India's Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics, and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, revealed plans on November 23 to introduce regulations aimed at governing deep fakes, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's expressed concerns about the technology. Vaishnaw disclosed that discussions with academia, industry associations, and social media entities were underway as the Indian government endeavors to finalize the regulatory framework in the upcoming weeks, as per Reuters.
Deepfakes, a form of AI-generated video or audio, are sophisticated manipulations altering a person's likeness and voice within existing visual or audio content. Modi, in his initial comments during the G20 virtual summit, highlighted the need for international collaboration in regulating artificial intelligence and raised apprehensions regarding the negative repercussions of deepfakes on society.
Vaishnaw emphasized that the formulation of regulations will take into account penalties for both individuals uploading such content and the social media platforms disseminating it. This development aligns with a global trend where nations are hastening to craft rules governing artificial intelligence. In October, U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order mandating developers of AI systems posing risks to U.S. national security or public welfare to share safety testing outcomes with the government before public release.
At an international level, the United Nations established a 39-member advisory body to confront governance issues surrounding artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, European lawmakers have drafted regulations expected to be ratified in the upcoming month. Highlighting concerns about disinformation campaigns employing AI-generated deepfakes, Canada's primary national intelligence agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, voiced its apprehensions last November.
In a similar vein, Chinese authorities announced heightened scrutiny of the Web3 domain in August. Sun Jinfeng, the political commissar of the Cybersecurity Bureau, revealed 79 instances of fraud linked to deep fake AI, leading to the arrest of 515 individuals, underscoring the significance of tackling these issues at a global level.
