Laws on AI, Cryptocurrency & New Technologies Soon: MoS IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar

On the heels of the G20 Summit leaders discussing how to harness artificial intelligence (AI) for economic development while protecting human rights, with some calling for global oversight of the rapidly evolving technology, India is also mulling a broad look that will put up ‘guard rails’ around all new technologies that can cause disruption, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MoS Electronics and IT, told CNN-News18.

The minister said the ‘Digital India Act’, which will replace the existing IT Act, will look into emerging technologies.

“We are certainly very clear that we intend to regulate AI and indeed every technology, emerging or existing, through the prism of user harm, reciprocal safety and trust. The Digital India Act, on which consultation will soon start, is going to replace the IT Act and is going to be a modern contemporary framework that will certainly deal with the issues of safety and trust. Not just from the conventional internet and what we have today, in terms of harms and criminalities, but also looking forward to AI and crypto and all challenges of new technology and disruption," he said.

“Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been very clear that we certainly don’t want to put brakes on or slow down innovation, but we certainly want to ensure that those changes are only for the good of our business and people," Chandrasekhar said, adding, “Those guard rails or principles for you to regulate user harm, we are fairly clear about that, and you will see them soon with the ‘Digital India Act’ as it starts consultation."

Chandrasekhar also talked about how the new economic corridor between India, the Middle East and Europe, which also includes a “data bridge", is a reminder of the key role of tech in economic prosperity.

“It is fair to say that this G20 presidency of India has brought to the mainstream the power of digital and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). As this G20 was a lot about shaping the future of a prosperous world and prosperity for all people in the world, digital is certainly at its centrestage. India is a remarkable case study for the countries of the world on how our Prime Minister has harnessed the power of technology to bring inclusion, create economic opportunity and prosperity. At the heart of it is the use of technology to bring people who had been excluded for many years into the mainstream of governance and development. As the World Bank report said, through technology, India has achieved in nine years what would have otherwise taken over five decades," he said.

The G20 summit also talked about planning for a future involving crypto assets and central bank digital currencies (CBDC). The MoS felt this was a recognition of what India has been saying for years.

“It is clear that the world’s nations are now almost certainly aligning with India’s views that we need global cooperation in cyberspace. All of these new disruptive technologies, including but not limited to AI, don’t find themselves restricted to geographical borders. The countries of the world will have to figure out a way of creating harmonised regulations and laws, so that user harm, whether it is from the AI or crypto, and the reciprocal concept of safety and trust on the internet are developed in partnership by like-minded countries, rather than one country innovating, regulating and policing on its own and the other not doing so," he said.