Tamilnadu has just made tech history by becoming the first Indian state to come out with its own AI, blockchain and cybersecurity policies. Called the Tamil Nadu Safe and Ethical Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain and Cybersecurity policies, the policies were unveiled by Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami during the 19th edition of Connect 2020.

The policy recommends the Six-Dimensional TAM-DEF Framework for evaluation of AI-based systems. The framework’s factors like transparency & audit, accountability & legal issues, misuse protection, digital divide and data deficit, ethics and, fairness and equity, ensure that the evaluation is aligned to democratic values, said Santosh Mishra, CEO of Tamilnadu e-Governance Agency (TNeGA).

In addition, Tamilnadu will be roling out Knowledge Proof Identity Based Services Delivery Project, which will be a smart urban governance project. The project will be implemented by establishing and leveraging the State Family Data Base (SFDB) and Block-Chain Backbone infrastructure. A strong blockchain system will work as a single trust anchor for all governance processes. In addition, cybersecurity measures will be structured to safeguard citizen data. The policy will also develop a Comprehensive Security Risk Reduction Strategy and establish enterprise approach to security policy and governance.

"This pioneering initiative will take the Government to the Citizens, thus eliminating the need for the citizens to request G2C (government to citizen) services," the Chief Minister said.

Information Technology secretary Hans Raj Verma said that the three policies are “foundational in leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain technology”.

Santosh Mishra, Chief Executive Officer of the Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency (TNeGA), said that the “unveiling of the policies is the transformative phase for emerging technologies in Tamil Nadu”.

"With the emerging technologies, the government will build an eco-system to derive its maximum usage," he said.

Mishra said that the Tamil Nadu e-governance goal of the Safe and Ethical AI Policy is to allow harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the public good while keeping it safe and ethically compatible with human values.