India's AI regulation can be a model: Google executive Wilson White

Google APAC policy head Wilson White says India's pro-innovation AI approach reflects shared optimism, cautions against overregulation in early stages of development

Google's stance on the optimism and pro-innovation around artificial intelligence (AI) is very similar to the principles adopted by the Indian government under its IndiaAI Mission, the company’s vice-president of government affairs and public policy in the Asia-Pacific Region, Wilson White, said.

 

“We see a very clear trend, particularly here in the Asia-Pacific region, on a much more robust view of how to regulate AI in ways that spur innovation, and are responsive to the optimism and pro-innovation kind of orientation around AI that exists in the region,” White told Business Standard.

 

This approach, adopted by Asian countries such as India, Japan, and Singapore, is very different from the path taken by some of the Western countries and regions, such as the European Union, he said, adding that the ASEAN countries were “expressly stepping away” from such prohibitive regulations.

 

This approach, he said, aligns with Google’s path and thinking around the development and deployment of AI to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the technology, White said.

 

India’s approach to regulating AI, where the government is very “clear-eyed” about the risks associated with the technology, but also the dangers of overregulation in the early days, should be a model approach to lawmaking for AI, he said.

 

“For us, the mantra that we use is bold, responsible, together. We want to be bold and push the bounds of technology, publish our foundational research so that others, like small businesses, can benefit and innovate from that as well,” White said. The APAC government affairs and regulatory chief is on a short visit to India this week.

 

There are some risks with AI that have been identified by experts across the globe. In such areas, Google will deliberately go slower to ensure that the company is not doing more harm than good, he said. The only way to continue with such research and development is to do so in conjunction with the entire ecosystem, especially startups that push the bounds of innovation, he said.

 

Despite the rapid advancements made by companies and countries around AI models, large language models, and large reasoning models, the technology is still in the early days of development, White said, adding that the investments being made by the respective companies or countries were because the “promise of AI” was real.

 

“We are seeing it in the areas of healthcare, where we are now able to get ahead of diseases that have vexed humankind for a long time. We are seeing it in places like agriculture and education, so I think it's clear to folks that the promise of AI is real,” White said.