Regulating Artificial Intelligence
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2023-07-24 16:10:23
About the Author
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
View all posts by this Author
Trai, the telecom regulator, has recommended the establishment of an independent and statutory regulatory body to help develop responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) across all sectors. It has said that the authority should be designated Artificial Intelligence and Data Authority of India (AIDAI). It has also said that the said authority will regulate use cases and consumer data.
It is well-documented that irresponsibly-used and unregulated AI has the potential to cause immense mischief and can dangerously disrupt systems and processes in almost all sectors. Apart from job displacement or loss and security and privacy concerns, AI can be used to spread misinformation through fake images and deep fake videos. It can lead to bias and discrimination and concentration of power, as also present ethical dilemmas. CJI D Y Chandrachud recently said that AI has the potential to perpetuate and amplify discrimination.
But if used responsibly, AI can be a game changer in many ways. Hence, regulating emerging AI technology in all sectors to see it is developed and used responsibly is a major challenge before governments all over the world, including India. But the pace at which AI is developing and the pace at which governments are taking steps to regulate it are not in sync. What is needed is a law that regulates AI as it is now but is flexible enough to incorporate changes with emerging trends. Any authority that is established to regulate AI must not be filled with bureaucrats who do not understand the technology. It must have domain experts and legal experts who specialize in emerging technology.
The case of India is particularly disturbing. Despite instances of serious data breach and regular tiffs the government has with social media companies, increasing cyber fraud and rising number of apps that ask for, store and use customer data, India still does not have a comprehensive data protection law. It does not have a law to regulate crypto. Knee-jerk reactions to emerging technology are like playing with fire. What India urgently needs is a comprehensive data protection law, a law regulating crypto and a law to regulate AI. The government must consult domain and legal experts, study worldwide trends and design these laws in a manner that they are flexible enough to incorporate changes as per emerging trends in respective fields to remain relevant.
