The Karnataka government has formed a committee on responsible artificial intelligence (AI) to prepare a policy framework for the safe and transparent use of AI across government systems and technologies that impact citizens.
The committee is chaired by Chris Gopalakrishnan, Co-Founder, Infosys, and co-chaired by N Manjula, Secretary, Department of Electronics, IT, Biotechnology, Science and Technology. It features experts from industry, academia, politics and law.
The committee held its first meeting in Bengaluru on Thursday. According to an official statement, members discussed the rapidly evolving AI landscape and the need for governance frameworks for technologies that impact citizens during their first meeting.
“The committee will develop a responsible AI policy and implementation roadmap for Karnataka, aimed at enabling innovation while ensuring that AI systems deployed across government are safe, fair, transparent and accountable,” the statement said.
The committee will submit an interim report within 60 days and a final set of recommendations within 90 days, officials said, adding that the report will outline the policy framework, risk classification system for AI applications used in governance and an implementation roadmap for adoption across departments.
The committee is considering creating responsible AI principles, policy guidelines for the state, and a framework for classifying AI applications based on potential risks and impacts.
The committee will also identify AI practices that should be prohibited or restricted, including social registration of citizens, unlawful or disproportionate surveillance, discriminatory profiling or exclusion, and automated decision-making in high-risk situations without meaningful human oversight, the statement said.
The conference is also expected to recommend safeguards and review mechanisms for high-risk AI applications in sectors such as social care delivery, healthcare, education, policing, employment, financial decision-making and public safety.
Other areas under discussion include data governance, privacy safeguards, transparency and accountability mechanisms, cybersecurity protection and the implications of artificial intelligence and social media technologies. The committee will also work on drafting procurement guidelines and vendor due diligence frameworks for AI systems used by the government.
IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge said the initiative aims to strike a balance between innovation and safeguards as the country expands its AI ecosystem. “The Responsible AI Committee brings together leading experts from industry, academia and policy to help shape a governance framework that encourages innovation while maintaining transparency, accountability and citizen trust. This initiative will help Karnataka continue to lead in building an AI ecosystem that is cutting-edge and responsible,” he said.
Chris Gopalakrishnan welcomed the initiative. “If we can leverage this opportunity effectively, Karnataka can become the first state in the country to develop a comprehensive framework for responsible AI, one that drives better services for citizens, creates 21st century jobs, and strengthens our innovation system. With thoughtful and responsible thinking, we can significantly accelerate the growth of the economy,” he said.
Separately, Karg, speaking in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, said the government was reviewing the state’s data center policy due to concerns over water and energy consumption.
Replying to a question from Doddaballapur BJP MLA Dheeraj Muniraj, the minister said there are 32 private data centers operating in the state. “We already have a data center policy, and we are reviewing it now,” he said.
Data centers are essential for technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning but require significant resources, Karg said. “Data centers are a necessary evil. Data centers are needed for artificial intelligence, machine learning and emerging technologies. But data centers also consume large amounts of water and energy,” he said.
Explaining the economic aspects, the minister said that a data center with a capacity of one megawatt requires about $An investment of 70 crores and about one acre of land. “One megawatt requires approx $70 Crores. One acre can produce one megawatt. We have to spend 25 million liters per megawatt per year for one data center. He said five questions on ChatGPT would consume 500ml of water.
Karg said the government is considering a ‘sustainable data centre’ policy and is looking at coastal areas like Mangaluru to set up future facilities. “Our focus is on Mangaluru and coastal areas. High-volume data centers will not suit Bengaluru, which does not have a port and faces water shortage,” he said, adding that facilities requiring more than 40 MW of power are considered high-volume.
He said he has written to the Telecom Ministry seeking support to set up a landing point for submarine cables in Mangaluru and is in discussions with private companies.
Muniraj alleged that Bengaluru was losing investments in data centers because the state was not developing dedicated data center parks. He also proposed setting up facilities at the proposed KWIN city near Doddaballapur, where around 6,000 acres would be acquired.
