Call for new AI intermediary definition splits New Delhi

Summary

Lawyers say a European Union-style AI law would be in the right direction, Big Tech executives are pushing for “sector-wise AI rules, rather than an overarching law.”

NEW DELHI: Six months after the Centre proposed an amendment to regulate artificial intelligence-generated content on social media, policymakers are discussing if such oversight should begin even earlier—by defining AI intermediaries and how they differ from other online platforms.

While the jury is still out on the need for a standalone AI law, lawyers and Big Tech firms have made representations to India’s ministry of electronics and IT (MeitY) and policy whitepapers have been submitted on why AI intermediaries need a separate definition that differs clearly from India’s social media intermediary rules, Mint has learnt.

IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said 8 October that his ministry would release a consultation paper for a dedicated AI law. Talk of such a law came in the backdrop of instances of grey-area content action by AI platforms—most notably, Elon Musk’s X-owned Grok and its sexual imagery generation on social media—through the year.

Calls for a European Union-style AI law have split New Delhi. While lawyers say such a law would be in the right direction, Big Tech executives are pushing for “sector-wise AI rules, rather than an overarching law.”

“With AI, the user and the platform share liability of content generated since it is the user that puts in the prompt. Certain court verdicts around the world have underlined that AI platforms do editorialize the content generated to a certain extent, complicating questions around their intermediary status and safe harbour protection,” a top executive at a leading Big Tech company said, requesting anonymity because conversations on the matter are private.

India is one of AI’s biggest markets. OpenAI has said that India has over 100 million weekly active users.

Shouvik Das