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Amid global economic growth stagnating at just over 3 per cent--its lowest rate since the turn of the century--leaders from the G20 Troika, comprising India, Brazil, and South Africa, unveiled a visionary joint declaration on digital public infrastructure (DPI), artificial intelligence (AI), and data for governance.
According to the PMO, this declaration, endorsed by several G20 countries, guest nations, and international organisations, underscores the potential of technology to bridge global inequalities and accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The communique highlighted the pivotal role of well-designed DPI and AI in fostering equitable digital transformation. Drawing on successful experiences in G20 countries, the leaders emphasised that technology, if inclusively deployed, could create new jobs, enhance health and education outcomes, and rebuild citizens' trust in democratic governance. The declaration stated that the technology is advancing at a dizzying pace. If equitably deployed, it offers us a historic opportunity to raise growth, reduce inequality, and take a giant step towards achieving the SDGs. Welcoming global initiatives such as the Global Digital Compact adopted at the UN Summit of the Future and the 2024 Global DPI Summit in Cairo, Egypt, the leaders stressed that inclusive, development-orientated, and secure technological systems are crucial for empowering citizens and businesses alike. The declaration proposed that digital systems adhere to foundational principles--open, modular, interoperable, and scalable--to ensure inclusivity and adaptability to evolving national needs. These systems must focus on citizens, enabling businesses of all sizes to connect seamlessly and enhance livelihoods at the grassroots level. The communique also called for a technology-neutral approach, fostering competition and innovation, reducing digital economic asymmetries, and ensuring fair deployment of DPI and AI. The leaders emphasized the need for robust data governance frameworks to safeguard privacy, security, and intellectual property rights while ensuring fair market practices. Transparent and equitable data management principles, they argued, are central to building trust in technological systems.The declaration asserted that trust is the cornerstone of flourishing democracies, and the same applies to technological systems. Transparency, safeguards, and fairness are indispensable. Recognizing the transformative potential of AI, the communique urged the development of foundational and frontier AI models trained on diverse and representative datasets. (ANI)
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