‘Will regulate AI,' says MoS IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Digital India Bill

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology on Friday said that the government will regulate artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure it does not harm "digital citizens".

While giving a presentation on how far India has travelled in terms of digitisation in the last nine years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led centre, Chandrsekhar said that the government is working on a Digital India Bill, which will include provisions for regulating AI.

"We will regulate AI to ensure it doesn't harm digital citizens," Chandrasekhar said. "We will ensure that AI is used for good and not for harm."

He mentioned that 85 crore Indians use the internet, which is likely to increase up to 120 crores by 2025. "Toxicity and criminality have significantly increased on the internet. We won't let attempts to harm digital citizens succeed," he said.

The minister also pointed out that crimes such as doxing (posting private and identifying details of individuals on the internet with malicious intent and without their consent) have been on the rise and therefore, the central government will have to take stringent measures to tame it. 

"There is a boost of digital connectivity in the country, and it's the vision and mission of the government to ensure safety and security in cyberspace," he said.

Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics & Technology, said consultations with stakeholders on the Digital India Bill will begin this month. The new personal data protection bill will also be introduced in Parliament soon.

Under PM Modi's leadership, India is becoming a globally trusted partner, the minister added.

"In the manufacturing sector, we are seeing the emergence of world-class factories, huge investments and the creation of a big number of jobs," he said.

While mentioning that India is witnessing the fastest degree of 5G rollout, Chandrasekhar said that we have a high degree of indigenous 5G components.

The government's plans to regulate AI have been welcomed by some experts, who say that it is important to put in place safeguards to prevent AI from being used for malicious purposes. However, other experts have warned that too much regulation could stifle innovation in the field of AI.

His comments on the regulation of AI came after OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman recently met Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to India. While discussing the potential of artificial intelligence in India, he said that AI had been truly embraced in India.

He also talked about opportunities for AI in the country. Altman, who has urged the world to create regulations for AI, also discussed the same with PM Modi, in order to prevent misuse of the tech.

Earlier, Chandrasekhar has said that the country has its own experts and views on norms regarding AI, and that it is not necessary to have a single global body to regulate AI.

Chandrasekhar made the comments in response to a suggestion by Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, that there should be a single global body to regulate AI. Altman argued that this would be necessary to ensure that AI is used for good and not for harm.

Chandrasekhar, however, said that India is not in favor of a single global body to regulate AI. He said that India has its own experts and views on norms regarding AI, and that it is important for countries to have a say in how AI is regulated.

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