Thiruvananthapuram: In a significant move, the state government has decided to incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) into its governance framework. As part of this initiative, the government has tasked the Department of Information Technology with exploring the potential applications of AI across various sectors. A virtual task force has been constituted to study the scope of AI in governance and recommend follow-up actions.

With the official green light from the government, both the Kerala IT Mission and the Digital University have already rolled out several AI-based projects. Building on this momentum, the IT Mission is launching a new initiative employing chatbots to strengthen e-governance systems. A major highlight of this transformation is the development of an AI-powered unified service delivery platform. Slated to go live within eight months, the platform will consolidate up to 104 government services under a single digital umbrella. Although several e-service portals already exist, they mostly offer links to individual departmental websites.

The first phase of integration will combine services offered by the Revenue Department, the e-grantz scholarship application system, welfare benefits provided by the Social Justice Department, and ticket booking for KSRTC buses, among others.

Party Congress urged restraint in AI implementation 
During its previous party congress in April, the CPM raised concerns about the unregulated use of AI. In its political resolution, the party stressed the need for strict controls over AI technologies.

"AI will lead to a large-scale loss of white-collar jobs. It will be allowed to intervene in the delivery of services and schemes. It is alarming that AI is given a chance to intervene in critical aspects of people’s lives without human oversight. Moreover, it poses a serious threat to data privacy and could lead to massive data leaks, violating basic human rights. Therefore, stringent regulations on AI are essential," the resolution stated.