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Author: SUDHANSHU SINGH

Artificial Intelligence: An Overview and Challenges Ahead

                                               “No matter how sophisticated or powerful our thinking machines become, there still will be two kinds of people: those who let the machines do their thinking, for them, and those who tell the machines what to think about.” —- C.J Lewis

Introduction 

Artificial intelligence (Commonly referred to as AI) is a branch of computer science that pertains to the creation of intelligent machines that work and respond like humans. In the words of the father of Artificial Intelligence John McCarthy, Artificial Intelligence is “the science and engineering of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs”. Some of the activities computers with artificial intelligence are designed for include speech recognition, learning, planning and problem solving. The latest intelligent machine is human robot that can emote and also change facial expressions. Let us examine the upcoming challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence in the days to come. 

Different types of Artificial Intelligence are enumerated below:

  • Reactive Machines 

This form of Artificial Intelligence recognizes its environment and situation directly and acts accordingly. It does not have the power to memorize or recall past experiences to affect present decisions. IBM’s Deep Blue, a chess computer that, defeated chess champion Garry Kasparov, could identify the chess board and the pieces placed on it. This form of AI is designed only to perform specific tasks and can be easily fooled.

  • Limited Memory 

This form of AI contains machines that have limited memory and can recall past experiences. They can take proper decisions and plan appropriate actions. For instance, self driving cars observe the speed and direction of other cars and move accordingly. They have pre-built programs for lane markings, traffic lights and other important elements, like curves in the road. 

  • Theory of Mind 

This form of AI has the capability to understand emotions and thoughts that affect human behaviour, though it is still in the developing stage. It anticipates machines that can identify eye and face movements and act accordingly. Sophia, the latest generation human robot can emote and imitate 62 facial and neck expressions,

  • Self-aware 

This is an extension of theory of mind AI. These types of machines are aware about their internal state can predict the feelings of others. This type of AI has not been developed as yet but is in progress. Self aware AI is the future of machines which will be super intelligent, conscious and sell aware.

  • Artificial Intelligence: Advancements in Technology 

Major technological advancements in AI are as follows:

  • Artificial Narrow Intelligence, the most common technology that can be found in our day to day lives is present in smart phones like Cortana and Siri. They help users to respond to their problems on request. It is called ‘Weak AI, because it is not as strong as it is required to be.
  • Artificial General Intelligence is known as Strong AI. Most of the robots fall into this category. Example of this is Pillo robot which answers all the questions related to the health of your family.
  • Artificial Superhuman Intelligence has the capability to achieve or do anything that a human can do or even more than that. Example of ASI is Alpha 2 which is the first humanoid robot developed for the family. This robot has the capability to manage a smart home and can operate the things in your home. It can also notify about the weather conditions and tell interesting stories too.

Artificial Intelligence: Challenges Ahead 

Artificial Intelligence works on science and algorithms. So it is difficult to understand for those people who don’t have a technical background.

Funds required to setup and implement AI are very high, so most of the organizations and business owners refrain from investing large amounts of money. Software malfunction is a serious problem faced by AI. When any software or hardware fails it is difficult to investigate what went wrong and which part of the software or hardware has failed. On the other hand, errors in tasks performed by humans can be traced. Security is a major concern. AI systems can cause damage if used maliciously. The Termination movie trilogy, for example, featured Skynet, a self-aware artificial intelligence that served as the trilogy’s main villain, battling humanity through its Terminator cyborgs. As Al development is speeding up, more robots or autonomous systems are getting created and replacing human labour which has serious implications of unemployment. When it comes to Indian start ups, Artificial Intelligence is a problematic space as Indian start ups lack access to large data sets which require mass storage and high performance computer. Another challenge faced by India in AI is absence of collaborative efforts between different stakeholders. For example, India has adopted electronic health record (EHR) policy which designed to share data between various hospital chains but it is still a work in progress as different hospital chains have adopted different methods and interpretations of digitizing record.AI techniques such as machine learning and deep learning require huge number of calculations to be made very quickly. This means the computers use a lot of processing power. Processing power determines the speed at which the computer can pull data from its memory and perform calculations. Artificial Intelligence is generally created to carry out specific tasks and to learn to become better and better at it only, multitasking is not yet possible.AI carries out complicated technical tasks which require skilled resources. The lack of skilled resources is also a disrupting factor in the overall development of the global market for artificial intelligence.AI can pose a threat to the society via autonomous weapons. These are weapons that AI system are programmed to use to kill. In the hands of the wrong person these weapons could easily cause mass casualties. This could even lead to an AI war.AI has the potential and power to be more intelligent than humans; we have no certain way of predicting how it will behave.

