Editorial: Introduction to the Special Issue

Citation

Kumar, A. (2024), "Editorial: Introduction to the Special Issue", Public Administration and Policy: An Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 27 No. 2, pp. 124-125. https://doi.org/10.1108/PAP-09-2024-151

This is an introduction of the first part of the second issue of PAP 2024. This special issue on “Impact of Information Technology (IT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Anti-Corruption in India” contains selected articles from the “Global Conference on Emerging Technologies, Business, Sustainable Innovative Business Practices, and Social Well-being” held on 10 and 11 December 2022 in India. The conference was jointly organized by Confab 360 Degree in collaboration with Guru Nanak Institute of Management, Delhi, India; Sri Jairambhai Patel Institute of Business Management and Computer Applications, Gujarat, India; Narayana Business School, Gujarat, India; School of Commerce and Management, Mohan Babu University, Andhra Pradesh, India; Swami Vivekananda Institute of Science and Technology, Baruipur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India, and PT. Leo Jajaring, IImu, Indonesia. Dr. Nishu Ayedee and Dr. Monika Arora were the conveners of the conference, and Anuj Kumar was the editorial head of the Conference.

The first article “The complexity of corruption and recent trends in information technology for combating corruption in India” by S. Sri Sakuntala, Srinivas Sarakanam, Avinash Dhavan, Rashi Taggar and Garima Kohli explores the role of information technology in combating corruption and its impacts on Indian economy. The authors’ approach is to examine the application of technology on combating corruption by applying qualitative analysis. They have analysed various forms of documents related to corruption based on content analysis. The new technologies embracing artificial intelligence, big-data and e-governance are bringing transparency to the system and these technologies need to be further explored as their usage is in the initial phase. The Indian government also needs to consider the institutional and legal reforms to make the process more transparent and approachable.

The second article “Does ChatGPT foster academic misconduct in the future?” by Anuj Kumar, Arya Kumar, Sanjay Bhoyar and Ashutosh Kumar Mishra analyses the ethical usage of artificial intelligence and ChatGPT in generating educational content in academia. During the last one and half year, the usage of artificial intelligence and ChatGPT has been increased substantially by academicians and researchers. The technology has enabled the academics to work much faster, but the ethics and integrity need to be ensured. A balance has to be maintained so that technology should not overpower the role of human educators. The future scenario of academics and the related challenges are also investigated in this article.

The third article “Do independent directors enhance better corporate governance in companies in India?” by Akshita Arora discusses the role of independent directors in making various autonomous decisions related to corporate governance and further examines their role in a company’s decision-making process. The paper presents the scenario in which independent directors operate and how they are selected. This research is based on secondary sources including blogs, articles, etc. The findings suggest that though independent directors have been given the roles, they are not adequately empowered to function effectively. More powers need to be given to the independent directors, and their roles should not be influenced by senior management and other top officials. The independence can help them working more effectively.

The fourth article “A study of customer satisfaction in using banking services through Artificial Intelligence (AI) in India” by Asmat Ara Shaikh, Arya Kumar, Apoorva Mishra and Yasir Arafat Elahi examines how artificial intelligence is helpful in improving the customer experience in banking services. Since the usage of artificial intelligence is in the nascent stage, it takes time to see whether customers find it reliable or not. The regression analysis has been performed on 189 banking customers from four reputed banks. There is competition between human service and digital service, and the findings in India reflect that people still believe more in human service and found it reliable. Artificial intelligence serves as an advanced tool which can work alongside human but cannot replace it completely. AI is the future. Investment on the technology in banking will help save time and improve customer satisfaction.

The fifth article “Impacts and ethics of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) by the Indian Police” by Meena Rani analyses the usage of artificial intelligence by Indian Police and investigates whether it is ethical to use this technology. The author has collected information from articles and examined both positive and negative consequences of using artificial intelligence. The findings suggest that AI will be useful in preventing crime and identifying criminals. It can empower the police in some operations, but certain factors related to caste, religion, language and gender can cause conflicts. The ethical consideration in the usage of AI needs to be ensured and the challenges have to be addressed.