AI Regulation Consultation Paper Next Month, Says Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

The Indian government will release a consultation paper on the regulation of AI next month, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday.

Vaishnaw said the document will lay the groundwork for future governance of the technology across sectors, PTI reported.

"A decision has been made on how AI will be regulated in the future, and a consultation paper will be released next month," Vaishnaw said.

He said the framework focuses on addressing safety hazards and cybersecurity threats, while mitigating potential misuse such as deepfakes.

"This will cover AI safety, cybersecurity, the benefits and harms of AI, and especially ensuring that everyone benefits from AI. Every class in society should benefit from it," he said.

"To protect people from harmful things like deepfakes, a consultation paper will be released, which will then form the basis for AI regulations," he added.

Commenting on AI's impact in the agricultural sector via pilot initiatives, the minister said it has yielded measurable efficiency gains for farmers.

"A very good experiment with AI has been conducted, where around 40% crop yield has increased while water usage has decreased due to AI, and the need for fertilizer has also gone down," he said. 

Similar applications are underway in healthcare, including systems designed to accurately detect tuberculosis, as well as tools tailored for educational environments, Vaishnav pointed out.

Addressing educational reforms, the IT minister said the government has forwarded an industry proposal to the Ministry of Education to formulate an AI-focused curriculum for academic institutions.

"Along with this, a suggestion has come from the industry regarding creating an AI-based curriculum for students, youth, and young people; we have sent it to the Ministry of Education.

"The Ministry of Education, industry, and universities will all work together to figure out how to upgrade their course curriculum so that college students today can get the maximum benefits of AI," he noted.

Speaking on the wider socio-economic impact of AI and emerging tech, Vaishnaw highlighted that an extensive study was conducted in collaboration with the World Bank to explore methods to extend digital tools to underserved populations.

"The more AI is used in society, in agriculture, healthcare, and education, the more benefits we will see. An extensive study was done in collaboration with the World Bank on how people in society who normally don't have access to technology benefit from AI," he said.