  • Applications of Artificial Intelligence: Indian Perspective 

In India AI is applied and going through testing times in the following sectors namely:

  • Healthcare Sector 

It is one of the most dynamic, yet challenging, sectors in India. Cancer screening and treatment is an area where AI provides tremendous scope for targeted large scale interventions. Other uses of AI in healthcare include training, diagnosis, decision making, treatment, research, early detection, keeping well, etc. It faces major challenges of quality, accessibility and affordability for a large section of the population.

  • Agricultural Sector 

AI will have significant global impact on agricultural productivity at all levels of the value chain. Some of the applications of Al in agriculture are soil health monitoring and restoration, crop health monitoring and providing real time advisories to farmers and increasing the share of price realization to producers.

  • Infrastructural Sector 

Smart mobility and transportation form the backbone of the modern economy due to interlinking of different sectors which is important for both domestic and international trades. AI introduces Intelligent transportation system sensors, CCTV cameras, automatic number plate recognition cameras, speed detection cameras, signalized pedestrian crossings, real time dynamic decisions on traffic flows such as lane monitoring, access to exits, toll pricing, community based parking which helps cars in traffic to collect data on vacant parking spaces and allocates cars to spaces such that the demand is always met; autonomous trucking, etc. As of now, AI faces challenges including congestion and road accidents, lack of public transportation infrastructure, need for sustainable transportation, etc.

  • Education Sector

An effective education sector has the ability to transform a country through development of human resources and increased productivity. Content Technologies Inc. (CTI), an AI research and development company, develops AI that creates customized educational content. Some challenges faced by India in AI are low retention rates, poor learning outcomes, low adoption of existing technologies, etc.

Conclusion 

In the words of Matthew Arnold “Faith in machinery is our besetting danger”. The sole purpose of invention of artificial intelligence is to make human lives easier and comfortable. Man has invented machines and machines have made human beings donkey before them. Now if emotional quotient to the machines along with the intelligence quotient becomes absolutely successful then the whole mankind will become slaves before the machines. However, as we invent and find new applications of artificial intelligence day by day, we must retain control on them. If it goes beyond human control, then we should be prepared for the greatest disaster ever known to mankind.

 

COVID 19 AND INDIA’S LEX LATA: COMBATING THE LEGAL WAY

It is now known to about the novel corona virus also better known as Covid 19, with the scientific name of SARS-COV-2 which triggers acute respiratory disease. WHO has claimed Corona virus disease to be an infectious disease affecting most people’s respiratory tract. While the majority people may recover from this illness many older people and/or people having other underlying medical conditions such as tuberculosis, COPD, heart related issues, diabetes, cancer, etc. are prone to its severity. It damages the autoimmune system. The pandemic, as it is declared by the WHO has brought the whole world to a standstill and under isolated quarantine to slowdown the transmission and to prevent the human chain from building. Having its root to what has been investigated in Wuhan, China it has spread to more than 210 countries which have reported the augment of this disease in their region. India has also been trying to tackle this epidemic since the 3rd week of March. The mitigation and control of this virus by India is being looked upon by not just the subcontinent but by the whole world.

India’s Fight with the Colonial Era Law.

The main law to tackle and control the pandemic in India is the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897, which dates back to the pre-independence British India. This short legislative framework was prepared hurriedly just after the 1896 Bombay bubonic plague. Though even then it was of not much use to protect against the second flare-up which occurred in India during the 1918. A much awaited amendment has been made recently to section 2 of this Act, so that the required implementation by the union could be done. Though the law, penalised by sentencing and fine or both and restricting any legal proceeding against any person or authority for anything done or to be done in good faith under this Act, it has been described as archaic which doesn’t allow one to understand it with a scientific temper. It lacks in encouragement of science and innovation related to any cure or vaccination of the diseases or to set up any incubation centre or a committee. Though states have their own medical related laws and rules which in a vast country such as ours as per population size, may differ on various grounds from each other. The states are constitutionally supported to have their own laws to restrict interstate movements and quarantine actions and policing to tackle and prevent such outbreaks as a response.

The union law deals with port quarantine, including in connection with seamen’s and marine hospitals, and interstate quarantine. State legislatures may provide for matters relating to public health and sanitation, hospitals, dispensaries, and prevention of animal diseases. The union government and states have concurrent jurisdiction to prevent transmission from one state to another of infectious or contagious diseases or pests affecting humans, animals, or plants.

New Age Lex-Lata

A bill pertaining to public health was proposed in the last decade twice in both the regimes of the Government, but in the 1st proposal the bill was discarded by all the states calling it an usurping of their constitutional powers, which at least gives the state the right to deal with the matters such as public health and sanitation, hospitals and other related infrastructures and prevention of animal diseases and quarantine as well. It is in the knowledge to all of us that there exists in the concurrent list, the prevention of transmission interstate of infectious diseases which are contagious and/or which might affect animals (swine flu), plants, or humans as well.

