Both sides reaffirmed the importance of building an international forum to ensure human-centric development and use of artificial intelligence in compliance with international law.

Fremont, CA: Artificial Intelligence is transforming organizations and now this emerging technology is bringing two nations closer through collaboration. India and Germany signed a joint declaration of intent in research and development in the field of AI. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, said in a joint press statement after the Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the powerhouse like Germany will prove to be valuable for India’s priorities. Modi said, “We are looking forward to increasing cooperation in areas like new and advanced technology, skills, education, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence.”  Merkel agreed on the emphasizing on areas such as AI and digital transformation.

Merkel said, “India is developing very fast when it comes to digitalization, and the challenges pertaining to 5G and AI will be solved if we cooperate.” Both countries will be addressing several issues about cybersecurity and launch dedicated research on artificial intelligence. The Department of Science and Technology (DST) launched the interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems program encompassing elements such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT). The existing Indo-German Science and Technology center will become headquarters for the new initiative.

Both sides reaffirmed the importance of building an international forum to ensure human-centric development and use of artificial intelligence in compliance with international law. In the joint statement, both sides agreed on the vitality of building a digital partnership that intensifies the regular interaction and coordination in the direction of collaboration on the next-generation technologies. The countries have each other’s support in identifying the optimal approach to cybersecurity and formulate methods to recognize areas of cooperation. In the collaborative partnership, both the countries will work together to undertake joint bilateral and/or multilateral research and development activities on the development and use of AI.

According to the partnership, both countries intend to engage in further cooperation by nurturing multidisciplinary research and development in AI by sharing expertise and best practices. The focus on areas such as health, mobility, environment, and agriculture offers vast possibilities to enhance cooperation and build on each other’s comparative advantages. Modi and Merkel emphasized the unique opportunity to improve Indo-German collaboration in the areas of AI for health, precision farming to increase efficiency, reduce food losses and waste, and save resources. Thus, Indian and German digital companies will jointly work towards enhancing the scope of market opportunity and thriving tech ecosystems.