"AI is recommendation system but data is decision-maker system": Chairman of National Statistical Commision

New Delhi [India], January 30 : Rajeeva Lakman Karandikar, Chairman of the National Statistical Commision on Friday shared his views on Artificial Intelligence (AI), and data, saying AI is a recommendation system where you explore, but data is a decision-maker system.
"Different people mean different things when they say use of AI. AI, what I would call is a recommendation system where you explore and it may throw up things which you have not thought of. But data is a decision-maker system, we are still far away from that," he said urging the need to work more in terms of the availability of robust data.
He said statistics is not science or art, but it is a combination of both. "Statistics is changing over time. Earlier time people used to say, what is statistics and how will you get data and what will you do with the data? But today, these other questions are no longer there."
"In today's time, even kids also know how to use data. So, we have moved a long way and with the dynamic change, we need to change our methodology, and this what led to an urge change the base year in the computation of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation and the Index of Industrial Production (IIP)," he said.
He further said, "However, any change is easier to talk than actually implement because at the time of making change, we don't want to go wrong either."
Earlier in the day, Secretary of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) Saurabh Garg had said "the revision of base years for key economic indicators is expected to significantly improve the quality and usability of data for AI and machine learning applications."
Garg said the base year revision will enable policymakers and decision-makers to rely on more accurate and contemporary data. "This updation gives a much more correct and robust picture of the economy, which can then be used effectively by policymakers going forward," he said.