As the world gains more intelligence ‘artificially’, there is nothing impossible ‘virtually’. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) have become integral parts of almost all sectors worldwide, India being no exception.

IDC anticipates that AI spending in India will surpass $512 billion by 2027. While AI/ML technologies have immense potential to drive innovation and growth, the United Nations Resolution on Artificial Intelligence has recognised that unethical and improper use of AI systems would impede the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Since the telecommunication industry has played and continues to play a crucial role in the development of the AI technologies, it is also at the vanguard of ensuring the ethical use of these technologies, facilitating AI for good.

Worldwide, the telecommunications industry is developing AI-driven solutions, including AI-powered threat detection and automated response systems, while also spearheading the formulation of regulations aimed at creating a sustainable AI ecosystem.

AI: Boon or Bane?
Cybercriminals are increasingly using AI to launch sophisticated masquerading techniques, capable of deceiving even the most discerning brains. For example, in phishing attacks, they create fake emails perfectly mimicking the communications style of the target institution, with all personalized details harvested from social media and other sources.

The communication looks so authentic that even the employees of the same organization fail to recognize it and fall victim to the deceptive messages. Scammers are also leveraging deepfakes to dupe people and organizations in order to exhort money and do other harms. The exploding popularity of AI applications has thus created a sense of urgency among authorities to devise necessary policies to prevent their misuse.

Considering the fact that AI-powered threats will remain a major challenge into the foreseeable future, industry experts advise that defenders focus on preparing for a world where threats are unique and are coming faster than ever before.

The silver lining is that AI itself provides solutions to counter these challenges and humanity strives to harness its potential faster than the foes.

Telecommunications Sector Driving Responsible AI Regulation
As the providers of digital communications infrastructure, telecommunications service providers (TSPs) are at the forefront in devising responsible AI regulations.

The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), which represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide, has recently launched the first industry-wide Responsible AI (RAI) Maturity Roadmap to provide telecom operators with the tools and guidance to test and assess their responsible use of the technology. Previously, GSMA launched the AI for Impact initiative wherein it collaborated with partners across the public and private sectors to commercially scale responsible AI for a better future.

Major consultations are going on to set up a regulatory framework for AI globally, with some of them already enacted into law. For example, on August 1, 2024, the European Union’s AI Act came into force, setting comprehensive regulations for AI systems across the EU.

In India, The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) last year recommended that the Artificial Intelligence and Data Authority of India (AIDAI) be set up as an independent statutory authority supported by a multi-stakeholder advisory body. TRAI also proposed a risk-based regulatory framework to categorize and regulate AI use cases, especially those with direct human impact.

In an attempt to tackle the growing menace of deep fake content on social media, the Ministry of Electronics And Information Technology (MeitY) released a draft of an upcoming law which decrees social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X to include watermarks and labels on AI-generated content.

On the occasion of the first foundation day of the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre, the Hon’ble Home Minister Shri Amit Shah launched the Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre (CFMC), a consortium formed by the representatives of major banks, financial intermediaries, payment aggregators, TSPs, IT intermediaries and States/UTs’ Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs), to curb cyber crimes using AI.

AI for Sustainability: the Greater Good
Apart from effectively managing cyber threats, AI is being used for building sustainable telecom networks. The telecom industry in India has adopted the greener networks strategy in order to save costs and achieve UN SDGs. A Nokia report states that approximately 85% of the energy for networks is not used productively.

With AI, network provisioning can become more intelligent, leading to significant savings on resources. As per Nokia estimates, AI powered networks can reduce energy consumption by up to 30%, cutting CO2 emissions and cooling costs by 70%. With these insights, TSPs in India are collaborating with tech giants to take advantage of these technologies.

Building a Promising Future with AI
While the telecommunications industry is rapidly evolving by integrating next-generation technologies like AI and ML to combat cybercrime and develop sustainable networks, its initial goal was to improve customer experience.

Now that there is conscious understanding of the potential AI/ML technologies possess, more such use cases will evolve and the telecommunications industry will continue to propel that course of innovation, setting standards and regulations wherever required.

(Lt. Gen. Dr. S.P. Kochhar is Director General, COAI; Views are personal)