If AI can replace people en masse, then we have reached a very dangerous tipping point: Bhutan PM Tobgay

You are here for the AI impact summit in India, and Bhutan is a guest like so many others. But at the end of the day, it’s clear that the AI industry today is dominated by two countries, only US and China. Is there a space for other countries to have a voice?

1.4 billion Indians under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I dare say, is more than a space. I know that India has the ambition and the mettle to pull it off and lead [the sector] too.

It isn’t just about India but other countries as well. Switzerland will be the next host of the AI Impact Summit, and Bhutan, presumably, in the future, can be the host. But can all the other countries that haven’t developed AI models yet going to be able to play catch up? The rules are already being set by the two big hegemons…

Therefore, all the more reason for India to work harder, faster, and lead the pack, really.

How does Bhutan see AI? Is it a is it seen as a tool?

I hope that AI remains a tool. I hope the big powers, US, China and India will ensure that it is a tool, a good tool, an efficient tool, a tool like no other. But I hope it remains a tool. In the wrong hands, this tool could become something more or be misused. So we need ethics, we need values. We need regulation. We need oversight. We need, as prime minister, Modi announced transparency, when he said he wants a glass box, not a black box.

Are you hopeful of new synergies between India and Bhutan when it comes to AI, especially as creating AI requires a lot of electricity?

Yes and the development cooperation between India and Bhutan has been most successful in just this area. It has been successful in a wide range of areas, of course but most successful in harnessing energy that is clean and green from Bhutan’s hydropower. Even as we speak, we are expanding our cooperation there, and we have ambitious targets to develop something like 25 gigawatts in the next 15 years. We are working with the Government of India. We are working with private firms in India, and that energy is going to be used for development of technology in particular. Much of our development of Artificial Intelligence is going to take place in the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), which his Majesty the King (Fifth King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck), has established as a special administrative region along the border with India. So, yes, we can do a lot together.

It has been two years since the [Bhutanese] King announced a plan for Gelephu.  How has it progressed? There is an airport now…

Gelephu always had an airport, but it was a domestic airport. That domestic airport is now operating international flights to India, and an international airport is being built. For that airport, the conceptual drawings based on His Majesty’s vision has been already completed by a world famous architect and his company. Gelephu mindfulness city, is going to be a hub for Vajrayana Buddhism, and many monasteries and universities and meditation centres, retreat centres  will be being built, and a lot of the infrastructure is coming up already. The old town is getting a facelift and will be upgraded to provide space that’s required to function. More importantly, the soft component, all the laws are in place. GMC has its own board and authority, own government structure, and so it’s already in operation. Many businesses have expressed interest. Tata Consultancy has an office in GMC, Tata Power is doing a lot of work, Adani power is doing a lot of work in developing energy, but also has a base in Gelephu. And we have many “founding members” for GMC (these include Gautam Adani), and we’re hopeful that we will get even more founding members from India.

During the covid pandemic, Bhutan was seen as crypto power. Do you see a space for more outsourcing, high tech, artificial intelligence, quantum computing in GMC?

Look, at GMC we have stability. We have proximity to India. We have a good friendship with India. We have Prime Minister Modi’s personal support for the Gelephu Mindfulness City . We have access to huge amounts of energy that is clean and green. We have an area that is clean and sustainable and liveable, and therefore we can do a lot together in this, in the technological space.

Even so, the GMC was set up with one big ambition, to bring jobs for Bhutanese, especially the youth. India too has this large population and manpower. How do you deal with the concern that Artificial Intelligence is going to take away jobs and not produce more?

Well, the obvious answer to that is to work even more on artificial intelligence. Jokes aside, there will be jobs, higher end jobs. As long as tools will remain as tools, you need people to handle the tools. Should the day arrive that tools don’t need human masters, we are in trouble, and this is the whole debate that’s going on. If artificial intelligence can replace people en masse, then we’ve reached a very dangerous tipping point.

Is building a global institution for governance a solution?

Every leader at the AI Summit has expressed a need for guardrails. They have all expressed a need for ethics and values and transparency and equity, also in terms of enjoying the benefits of AI. And every leader I’ve heard has expressed concerns about the lack of moderation, regulation, of oversight. So if political leaders are so concerned and they apply action to their concerns, then we should be able to moderate how AI is developed. I believe India is poised to provide that leadership in terms of moderation, because India is the seat of the world’s most ancient wisdom, ancient civilizations. If we ignore ancient wisdom, however, then I think this technology can get out of hand.