As artificial intelligence-based loan apps boom in India, some borrowers miss out
Top Searches
As artificial intelligence-based loan apps boom in India, some borrowers miss out
Reuters / Jun 9, 2021, 12:56 IST
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEMail
NEW DELHI: As the founder of a consumer rights non-profit in India, Karnav Shah is used to seeing sharp practices and disgruntled customers. But even he has been surprised by the sheer volume of complaints against digital lenders in recent years.
While most of the grievances are about unauthorised lending platforms misusing borrowers data or harassing them for missed payments, others relate to high interest rates or loan requests that were rejected without explanation, Shah said.
Summary
One of the key drivers of economic recovery in India will be the efficient movement of capital from inefficient firms to efficient ones. The economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic has been severe, and India’s economy was one of the worst affected in 2020–2021. Though the economy is recovering faster than initial estimates, sustained economic recovery will not take place if stressed businesses cannot restructure their debts properly or if failing firms cannot be resolved efficiently. India’s bankruptcy law is key to solving these challenges.
In 2016 India enacted the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), which was a landmark reform to the nation’s financial system and the first comprehensive law to regulate insolvency.
Key Takeaways
Regulate AI applications rather than the tech: Speakers largely agreed that rather than regulating artificial intelligence in general, the use cases of the technology should be regulated.
Data needs to be regulated too: In cases where data collected for AI applications could have problematic implications for the data subjects or their communities, then such data collection needs to be governed under specific regulations.
Self regulation may not be enough: Self-regulation within the AI industry may not be enough since it may not solve for the massive differential between the people developing the technology and the people affected by it. However, for low-risk applications, self-regulation could be explored.
Updated:
January 30, 2021 13:43 IST
Google said this month it had reviewed hundreds of lendingapps in India, and removed those that violated its terms on loantenure.
Share Article
AAA
Mobile lending apps have mushroomed in India and elsewhere as smartphone use surged
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Google said this month it had reviewed hundreds of lendingapps in India, and removed those that violated its terms on loantenure.
(Subscribe to our Today s Cache newsletter for a quick snapshot of top 5 tech stories. Click here to subscribe for free.)
Digital lending platforms in India have come under greater scrutiny recently for their methods, including the collection and alleged misuse of borrowers data, underlining the risks to driving financial inclusion with newer technologies.
Announcing Speakers: Data and Artificial Intelligence; Jan 28 #Ad Impact of Data Policies on Artificial Intelligence; January 28, 2021
We are happy to announce speakers for our online discussion on the impact of Data Policies on Artificial Intelligence, being held next week on January 28 (Thursday). We are going to focus on how access to data and applications of algorithmic and machine learning models on it is taking shape, in context of upcoming ecosystem changes and regulations. We want to understand how the utility of data and AI taking place, and what privacy protections encircle the use cases.
Registrations are open for this session, you can apply to attend