The 2nd proposal to repeal the Epidemic law of 1897 by the health and family welfare ministry which was put to table of the house as public health (prevention, control and management of epidemics, bio terrorism and disasters) bill 2017. It could have helped in our current situation as it dealt explicitly with quarantining and isolation of people suspected of catching the disease infectious in nature. It also empowered the union with respect to the states and other local bodies for ensuring the control and limiting the spread in such an emergent situation for the greater good of the society and public interest. The proposed law’s penalising provision by fine of rupees 1 lac or imprisonment up to two years or both, if anyone found violating the law intentionally was a need of the hour today in our society.

Management of Biological Disaster guideline was also proposed in 2008 after realising that the obsolete epidemic act was of not much use to us, the national disaster management plan 2019 with the guidelines of 2008 is put into practise.

The current practise adopted by India is to impose in the society the concept of social distancing and self-quarantining at their respective homes. Our India Penal Code, of the year 1860 was a visionary move, where disobeying public servant’s lawful order (to restrict unnecessary movement out of houses) resulting in violation of the quarantine norms may result in a jail term of one month or fine up to rupees two hundred or both and if the disobedience causes danger to human life, health or safety, the person can be punished with an imprisonment of six months or a fine of rupees one thousand or both. Further, section 269 imprisons or fines or both, any person found guilty for any negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life, section 270 is in furtherance of section 269 where any person knowing that their actions could lead to spread of contagious disease and still does it shall be penalized for this malignant act, section 271 punishes with imprisonment for violation of quarantine rule.

Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, empowers the executive magistrate to restrict the gathering of people residing in a particular area/place. This is one of the most important preventive steps taken up by many states to ensure curb on spreading of the virus.

The Disaster Management Act, 2005 as an entry in the social security and social insurance in the concurrent list provides a constitutional remedy for the people of India. As our Honourable Prime Minister is the chairperson of the National Disaster Management Authority and has the power vested u/s 6 of this act to create an authoritative action. It has a concocted effort by all high functionaries to implement its plan and policies at various local, state and national levels. Various sections under the act (Ss 10, 12, 13, 18, 24, 35, 36, 38, 39, 62, 71, 72, etc.) provide proper enforcement to alleviate our country from this biological disease.

In these times, the hasty and selfish paranoia purchase of essentials good are also supposed to be regulated so that enough is available for the society as a whole and not lead to a sudden price rise due to scarcity. The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 empowers the Central and state governments concurrently to control production, supply and distribution of certain commodities in view of rising prices. It provides knowledge to the citizens on what shall be counted as essential during such critical phases.

Conclusion

Although much cannot be done by imposing law and order on the masses, a general sense of awareness and hygiene habits can help the individuals to curb the spreading. Though our frontline warriors are giving their absolute best we as responsible citizens shall help the taskforce with our cooperation at such a critical phase.

References:  

  • https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/coronavirus-live-updates-india-corona-cases-worldwide-covid-19-death-toll-lockdown-corona-vaccine-plasma-us-maharashtra-delhi-ap-latest-news-120042900120_1.html
  • https://www.mohfw.gov.in/
  • https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
  • https://www.jurist.org/commentary/2020/04/tarique-faiyaz-covid-19-quarantine-india/
  • https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/how-india-is-fighting-coronavirus-with-a-colonial-era-law-epidemics/articleshow/74752473.cms?from=mdr
  • https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/faq-on-the-essential-commodities-act-114070800735_1.html

COVID 19 AND INDIA’S LEX LATA: COMBATING THE LEGAL WAY

It is now known to about the novel corona virus also better known as Covid 19, with the scientific name of SARS-COV-2 which triggers acute respiratory disease. WHO has claimed Corona virus disease to be an infectious disease affecting most people’s respiratory tract. While the majority people may recover from this illness many older people and/or people having other underlying medical conditions such as tuberculosis, COPD, heart related issues, diabetes, cancer, etc. are prone to its severity. It damages the autoimmune system. The pandemic, as it is declared by the WHO has brought the whole world to a standstill and under isolated quarantine to slowdown the transmission and to prevent the human chain from building. Having its root to what has been investigated in Wuhan, China it has spread to more than 210 countries which have reported the augment of this disease in their region. India has also been trying to tackle this epidemic since the 3rd week of March. The mitigation and control of this virus by India is being looked upon by not just the subcontinent but by the whole world.

India’s Fight with the Colonial Era Law.

