Adopting AI for responsible and inclusive progress of humanity

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) evolves in its scope and application, its impact is being felt across business functions and industries. Today, AI tools are strategic catalysts, helping organisations improve the speed and quality of their operations, increase sales, and reduce costs.

After having unlocked a unique era of collaboration between humans and machines, AI is well-placed to be an integral part of an increasingly competitive business landscape.

As per findings of the survey titled ‘The AI Outlook: The role of AI in shaping tomorrow’s world’, we are at the threshold of yet another tech revolution, wherein AI is poised to redefine the way we work, live, and innovate. Conducted by the India Leadership Council (ILC) by The Times Group, in collaboration with KPMG in India, the report delves into how AI is viewed as a catalyst for innovation – driving the emergence of new business models over the long term. It also explores the importance of considering the various ethical and sustainable implications of AI.

The evolving AI landscape & sectoral impact

The AI journey has been nothing short of revolutionary. From relatively simpler applications such as image recognition and natural language processing, we have moved to Large Language Model based chatbot and Generative AI (GenAI). More recently, Agentic AI systems have come into the picture with advanced capabilities such as autonomous decision-making, reasoning plans that are changing the workflows of the future and charting new routes for industries to thrive.

Alongside these breakthrough models, hardware innovations have also played a crucial role in supporting the growth of AI. For instance, a legacy technology giant, founded in the late 19th century, is driving advancements in AI hardware through analogue in-memory and neuromorphic computing. Its analogue chips have been shown to outperform GPUs in running advanced Mixture of Experts (MoE) models.

Globally, as per KPMG International’s AI Quarterly Pulse Survey 2025, there has been a 45 per cent rise in investments pledged by leaders to scale their GenAI capabilities over the next 12 months. Tailored AI solutions are already helping to address the unique needs of various sectors having a substantial positive impact in fields such as healthcare, education, energy, industrial manufacturing, agriculture, consumer goods, automotive and finance. In India, GenAI, Machine Learning, and Predictive Analytics are at the forefront of its AI revolution. As per the India Leadership Council Survey, over 80 per cent of organisations in the country have ventured into GenAI use cases, highlighting its potential to drive innovation and operational efficiency.

Ethical AI and achieving sustainably goals

AI presents not just immense opportunities, but significant challenges too. There are, for instance, concerns around bias and fairness. Almost 76 per cent of respondents in the ILC survey said that aligning enterprise AI strategies with ethical AI principles was crucial. This suggests that organisations are mindful of the trust, transparency, fairness, and accountability for long-term AI success.

Ethical AI practices are more than just another compliance obligation. Due to the legal and societal sensitivities attached to AI, the technologies have to be deeply entrenched into the AI strategy. In fact, it needs to be meticulously integrated into every stage of its development and deployment, aligned with organisational goals and vision. Given the serious privacy and security risks attached to the vast amounts of data collected by AI systems, over 40 percent companies have cited it as their greatest concern. Vulnerabilities in handling sensitive data necessitates robust measures to protect personal information.

Furthermore, as per the ILC survey findings, 44 percent of the surveyed organisations have confirmed that AI will significantly contribute to sustainability, while 72 per cent of leaders believe that AI will support their sustainability strategies. That AI technologies have immense ability to contribute to sustainable development is evident in the fact that they are being leveraged to monitor and reduce carbon emissions, optimise energy consumption, and enhance conservation efforts for advancing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

AI for the greater good of all

Around 64 percent of executives surveyed in the ILC report envisaged an AI-led transformation that would reshape industries and create new business models in the next three years. The innovations on the horizon include multi-agent systems, Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), quantum AI, and small language models, among others.

Analysts estimate that AI could add over $15 trillion to the global economy by 2030. The actual impact will depend on how well the capabilities of AI are harnessed and how ethically responsible we collectively design it to be.

On the security front, transparency in AI decision-making processes will have to be made mandatory across sectors. With AI at an inflection point, it is undeniably going to transform the future of work. Going forward, organisations have a clear priority: embrace AI as the harbinger of economic prosperity and business innovation, while committing to responsible and inclusive progress of humanity.

By doing so, they will harness the power of AI to its fullest, creating a technologically advanced, and equitable future.

A version of this article was published on October 09, 2025 by ET Insights.com. The same can be read here