Technology Policy Affairs July 2022 - April 2023

Gaurav Sharma

The Indo-German Strategic partnership: Artificial Intelligence (AI) governance as the next milestone for cooperation and foreign policy engagement

AI governance is new and there are many open questions in India and Germany. The project seeks to study the current initiatives in Germany and India in curating the rightful AI governance framework and explore the peer-learning potential. The study shall also present apprehensions and issues on AI governance which might create problems in AI cooperation between India and Germany in the long run. The study shall focus on the AI initiatives of the Indian and German AI strategy respectively and compare it with focus on AI Governance. Particular attention shall be given to the respective policy initiatives and debates around advancing the AI governance frameworks. The study shall follow the proposed EU AI Act (EAA) debates within Germany and its international impact using the AI governance discussions in India.

Biography

Gaurav Sharma is currently on a sabbatical from his role as an Advisor on Artificial Intelligence for the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) in India. Gaurav Sharma was the Task Force-5 member of the Think20 (T20) initiative of the G20 from 2016 to 2020 on ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’. He served as the Ambassador for the ‘Global Leadership Academy’ for Asia and the Pacific region (2019–20) and heads the Alumni Hub for Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) in India. Mr. Sharma is the recipient of the German Chancellor Fellowship (2015–2016), by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. He was awarded the Crans Montana Forum Young Leaders award (2014) and was the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) Young Ambassador of India for the years 2018–2019. He holds a Master’s in International and European Security from Geneva, a post – graduate diploma in International Human Rights laws, Humanitarian Laws, and Refugee Laws and a bachelor’s degree in information technology (IT). Mr. Sharma is passionate about ‘people and planet’ and believes in technology driven transformative solutions. He is advisor to two NGO’s on frugal innovations in agriculture and girl child education. Gaurav Sharma has lived in 5 countries (Germany, Switzerland, India, Australia and Singapore) and visited 40+ countries and 150+ cities.

Publications

Gaurav Sharma writes regularly on the AI technology policy landscape in emerging economies. His most recent publication is, "AI Governance: The 'regulatory bottleneck' in the global south.