According to a press release by PIB, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D, and Chairman DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat launched the Evaluating Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (ETAI) Framework and Guidelines for the Armed Forces in New Delhi on October 17, 2024. The ETAI Framework and Guidelines play a pivotal role in the country’s approach to integrating Trustworthy AI into critical defence operations. 

In his address, the Chief of Defence Staff underscored the urgent need to incorporate trustworthy AI, pointing out that recent global conflicts have demonstrated how AI is revolutionising modern warfare. He stressed that it is essential to ensure these systems not only work as intended but are also resilient to attacks from adversaries. He congratulated the Scientific Analysis Group for developing the ETAI Framework and praised their efforts in advancing the trustworthiness of AI in defence applications. 

The DRDO Chairman pointed out that reliability and robustness are no longer optional but are essential to prevent mission failures and unintended consequences. He highlighted that AI applications are required to be reliable, robust, transparent and safe for the success of future operations. 

Distinguished Scientist & Director General, Micro Electronic Devices, Computational Systems & Cyber Systems Smt Suma Varughese stated that the ETAI Framework is a risk-based assessment framework developed specifically for the defence sector. Its principles, criteria, and measures are equally applicable to other sectors. She affirmed that DRDO will play a key role in implementing the framework and assured that all necessary support will be provided to ensure its success. 

The ETAI Framework focuses on five broad principles: Reliability & Robustness, Safety & Security, Transparency, Fairness and Privacy. It further defines a comprehensive set of criteria for evaluating trustworthy AI. Complementing the framework, the ETAI Guidelines provide specific measures to be implemented in the AI pipeline to meet these criteria. The framework and guidelines offer developers & evaluators a structured approach to build and assess Trustworthy AI. 

Source: PIB