Artificial Intelligence not threat for content creation economy: Union Minister Hardeep Puri

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri stated that artificial Intelligence is not a threat to the content creation economy, on the other hand, AI will help to revolutionize the creative economy or the content creating.

“AI is not a threat. Instead, it offers a chance to lower costs, expand revenue streams, reach a broader audience, and access previously unreachable markets” said Puri.

The minister was speaking at the launch of the ‘All India Initiative on Creative Economy (AIICE)’ event in Delhi on Friday which was organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in its 100th year.

However, the minister also 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.

Puri also mentioned that India is now the content capital of the world with 100 million content creators in the country and the advent of technology and digital means are now employing 8 per cent of India’s population.

“The positive impact of the advent of technology and digital means over the years can also be felt in the field of creativity even as its size as a ‘sector’ has now grown to USD 30 billion and is responsible for providing employment to 8 per cent of India’s population. In fact, a report by Goldman Sachs in 2023, which estimates that the global creative economy is set to double at USD 480 billion, indicates that India today has 100 million content creators making India the content capital of the world” said the minister.

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 USD 2 trillion and accounts for nearly 50 million jobs worldwide.

The minister also noted that with creative exports increasing by 20 per cent last year alone, generating over USD 11 billion, the industry is expected to see remarkable growth in the coming years.

Puri stated 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.

He said, “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 also 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.

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

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 present.