On July 20, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India released a 138 page report which issued recommendations on artificial intelligence (AI). TRAI stressed on the urgent need for a risk-based framework for the regulation of AI use cases.
TRAI is recommending that the regulatory framework should have independent statutory authority – Artificial Intelligence and Data Authority of India (AIDAI). It also recommended that AIDAI be tasked with framing regulations for responsible AI, enforcing principles of responsible AI and drafting model regulations.
In the recommendations issued, MEITY needs to be designated as the administrative ministry for AI as per TRAI.
The report and recommendations has resulted in fierce opposition from the technology industry to the creation of more laws or to the establishment of a statutory authority. They argue that this could gravely affect the AI ecosystem in India which is at an evolving stage.
As quoted in the Economic Times, Ashish Aggarwal, vice president and head of public policy, Nasscom who terms the intervention as disjointed and disproportionate, stated that AI needed supervision for its responsible usage and scale of adoption, and the creation of more laws or statutory bodies could lead to uncertainties which could be avoidable in the first place.
One of the recommendations put down by TRAI is recommending an independent statutory authority, AIDAI. The Telecom regulatory authority also highlighted that AIDAI be given the mandate of framing regulations for responsible AI, enforcing principles of responsible AI and drafting model regulations.
It was reported that TRAI had also recommended that its previous body Data Digitisation and Monetisation Council (DDMC) be named AIDAI. Previously, the mandate of the body was to look into and study the use and impact of upcoming technologies such as AI and its impact on data ethics.
Ongoing regulatory reforms, Digital Personal Data Protection Bill (DPDPB) and Digital India Bill (DIB) will see AI play a big role in the protection of personal data and its evolution, it was reported.
Last week, the government released a clause in the revised draft of the DPDPB. The draft enabled the usage of AI chatbots and search engines to delete personal data which was available publicly. In the case of DIB, it will have provisions to regulate emerging technologies which also includes AI.