Industry must take primary responsibility for AI risks: Vaishnaw

The government plans to release a consultation paper on AI regulations within a month, Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. The proposed framework will focus on AI safety, deepfakes, skilling, human impact and a techno-legal approach

New Delhi: Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday that the government plans to bring out a consultation paper on artificial intelligence (AI) regulations within a month, with a key focus on ensuring AI safety and curbing the dangers posed by deepfakes.

“I will request the department to come out with a regulation-focused consultation paper, which focuses on safety. That’s the most important point — safety related to AI use,” the minister said at an event.

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Vaishnaw pointed out that deepfakes are a nuisance that can cause huge problems in society.

“People believe them, and it sets a totally wrong precedent. It sets out a totally wrong narrative, and people get lured into doing wrong things and believing wrong things,” he said.

The minister further stated that the consultation paper will focus on skilling, safety and ensuring that no one is left behind as AI technology advances.

He emphasised that the human impact of AI must remain at the centre of the regulatory approach.

The minister said AI cannot be governed through legislation alone and called for a combination of technology and regulation. “We have to bring a techno-legal solution,” he said, adding that stakeholders would need to be brought on board.

Vaishnaw said that the industry would have to take primary responsibility for tackling the risks associated with AI amid the mounting menace of cyberattacks and deepfakes.

The government’s India AI Governance Guidelines, released earlier this year, have already outlined a principle-based approach centred on trust, people-first governance and responsible AI innovation. The framework also identifies misinformation, deepfakes, algorithmic bias and unintended societal harm among the major risks that need to be safeguarded against.

The guidelines recommend reviewing existing laws to identify regulatory gaps around AI, including issues such as liability, data protection, copyright, content authentication and the misuse of generative AI. Besides, they propose setting up an AI Governance Group, a Technology and Policy Expert Committee and an AI Safety Institute.

The government has separately been working on deepfake detection and responsible AI initiatives under the ‘Safe & Trusted AI’ pillar of the IndiaAI Mission. These include projects focused on deepfake detection, privacy-preserving AI, bias mitigation and AI risk assessment.