On 20 July 2023, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released its recommendations on 'Leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in Telecommunication Sector' (Recommendations). The Recommendations were issued in response to a consultation paper floated by TRAI and seek to address various challenges and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Data in the telecom sector.

Challenges and opportunities in the adoption of AI

  • Need to regulate AI: AI continues to captivate the world with its widespread application cutting across various sectors including healthcare, banking, gaming, legal, finance, etc. Yet there are several challenges that persist alongside its rapid growth. For instance, the bias associated with AI can impact your ability to get a loan or even the success rate of your job application. These concerns are also aggravated with the lack of "explainability" and accountability, increased risk of AI surveillance and potential spread of disinformation surrounding AI systems. In light of this, TRAI has recommended that the government should take cognisance of the risks associated with AI and prepare a regulatory framework immediately to regulate AI in India that should be applicable across various sectors.
  • Ways to regulate AI: TRAI also mulled over effective ways to regulate AI, i.e., whether it should be through self-regulation or regulation by authorities, whether the regulation should be on the AI technology or its use cases, etc. Notably, TRAI recommended the establishment of an independent statutory authority called the 'Artificial Intelligence and Data Authority of India' (AIDAI) for ensuring development of responsible AI and its use cases in India. TRAI also suggested a risk-based approach for regulation of AI such that the use cases involving high risk that directly impact humans are regulated through legally binding obligations.
  • Facilitating the availability of data for AI: To alleviate the issues around lack of access to quality datasets for training and validation of AI models, TRAI has emphasized the need to enable mechanisms for data sharing and open data strategies. TRAI also acknowledged that the large amount of data availability to public, private, academic and research actors would provide key economic benefits, increased citizens engagement, attractive environment for investors and accelerating innovation. To address any data privacy related concerns, TRAI has highlighted the importance of enacting the data protection bill to regulate data use, restrict the use of personal data without consent, regulate cross-border data transfer, and address other related issues.

Integration of AI in the telecom sector

It has been said that AI and 5G will be the key drivers of the future of innovation. The role of AI has been and will continue to be instrumental across all sectors, including the telecom industry. The vast amount of data held by telecom service providers, ranging from user interactions to network traffic to device telemetry, has immense potential to offer valuable insights to other entities. TRAI has identified various areas such as know-your-customer (KYC) verification, network security, monitoring of grievance redressal system, curbing spam and phishing messages etc., where AI could be used to enhance efficiency.

Facilitators driving the proliferation of AI

  • Need for AI specific infrastructure: TRAI has noted that the creation of dedicated AI infrastructure would provide a platform for startups and enterprises to develop and run AI models in an optimised manner enabling them to focus on their core competencies while reducing the burden on developers. In this regard, TRAI has recommended that specific requirements of AI infrastructure should be periodically assessed by AIDAI and recommended to the government.
  • Skill development: TRAI acknowledged that the current courses and programs related to AI / machine learning (ML) offered by institutions and universities in India may not be adequate to meet the capacity and competence required to develop and deploy AI solutions or products in the telecom networks. In this light, TRAI has suggested that the Department of Telecommunications along with certain other ministries and government departments, should form a committee and evaluate the current and future demand for AI / ML professionals and skilled workforce in India and propose technical programs to enhance their availability accordingly. The committee should also recommend methods for industry-academia collaboration to design and enhance AI-related curriculums to meet the necessary skillsets.
  • Privacy enhancing techniques: Privacy has consistently been a significant concern in the context of AI and Big Data. In order to alleviate such concerns, TRAI has highlighted the importance of privacy-enhancing and privacy-preserving technologies to safeguard sensitive and confidential information. However, the use of such privacy enhancing techniques presents its own challenges and limitations. Hence, AIDAI has been entrusted by TRAI with the responsibility of promoting the adoption of future technologies and innovative architectures concerning AI models.

Comment

With the application ranging from search engines and voice assistants to smart devices and robotics – AI is increasingly becoming a prominent subject of interest globally. Despite the numerous benefits that AI brings, its adoption poses challenges due to the complexity of implementation, ethical considerations and data privacy concerns.

The forward-looking recommendations provided by TRAI on harnessing AI and Big Data in the telecom sector is not only timely and valuable for the growth of the industry, but also paves the way for an exciting future in telecommunications and technology in India. TRAI is also actively advocating the use of AI and ML for purposes such as subscriber verification and curbing spam. It is imperative that the Recommendations are acted upon promptly and in earnest to catapult India at the front of the global race.

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