April 6, 2024
2 mins read

India Urges Digital Giants to Fix Platforms After Microsoft Warning

The Central government has taken a tough stand at Artificial Intelligence-generated content, deepfakes ahead of polls, reports Asian Lite News

 As Microsoft warned India about China’s plan to create and amplify AI-generated content to “benefit its interests” amid the seven-phase elections starting April 19, the Centre has come down heavily on global digital companies, asking them to fix their platforms as part of a new advisory around AI and its potential misuse during polls.

With major elections taking place around the world this year, particularly in India, South Korea and the US: “We assess that China will, at a minimum, create and amplify AI-generated content to benefit its interests,” according to Clint Watts, General Manager, Microsoft Threat Analysis Center.

According to exposure management company Tenable, misinformation spread through AI-generated deepfakes and fake content are the biggest threat to the upcoming polls.

“The biggest threats to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are misinformation and disinformation as part of influence operations conducted by malicious actors against the electorate,” Satnam Narang, Senior Staff Research Engineer, Tenable, told IANS recently.

Alarmed at AI’s potential misuse, the Centre last month said that social media intermediaries “must not permit any bias or discrimination or threaten the integrity of the electoral process.”

School students create a ‘rangoli’ depicting Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) to raise awareness among people to vote in the upcoming general elections, in Chennai on Thursday, March 28, 2024. (Photo: IANS/R. Parthibhan)

A new IT Ministry advisory now specifically deals with AI, which says that digital platforms have to take full accountability and cannot escape by saying that these AI models are in the “under-testing phase.”

“It is reiterated that non-compliance to the provisions of the IT Act and/or IT Rules would result in potential penal consequences to the intermediaries or platforms or its users when identified, including but not limited to prosecution under IT Act and several other statutes of the criminal code,” according to the advisory.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a conversation with Microsoft Co-founder Bill Gates late last month, also expressed concerns about deepfakes in a democratic country like ours.

“I have engaged with leading minds on AI and its risks. I suggested that we should start with clear watermarks on AI-generated content to prevent misinformation. Proper sources of AI-generated content should also be mentioned,” PM Modi emphasised.

“Someone can even misuse my voice to deceive people and such a deepfake can trigger widespread uproar. We need to think about creating robust dos and don’ts on deepfakes,” the Prime Minister told the billionaire philanthropist.

ALSO READ: China Plans to Disrupt Indian Elections Using AI, Warns Microsoft

Previous Story

China Plans to Disrupt Indian Elections Using AI, Warns Microsoft

Next Story

Yellen Urges China to Address Industrial Overcapacity

Latest from -Top News

Gita Gopinath to Exit IMF in August

The IMF’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva confirmed Gopinath’s departure and said a successor will be named “in due course.”…reports Asian Lite News Gita Gopinath, the First Deputy Managing Director of the International

Jagdeep Dhankhar Resigns as Vice President of India

Citing health-related concerns, Dhankhar’s resignation, with two years still remaining in his tenure, has taken the political establishment by surprise and triggered a fresh constitutional process to elect his successor. Jagdeep Dhankhar,

Adieu VS

In a state known for political theatre, V. S. Achuthanandan remained refreshingly unscripted — a leader whose moral authority often outshone official power. V. S. Achuthanandan, the iconic Marxist leader, lifelong crusader

Fragile Peace in Sweida Gains Regional Support

Jordan, Syria, U.S. discuss Syria’s Sweida ceasefire in Amman as more Israeli Druze cross border to Syria to fuel tensions Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Syrian foreign affairs chief Asaad Al-Shaibani, and

The illusion of normalcy in Israel

As people are trying to heal from the scars of war and resume their everyday lives, for those of us living in Israel, normalcy feels like an illusion — fleeting, easily shattered
Go toTop

Don't Miss

India Hits Back at US Media’s Allegations on Pannun Case

The Ministry of External Affairs’ Official Spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, stated

US Special Operations Command leadership visits India

The meetings were part of a routine visit by Clarke