India’s Calm in the AI of the Storm
Every major technological leap in human history—whether it be the printing press or the automobile or the internet—has been greeted by an uneasy blend of optimism and trepidation. Optimism for the opportunities each new technology offers—for change, evolution, empowerment, and growth. And trepidation that the new equilibrium might upend the established order, destroy jobs, devalue human dignity, or tear at the social fabric.
The same was always going to be true for artificial intelligence. Since its explosion into the mainstream around 2022, AI has inspired speculation, hope, fear, and an equal measure of utopianism and luddism. In competition-policy circles, AI was almost immediately flagged as a threat in the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union, despite the nascent sector being demonstrably dynamic, competitive, and innovative. This underscores that irrational fears, rather than evidence, have often driven public-policy reactions.
Against this backdrop, the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) recent “Market Study on Artificial Intelligence and Competition” arrives at a crucial moment. Its choice to study AI, rather than immediately move to endorse its regulation, marks a prudent and welcome departure from the premature, heavy-handed approach adopted in other jurisdictions. It may yet prove to be India’s biggest competitive advantage.