AI to Revolutionize Creative Economy, Not Threaten It: Minister Hardeep S Puri

Aug 23,2024

At the launch of the ‘All India Initiative on Creative Economy (AIICE)’ at an event today, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, congratulated the Indian Chamber of Commerce for conceptualising a forum where India’s creative industries could come together and collaborate on various matters related to the creative economy.

Highlighting his association with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which has played an important role in promoting the creative economy globally, he cited its ‘Creative Economy Outlook 2024’ report to emphasise that the creative economy generates annual revenues of over $2 trillion and accounts for nearly 50 million jobs worldwide.

In India, Shri Puri said, “the creative industry is now a $30 billion industry and is responsible for the employment of nearly 8 per cent of India’s working population.” With creative exports increasing by 20 per cent last year alone, generating over $11 billion, the industry is expected to see remarkable growth in the coming years, he added.

Shri Puri noted that an increasing number of Indians, especially the youth, believe creative industries to be more appealing while also offering career security. He stressed that this was an incentivising factor in boosting our creative exports.

He also acknowledged the role of Bollywood and other local film industries in the creative economy of India, highlighting that Bollywood is one of India’s most well-recognised soft power exports.

Addressing the gathering of eminent personalities from various creative industries, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri underscored the growth potential of content creation in India. He said that “India has become the ‘Content Capital of the World’. In 2023, there were more than 100 million content creators in India.”He further added that “we have the largest social media user base in the world; some of the fastest-growing social media networks find their biggest user base in India.”

The Minister talked about the vibrancy of urban spaces leading to the flourishing of the creative economy further. Highlighting the potential of content creation and creative economy in Indian urban spaces, he said that the creative industries, which were once based almost exclusively in Tier-1 cities and considered exclusionary for many aspiring creative artists, are now flourishing in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.

In his address, Shri Puri emphasised the profound impact of digitalisation and digitisation on the creative economy. He noted that these technological advancements have revolutionised various sectors.

A notable aspect of this transformation is the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Shri Puri highlighted that AI is increasingly being utilised in newsrooms, with 41% of news teams employing it to create illustrative art, 39% for social media content, and 38% for writing and generating articles.

Shri Puri reassured creative professionals who viewed AI with apprehension, fearing it to be an existential threat, by suggesting that AI also represents a tremendous opportunity."AI is not a threat," he asserted. "Instead, it offers a chance to lower costs, expand revenue streams, reach a broader audience, and access previously unreachable markets."

Shri Puri acknowledged the challenges AI presents, particularly concerning misinformation, copyright, intellectual property, privacy, and market monopolisation. He emphasized the need for a robust regulatory framework to address these issues effectively.

"The government is committed to designing and implementing policies that will safeguard intellectual property and ensure competitive markets," he stated.

Shri Puri concluded by underscoring the importance of dialogue among industry stakeholders and the government to address these challenges and leverage the opportunities that various emerging developments presents. A forum such as the AIICE, he said, was ideal to push forward these conversations and facilitate the continued development of the creative economy – a space for which he reiterated “the best was yet to come.”