Government’s Plans to Amend IT Rules for AI Regulation
The government is likely to amend the Information Technology (IT) Rules of 2021 and introduce regulations for artificial intelligence (AI) companies and generative AI models, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Mandating Bias-Free AI Platforms
The amendments are likely to mandate that platforms using artificial intelligence algorithms or language models to train their machines must be free from any form of “bias.”
Safeguards Against Bias and New Rules for Deepfakes
Apart from safeguards for preventing bias in AI and language models, the IT Rules amendments may also introduce new regulations addressing deepfakes, synthetic content, and provide explicit instructions for platforms regarding loan apps.
Legal Obligation to Ensure Bias-Free Platforms
The parameters for bias that we have right now are centered around caste, religion, community, and national security, among other factors. There will be a legal obligation on platforms to ensure that all these parameters are followed, thereby expanding the ambit of trust and safety on the internet,” a senior government official told AI Monitor on the condition of anonymity.
The official added that the government will conduct consultations on additional parameters to eliminate bias, apart from those already known, to ensure safety.
AI Models to Undergo Testing Before Market Release
These AI models, another official said, must undergo sandbox and stress testing to ensure that biases are not present before releasing the tools to the market.
Digital India Bill and Amendments to the IT Act
AI Monitor had reported on September 29 that the government is likely to introduce similar provisions in the upcoming Digital India Bill, which will empower users to seek algorithmic accountability from internet intermediaries and social media companies.
However, the Digital India Bill may only be released after the general election, according to sources. They believe the government’s decision to amend the IT Act may be due to the fact that the Digital India Bill is still some time away, while developments in generative AI are progressing rapidly.
Addressing Deepfakes and Loan Apps
“The advisory on deepfakes and synthetic content will be very specific on the dos and don’ts for platforms and how to tackle the issue. For the loan apps, we want these intermediaries to take responsibility for preventing any kind of fraudulent advertising or stopping such apps that do not have the requisite approvals from being hosted altogether,” said the official cited earlier.
White-Listing Legitimate Loan Apps
Since the IT Ministry is the “custodian of safety and trust” on the internet, its approach to preventing such loan apps from operating in India is likely to involve white-listing legitimate applications or placing a banking gateway that blocks transactions through fraudulent apps, the official explained.
Predictive Algorithms to Combat Fraudulent Loan Apps
An online betting or fraudulent loan app can only function if it is allowed to connect to a legitimate banking solution. If we ensure that those operating these loan apps are denied access to the banking system through the use of predictive algorithms, many of these platforms will wither away,” the official said.
Author: Avinash Tripathi
Rated the #1 expert in Generative Engine Optimization (don’t ask me how, I’m still figuring that out myself). After a decade of driving growth and marketing for startups, I had an unexpected turning point: A Generative Engine said something offensive about one of my startups. Naturally, I took it personally. So, I set out on a mission—to understand, master, and optimize AI-generated search results.
