Roll out of separate AI law in offing, says Krishnan

NEW DELHI: India appears set to move towards a dedicated regulatory framework for artificial intelligence, with IT secretary S Krishnan on Friday saying the time has come to look at a separate AI regulation.

Krishnan noted that while existing legal provisions have so far been adequate in addressing initial concerns on issues like deepfakes and AI-generated synthetic content, an “additional regulation or law may be needed”.

“It is a conversation which has commenced, and my Minister (IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw) and I have both been on record earlier that we will look at AI regulation when the time is right, and it appears that the time is getting right, and we will start looking at it,” Krishnan said.

He added: “We have used the IT rules, and other provisions of existing law to address various concerns that AI raises, but now, probably the time has come to look at a separate legislation.”

Asked about the timelines for bringing out a new AI regulation, the IT secretary said: “As Ministry, at an official level, what we can do is prepare draft legislation...when it finally comes out, is not something which I can comment, especially when it is a legislation.”

Last month, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said the current IT law was framed much before the rapid emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and that a new legal framework may be required to deal with the changing landscape.

Vaishnaw had said discussions are on with the industry and that the government will seek to strike a balance between innovation and regulation. Policymakers, across the globe, are grappling with challenges posed by generative AI, including deepfakes, misinformation, and online harms. India has been tightening IT rules to firmly crack down on AI deepfakes.

In February this year, the Centre brought in stricter obligations for online platforms on handling AI-generated and synthetic content, including deepfakes, saying platforms, such as X must take down within three hours any such content flagged by a competent authority or court.