AI Regulations & Laws In India: A Step Towards Ethical AI Use

Living through the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the value of technology and AI as the world becomes increasingly dependent on technology. It has also revealed a dangerous side, and regulators are responding accordingly.

Governments across the world have taken various initiatives to define the guidelines and regulations to set the path to the ethical use of AI, and provide checks on misuse of AI and its applications. 

India joined the ranks of other countries regulating AI to form a protective environment. Principles for the responsible management of AI in India are aligned to the Constitution under Fundamental Rights (such as Article 14: Right to Equality; Articles 15 & 16: Right against Discrimination; Article 21: Right to Life and Healthcare; and Article 38: State Directive for Economic Equality) (Niti.gov.in, 2021) ¹. As of Jan 2022, there were no specific laws in India that relate to AI, BD, or ML (Singh et al., 2022) ².

The Indian Government proposes to hold a Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) meeting to discuss ways to tackle the danger of terrorists exploiting emerging digital technologies, from crypto and NFTs to 3D-printing and AI comprehensively (Indiatimes.com, 2022)⁵. Further, recognising that offences in the online world, including social media platforms, can be unique with no equivalent in the offline world. The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) is considering regulation of "deliberate" misinformation and doxingas offences under fresh legislation, which is expected to replace the Information Technology Act, 2000 (Barik, 2022 ).⁶

While there has been profound focus on development of AI and its applications, the Indian Government is now speeding up to formulate laws, policies and clear guidelines for regulating and governing AI.

Read more to understand how the Indian Government is now speeding up to formulate laws, policies and clear guidelines for regulating and governing AI.