IT Secretary Krishnan Urges Human Oversight as AI Adoption Grows
Krishnan says AI should augment workers, improve public services and avoid dependence on any single technology supplier.
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India’s electronics and information technology secretary S. Krishnan said artificial intelligence should remain subject to human oversight as it spreads through workplaces and public services.
Speaking at the launch of the Voice of India AI evaluation platform in New Delhi on Tuesday, 4 August, Krishnan said organizations should use AI to augment workers while retaining human responsibility for its output.
“We must ensure that there is always a human in the loop,” he said. Human involvement was necessary to prevent errors and ensure AI enhanced “the capacity of the person doing the job,” he added.
Krishnan said he did not expect large-scale AI adoption to replace all labor. The technology could create new types of employment, including more highly skilled roles, he said.
“I, for one, certainly don’t believe this is necessarily going to be entirely labor-replacing,” Krishnan said. “I think it has the opportunity to create newer opportunities and different kinds of jobs, including jobs at the higher end.”
The position is consistent with India’s AI Governance Guidelines, released in November 2025. The framework says AI systems should be human-centered and that people should, where possible, retain final control over them. It describes human oversight as essential for accountability.
Krishnan said AI could help governments deliver services more efficiently, particularly when public agencies face limits on staffing and funding. He said the technology could support India’s ambition to become a developed economy over the next two decades.
However, he cautioned against excessive dependence on a single foreign supplier, company or country for models, computing infrastructure and other parts of the AI supply chain.
Krishnan said he preferred the term “strategic autonomy” to “sovereign AI.” India does not need to develop every component domestically, but it should maintain sufficient capability across the AI value chain and diversify its technology suppliers, he said.
“You will use inputs from a variety of sources, but you shouldn’t become over-dependent or entirely dependent on any one source,” Krishnan said.
The government has previously identified strategic autonomy in AI hardware and related digital infrastructure as a policy priority.
Krishnan also said India would eventually require AI regulation as the technology becomes more widely deployed.
“Some kind of regulation will have to come in at some point in time,” he said. “Probably the time is now to start thinking about it.”
He did not specify whether the government planned a dedicated AI law or would continue applying existing technology, privacy and sectoral regulations.
