RBI sets up 8-member panel to develop framework for ethical use of AI

The Reserve Bank on Thursday announced the setting up of an eight-member committee to develop a framework for responsible and ethical enablement of artificial intelligence (FREE-AI) in the financial sector.

Headed by IIT Bombay professor Pushpak Bhattacharyya (Department of Computer Science and Engineering), the panel will assess the current level of adoption of AI in financial services, globally as well as in India.

It will also review regulatory and supervisory approaches on AI with focus on the financial sector globally.

The panel will also identify potential risks associated with AI, if any, and recommend an evaluation, mitigation and monitoring framework and consequent compliance requirements for financial institutions, including banks, NBFCs, FinTechs, PSOs, etc.

The committee will recommend a framework including governance aspects for responsible, ethical adoption of AI models / applications in the Indian financial sector, the RBI said.

The other members of the panel are: Debjani Ghosh (Independent Director, Reserve Bank Innovation Hub); Balaraman Ravindran (Professor and Head, Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI, IIT Madras); Abhishek Singh (Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology); Rahul Matthan (Partner, Trilegal); Anjani Rathor (Group Head and Chief Digital Experience Officer, HDFC Bank); Sree Hari Nagaralu (Head of Security AI Research, Microsoft India); and Suvendu Pati (CGM, FinTech Department, RBI).

The Committee will submit its report within six months from the date of its first meeting, the RBI said.

The central bank had made the announcement regarding the panel in its December monetary policy meeting.