Concept Paper on AI prepared for first time in Nepal

Kathmandu: The government has for the first time prepared a Concept Paper on the use and practice of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The government developed the concept paper to determine the basis for formulating the related policy and laws on the use and operation of AI in the context of the country lacking these and given the growing use and development of AI the world over.

The technical committee constituted by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology prepared the concept paper after nearly five months of study. The Ministry had formed a five-member technical committee with Joint Secretary Anil Kumar Dutta as its coordinator as directed by Minister for Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma.

Ministry Under-Secretary Narayan Timilsina, the Information Technology Director at the Ministry’s Information Technology Department, Pabitra Dangol and the Lecturer at the Institute of Engineering Dr Baburam Dawadi are the members of the committee while the Ministry’s computer engineer Surya Prakash Upadhyay is the member-secretary.

The technical committee was formed on January 19. The committee has prepared a report on the concept paper and presented the same to the Ministry. The report has made recommendations to the government to enact the necessary policies, laws and procedures for the development, use and regulation of AI.

Pointing out the need to address the issues of cyber security, data protection and privacy at the policy level, the report suggested formulating a national policy related to AI, to make a national strategy, and framework of data protection along with legal bases for the use of AI and the privacy of users, to determine standard compatible with international standard of policies and laws incorporated in data safety and protection.

Similarly, Under-Secretary of the Ministry and member of Concept Paper Preparation Technical Committee, Timilsina shared that the report suggested building an integrated structure to exchange AI-related information by developing an integrated national portal, forwarding the research, development and use on the issue with priority, to run programmes to accelerate the use of AI.

‘A strategy should be taken to promote privacy protection, transparency and accountability, research on development and promotion of use of AI as well as increasing investment and collaboration,’ reads the report. The concerned sectors should keep the development and promotion of the use of AI in their policies, strategies and programmes a priority for the same, the report reads.