The main law to tackle and control the pandemic in India is the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897, which dates back to the pre-independence British India. This short legislative framework was prepared hurriedly just after the 1896 Bombay bubonic plague. Though even then it was of not much use to protect against the second flare-up which occurred in India during the 1918. A much awaited amendment has been made recently to section 2 of this Act, so that the required implementation by the union could be done. Though the law, penalised by sentencing and fine or both and restricting any legal proceeding against any person or authority for anything done or to be done in good faith under this Act, it has been described as archaic which doesn’t allow one to understand it with a scientific temper. It lacks in encouragement of science and innovation related to any cure or vaccination of the diseases or to set up any incubation centre or a committee. Though states have their own medical related laws and rules which in a vast country such as ours as per population size, may differ on various grounds from each other. The states are constitutionally supported to have their own laws to restrict interstate movements and quarantine actions and policing to tackle and prevent such outbreaks as a response.

The union law deals with port quarantine, including in connection with seamen’s and marine hospitals, and interstate quarantine. State legislatures may provide for matters relating to public health and sanitation, hospitals, dispensaries, and prevention of animal diseases. The union government and states have concurrent jurisdiction to prevent transmission from one state to another of infectious or contagious diseases or pests affecting humans, animals, or plants.

New Age Lex-Lata

A bill pertaining to public health was proposed in the last decade twice in both the regimes of the Government, but in the 1st proposal the bill was discarded by all the states calling it an usurping of their constitutional powers, which at least gives the state the right to deal with the matters such as public health and sanitation, hospitals and other related infrastructures and prevention of animal diseases and quarantine as well. It is in the knowledge to all of us that there exists in the concurrent list, the prevention of transmission interstate of infectious diseases which are contagious and/or which might affect animals (swine flu), plants, or humans as well.

The 2nd proposal to repeal the Epidemic law of 1897 by the health and family welfare ministry which was put to table of the house as public health (prevention, control and management of epidemics, bio terrorism and disasters) bill 2017. It could have helped in our current situation as it dealt explicitly with quarantining and isolation of people suspected of catching the disease infectious in nature. It also empowered the union with respect to the states and other local bodies for ensuring the control and limiting the spread in such an emergent situation for the greater good of the society and public interest. The proposed law’s penalising provision by fine of rupees 1 lac or imprisonment up to two years or both, if anyone found violating the law intentionally was a need of the hour today in our society.

Management of Biological Disaster guideline was also proposed in 2008 after realising that the obsolete epidemic act was of not much use to us, the national disaster management plan 2019 with the guidelines of 2008 is put into practise.

The current practise adopted by India is to impose in the society the concept of social distancing and self-quarantining at their respective homes. Our India Penal Code, of the year 1860 was a visionary move, where disobeying public servant’s lawful order (to restrict unnecessary movement out of houses) resulting in violation of the quarantine norms may result in a jail term of one month or fine up to rupees two hundred or both and if the disobedience causes danger to human life, health or safety, the person can be punished with an imprisonment of six months or a fine of rupees one thousand or both. Further, section 269 imprisons or fines or both, any person found guilty for any negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life, section 270 is in furtherance of section 269 where any person knowing that their actions could lead to spread of contagious disease and still does it shall be penalized for this malignant act, section 271 punishes with imprisonment for violation of quarantine rule.

Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, empowers the executive magistrate to restrict the gathering of people residing in a particular area/place. This is one of the most important preventive steps taken up by many states to ensure curb on spreading of the virus.

The Disaster Management Act, 2005 as an entry in the social security and social insurance in the concurrent list provides a constitutional remedy for the people of India. As our Honourable Prime Minister is the chairperson of the National Disaster Management Authority and has the power vested u/s 6 of this act to create an authoritative action. It has a concocted effort by all high functionaries to implement its plan and policies at various local, state and national levels. Various sections under the act (Ss 10, 12, 13, 18, 24, 35, 36, 38, 39, 62, 71, 72, etc.) provide proper enforcement to alleviate our country from this biological disease.

In these times, the hasty and selfish paranoia purchase of essentials good are also supposed to be regulated so that enough is available for the society as a whole and not lead to a sudden price rise due to scarcity. The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 empowers the Central and state governments concurrently to control production, supply and distribution of certain commodities in view of rising prices. It provides knowledge to the citizens on what shall be counted as essential during such critical phases.

Conclusion

Although much cannot be done by imposing law and order on the masses, a general sense of awareness and hygiene habits can help the individuals to curb the spreading. Though our frontline warriors are giving their absolute best we as responsible citizens shall help the taskforce with our cooperation at such a critical phase.

 

References:  

  • https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/coronavirus-live-updates-india-corona-cases-worldwide-covid-19-death-toll-lockdown-corona-vaccine-plasma-us-maharashtra-delhi-ap-latest-news-120042900120_1.html
  • https://www.mohfw.gov.in/
  • https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
  • https://www.jurist.org/commentary/2020/04/tarique-faiyaz-covid-19-quarantine-india/
  • https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/how-india-is-fighting-coronavirus-with-a-colonial-era-law-epidemics/articleshow/74752473.cms?from=mdr
  • https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/faq-on-the-essential-commodities-act-114070800735_1.html
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