Bad news for ChatGPT? IT minister reveals India's plans to regulate AI

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that India is planning to regulate AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Google Bard.

Know what the Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said when asked on regulations in the field of AI. (HT PHOTO)

The conversation around regulations in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) is gaining momentum. Earlier this year, the European Union stated that they were working on drafting a new AI policy that will bring generative AI such as ChatGPT and Google Bard under its ambit. On Tuesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman gave a testimony in front of the US Congress, highlighting the need to bring regulations to the AI space. And now, Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has also hinted at India's plans to formulate a similar framework.

In an interview with The Times of India, the Union Minister said, “The whole world is looking at what should be the framework, and what should be the regulatory setup. In G7, all digital ministers (of G7 countries) are seriously concerned about what should be the regulatory framework. So, this is a global thing. This is not one country's issue. This has to be looked at from the international perspective”.

He also emphasized the need for a discussion at the international level to create a policy that is in sync with like-minded countries.

India can bring regulations on AI

In the interview, Vaishnaw also pinpointed several concerns that needed to be addressed. These, according to him, are around intellectual property rights (IPR), copyright issues, misinformation, and the bias of algorithms. The debate around these issues has increased since the advent of generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Bard, Dall-E, Midjourney, and others.

While the Minister did not reveal any plans for a separate policy around AI, he did highlight the need to bring a “cooperative framework” together with other nations.

The need for regulation

One of the most influential people in the AI space, ChatGPT creator Sam Altman, underlined similar concerns when he gave a testimony at the US Congress earlier this week. He said, “As this technology advances, we understand that people are anxious about how it could change the way we live…I think we also need rules, guidelines, on what's expected in terms of disclosure from a company providing a model…My worst fear is that we, the technology industry, cause significant harm to the world. If this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong”.