India Objects to Pak AI Tech Centre's Membership

New Delhi, Jul 11 (PTI) Think tank Digital India Foundation on Friday said it has strongly objected to Pakistan AI Technology Centre's application for the membership of AI Alliance Network.

Digital India Foundation is a founding member of the AI Alliance Network (AIANET) comprising 17 international organisations, of which three are from China.

In a letter to AIANET, the DIF said that given Pakistan's systemic support of terrorism, the ongoing scrutiny of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the potential weaponisation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) through AITeC's specialized labs, and the lack of institutional accountability or ethical oversight in Pakistan's AI ecosystem, pose a serious threat to India's national security

"As a multilateral alliance of institutions committed to the ethical, transparent and peaceful development of AI, AITeC's application, if accepted, poses serious risk to the AIANET's credibility, security and shared values," DIF said.

The think tank said that the autonomous AI and decision support lab, computer vision lab, and software optimization for edge computing lab are equipped with capabilities that can be easily redirected toward offensive cyber operations, cross-border attacks, and autonomous targeting systems.

"These technologies, in the hands of a state apparatus with a history of harbouring terrorist groups and undermining regional stability, pose an unacceptable security risk," DIF said.

The think tank further said that Pakistan's AI trajectory is heavily influenced by military-led initiatives, including the Pakistan Air Force's Centre of Artificial Intelligence and Computing (CENTAIC), which prioritises defence applications over civilian innovation.

"The membership application of AITeC should be seen as Pakistan's way of gaining access to our R&D and technology with the aim of weaponizing AI through their specialized labs. We need to ensure that this does not happen," DIF Co-Founder and Head Arvind Gupta said.