Karnataka to release draft responsible AI policy by month-end
The Karnataka government is set to release the draft of its policy on responsible artificial intelligence (AI) by the end of this month, according to Shreevyas H.M., project director for the AI Cell under the Centre for e-Governance (CeG). He made the announcement while speaking at Karnataka AI Mantana, a dialogue series on AI-powered governance organised by the state government.
"A lot of thought has gone into the responsible AI policy by all the industry leaders and leaders from the government of Karnataka," Mr. Shreevyas said. The policy aims to provide a comprehensive framework to guide the safe, ethical, and transparent adoption of AI across government systems and public services.
The policy addresses various aspects, including governance of AI, handling of sensitive data, security of AI models, and implementation and coordination between departments. It has been evaluated by two sub-committees, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The development comes months after the Karnataka government constituted a Committee on Responsible Artificial Intelligence, chaired by Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan. The committee, which includes experts from industry, academia, policy, and law, was tasked with creating a framework for responsible AI use in governance.
Mr. Shreevyas also spoke about the AI Cell's work in building applications for better governance and citizen services. One such tool under testing is 'Kayaka', which will allow government staff to perform routine tasks such as drafting letters, translating documents between Kannada and English, and converting scanned documents into editable text through optical character recognition (OCR). The tool operates within a secure government platform and is expected to go live soon.
Highlighting the importance of AI literacy, Mr. Shreevyas noted that the government is conducting training for senior Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) officers, deputy secretaries, and other officials. He cautioned against the risks of using public AI platforms for official work. "For example, a section officer may upload a confidential document to ChatGPT or Gemini to improve the language, but that data stays with those platforms and may be available to others," he said.
In a related development, Priyank Kharge, Minister for Information Technology & Biotechnology and E-Governance, inaugurated an international conference on "Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Advance Sustainable Development Goals" in Bengaluru. The event was organised by the Wolverhampton-Bengaluru Centre for Research & Innovation (1WBCR&I), in collaboration with the University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom, and Dr. Manmohan Singh Bengaluru City University.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Kharge underlined the importance of responsible AI adoption to accelerate sustainable development and create meaningful social impact. "AI is not a saviour. It has no conscience, no courage and no compassion. But in the hands of people who possess conscience, courage and compassion, it becomes a force multiplier," he said. He added that the goal is to equip the next generation of innovators to solve real-world challenges using AI responsibly.
The Karnataka government has been actively promoting AI adoption in governance, with tools like Kartavya (attendance marking for 3.6 lakh government employees) and Nirantara (tracking attendance of 30 lakh government school students) already in use. The upcoming responsible AI policy is expected to further strengthen the state's AI ecosystem while ensuring citizen privacy and data security.
