Science & TechTech policy
AI risks have crossed a threshold and India needs a law, says Ashwini Vaishnaw
The IT minister says a consultation paper will come out in the coming weeks, a shift from India's earlier preference for handling AI through existing laws and rule changes.
Key points
- Vaishnaw said the risks of AI have crossed a threshold that calls for a law and new regulations.
- A consultation paper is due in the coming weeks, seeking views from citizens, industry and experts.
- In February the IT Rules were amended to make platforms remove flagged deepfakes within three hours.
India needs a dedicated law to govern artificial intelligence, Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said, signalling a change from the government’s earlier approach of relying on existing laws and targeted amendments.
The risks of AI “have crossed a threshold where we should come up with a law and new regulations,” Vaishnaw said at the NDTV World Summit in New Delhi on Friday. “We’ll be issuing a consultation paper in the coming weeks.”
The paper will seek views from citizens, industry, experts and other stakeholders before the government settles on how to regulate the technology. Vaishnaw said the ministry wanted to hear in particular from sectors that already use AI, such as banking, manufacturing, services, finance and insurance.
He stressed that AI must stay under human control, with safeguards for systems that behave unpredictably, including a way to stop one that goes out of control. “The race towards innovation has to be moderated by the safety of human beings,” he said. He also called for international cooperation, since AI systems cross borders.
On 8 October, Vaishnaw had said the consultation paper would be out within a month, with a focus on safety and on the harm done by deepfakes.
Until now, India has dealt with AI through changes to existing rules. In February, the government amended the IT Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules, 2021, to cover AI-generated and synthetic content, including deepfakes. Platforms must now take down flagged content within three hours of a direction from a court or competent authority, down from 36 hours earlier.