclusive, Region-Specific Ethics To Tackle Emerging Digital Threats: UNESCO’s Kim

Surabhi Gupta

New Delhi: As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly transforms societies and economies across the world, there is an urgent need for ethical, inclusive, and localised approaches to address the digital requirements of the moment. Stressing on this need, UNESCO and India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) wrapped up their final stakeholder consultation in New Delhi as part of Phase II of India's AI Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM).

This week marked the conclusion of a year-long, nationally-based consultative process to develop a unique, participatory, evidence-based AI readiness profile for India. The unprecedented consultation series started in Delhi then moved on to Bengaluru, then to Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar, and Guwahati, bringing together voices from academia, government, private sector, and civil society to consider the ethical, legal, technological and social aspects of India's AI context.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, Eunsong Kim, Chief of Sector for Social and Human Sciences at UNESCO, described India as “a huge country with so much to talk about and capture,” underscoring the importance of collecting ground-level insights from across its varied regions.

“India, because it's such a huge country and because there's so much to talk about and capture, we're doing these stakeholder consultations across the country. We started off with Delhi, and last year in November we did one in Bangalore and Hyderabad. We recently had one in Bhubaneswar, and now the last one in New Delhi,” said Kim.

What is AI RAM?

The AI Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM) is UNESCO’s diagnostic framework that evaluates a country’s preparedness to design, deploy, and govern AI ethically and inclusively. It is structures around five key dimensions:

1. Legal and Regulatory Frameworks
2. Education and Research Capacity
3. AI Infrastructure and Economy
4. Social and Cultural Inclusion
5. Ethical and Participatory Governance

These dimensions together offer a comprehensive lens through which AI policy ecosystems can be assessed, with a focus not just on technological capacity but also on inclusive, rights-based governance.

India’s AI Snapshot: Awaiting the Final Report

When asked about India's position on these five dimensions, Kim noted, “Where India stands, that is something yet to be shared. We’re developing the report, and we hope to launch it in the next couple of months.”

She said that the early findings reveal “very interesting initiatives” across different regions, demonstrating India’s growing engagement with ethical AI policy frameworks.

The AI RAM consultations have not been confined to policy circles in Delhi. The pan-India consultation process, spanning metropolitan hubs and emerging tech regions, has been designed to ensure that voices from across India are represented in the national AI readiness narrative.

Global Lessons from the AI RAM Process

India is not alone in undertaking this AI readiness evaluation. As of now, UNESCO has completed AI RAM assessments in 10 countries, with ongoing work in 72.

Countries such as Chile and Indonesia have already seen transformative impacts from their RAM evaluations.

“Chile updated its data protection law and cybersecurity law based on RAM findings. Indonesia developed a national AI action plan and a dedicated task force,” said Kim adding, “These examples show how the RAM process can catalyse real policy change.”

Both countries used the findings to prioritise local needs, demonstrating how AI RAM acts not as a rigid ranking tool but as a contextualised framework for policy development.

Need for Contextual Data in South Asia

A major challenge, according to Kim, is the global AI governance community’s limited understanding of contextual threats and opportunities in South Asia. She highlighted the vast differences in language, culture, and infrastructure even within the region.

“India alone has a lot of diversity, but it’s very different from countries like Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, or Bhutan. A lot of global datasets fail to capture this diversity, especially indigenous communities and ethnic languages,” she said

This is where UNESCO’s work becomes critical. By prioritising inclusion and diversity in AI policy research, the organisation aims to ensure that marginalised communities are not left behind in the digital future.

Cybersecurity and Deepfakes: Emerging Risks

The consultations have also touched upon the rising wave of digital risks associated with AI, from deepfakes to fraudulent OTP scams to fake audio and video generation. These threats are especially relevant in South Asia’s rapid digitising environments.

“We have some data on the contextual threats of AI in South Asia, but not enough. We need more region-specific research on both the harms and benefits of AI. That’s exactly what UNESCO is trying to promote through these consultations,” said Kim.

Ethics First: UNESCO’s Normative Framework

UNESCO’s engagement with AI ethics goes far beyond consultations. In 2021, its 193 member states adopted the Global Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, the only international normative instrument of its kind.

“It’s not just a sitting document. We’ve developed policy tools and implementation approaches so that countries can turn these values, like fairness, transparency, and inclusivity, into actionable strategies,” Kim said.

The RAM process itself is part of that strategy. By combining both quantitative and qualitative data across the five dimensions, the tool helps countries assess their AI baseline and design evidence-informed, ethical AI policies.

India’s Global Role in AI Ethics

As one of the world’s largest democracies with a booming digital economy, India’s engagement in UNESCO’s RAM process holds global significance. The findings of the AI RAM India report, expected in the coming months, will not only shape national policy but may serve as a reference for other countries in the Global South.

With initiatives like the INDIAai Mission, AI Safety Institute, and active engagement in global AI ethics forums, India is increasingly positioning itself as a thought leader in responsible AI development.