Govt Said To Be Working On Fresh AI Rules To Control Bias

The government is reportedly poised to amend the Information Technology (IT) Rules of 2021 to include regulations for artificial intelligence (AI) companies and generative AI models.

What Happened: The amendments are expected to mandate that platforms using AI algorithms or language models to train machines must be devoid of any “bias.” The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is likely to notify these amendments soon, necessitating AI models with inherent biases or trained on biased datasets to be barred from open use, the Economic Times reported, citing sources.

In addition to guarding against bias in AI and language models, the IT Rules amendments may introduce regulations for deepfake, synthetic content and explicit instructions for platforms dealing with loan apps. The parameters for bias encompass aspects such as caste, religion, community, and national security.

Why It Matters: Platforms will be legally obligated to adhere to these parameters, expanding the trust and safety framework of the internet, an anonymous senior government official told the business daily.

Consultations will be conducted on additional parameters to eliminate bias, ensuring the safety of AI models. These models must undergo sandbox and stress testing to detect and rectify biases before market release. The government’s decision to amend the IT Act might be prompted by the delayed release of the Digital India Bill, which includes provisions for algorithmic accountability.

The Digital India Bill, initially expected sooner, may now be delayed until after the general election. The amendment urgency arises from the rapid progress in generative AI technology. The advisory on deepfake and synthetic content will provide specific guidelines for platforms, and loan apps will face increased responsibility for preventing fraudulent advertising.

The IT ministry is likely to prevent such loan apps from operating in India through methods like whitelisting legitimate applications or implementing a banking gateway that blocks transactions through unapproved apps.

(The article is published under a mutual content partnership arrangement between The Free Press Journal and Benzinga)