Rajeev Chandrasekhar, India’s vivacious IT minister, has teased the release of AI guidelines as well as the publication of “one of the largest publicly assembled datasets in the world” as part of an upcoming IndiaAI program that will outline how the country employs AI.
“One of the world’s largest publicly compiled and accessible datasets will be the program. It will undoubtedly propel and catalyze the next generation of fintech and other areas of the internet by working with the fintech ecosystem.”
The dataset and the reasons it will alter how the internet works were not discussed in detail by Chandrasekhar. Yet, India has access to a wealth of financial data. Each month, the government-run Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processes billions of transactions and connects to various other financial institutions and payment systems. The dataset might help the country achieve its stated objective of leading the international discussion on AI ethics.
At a FinTech Conclave conference, Chandrasekhar declared that his administration would include rules for AI in the upcoming Digital India Bill, which is being hailed as a groundbreaking set of rules to replace the current IT Act, which is 22 years old and, as the minister points out, never once mentions the internet. The upcoming measure is anticipated to be highly comprehensive, addressing everything from online behavior to telecom regulation.
The bill will have “guardrails” for AI, “in the context of user harm, in the context of open markets and competition, and in the context of accountability,” Chandrasekhar stated at the Conclave.
He explained those restrictions in terms of India’s method of technological regulation.
The government he works for is not concerned about dominating digital platforms, he added but is aware of the potential risks that could result from their control. “Openness is our policy objective,” he said.
He stated, “We demand fair and free choice. “Big tech and the phenomenon of prevailing online platforms are actual phenomena. We must ensure that market dominance does not limit customer choice or obstruct undistorted access to services.”
We would intervene if we believed that dominance was preventing customers from making their own decisions.
Nobody, least of all those involved in digital payments, “should be of the perspective that a particular market share means they can play fast and loose in a sector,” he said.
Tomorrow is the start of consultation on the Digital India Bill. India does not currently have data protection legislation due to the failure of a bill to pass despite years of negotiations, thus the draft law is highly awaited.
The Digital India Bill is rumored to have provisions that address data protection as well as rules governing over-the-top apps and voice services, which might result in streaming video businesses being subject to the same regulations as broadcasters. Laws to address hateful online speech are also anticipated, as are regulations governing social media.
