AI now operational reality, not speculative: CJI
Artificial intelligence is no longer a speculative technology but an operational reality and poses one of the most significant tests for international law, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant has said, underlining that choices made during this decade will shape the future relationship between technology, power, freedom and justice.
He also stressed that technology itself is neither inherently benevolent nor inherently harmful.
Speaking at a public lecture in Birkbeck College of the University of London on “Artificial Intelligence and International Law”, the CJI said, unlike previous technological revolutions, AI does not merely enhance human capacity, it increasingly participates in decision-making processes that were historically considered uniquely human.
“Technology itself is neither inherently benevolent nor inherently harmful. Its impact depends upon the legal, political and ethical frameworks within which societies choose to deploy it.
The responsibility of law, therefore, is neither to resist technological progress nor to surrender unquestioningly before it. Its responsibility is to ensure that technological power remains accountable to constitutional values, democratic legitimacy and human dignity,” he said. Justice Kant said AI is now an operational reality that is reshaping governance, commerce, warfare, communication, public administration, and increasingly, the exercise of judicial and sovereign power itself.
“Governments now utilise algorithmic systems to allocate welfare benefits, assess immigration applications, monitor borders, regulate financial systems and support policing functions. Militaries are rapidly developing autonomous capabilities. Courts across jurisdictions are beginning to confront questions involving AI-generated evidence, automated decision-making and digital due process. Private corporations possess technological capacities that rival, and in some instances exceed, the informational reach of sovereign states,” he said.
The organisers of the event did not allow questions on alleged hostilities towards dissent in India and asked the participants to stick to the topic of AI.
One of the visitors wanted to put questions to the CJI on India’s track record on protecting democracy in the age of AI. She also raised concerns on so-called hostilities towards dissent in India.
The CJI said AI poses one of the most significant tests for international law in its modern evolution and asserted that the choices made during this decade will shape the relationship between technology, power, freedom and justice for generations to come.
“The central challenge before us is to ensure that, in an age of intelligent machines, humanity retains authorship of the principles by which it is governed. If international law can rise to that challenge, artificial intelligence may become not merely a technological revolution, but an opportunity to reaffirm the values that lie at the foundation of democratic civilisation itself,” he underscored.
