Mumbai, June 30: The Maharashtra government on Tuesday said it will constitute an expert committee within 30 days to prepare standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the use of artificial intelligence (AI), even as Opposition legislators raised objections over the facial recognition system installed in the Vidhan Bhavan without their consent.
Replying to a calling attention motion on the misuse of AI-enabled smart glasses and surveillance devices, Minister of State for Home Yogesh Kadam said that the technology is increasingly used to simplify governance and other processes, but it can also be misused.
He said that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed the government to prepare SOPs on the use of AI through an expert committee comprising specialists in the field.
“The committee will be constituted within 30 days and is expected to submit its report within four to six months. The report will be sent to the Centre so that its recommendations can be considered while framing the national AI policy and legal framework,” Kadam said.
He noted that existing laws already provide for action if AI-enabled devices such as smart glasses are used to secretly record individuals and violate their privacy.
Security personnel at sensitive government establishments would also be trained to detect and deal with such AI-enabled devices, he added.
Expert Committee On AI SOPs
During the discussion, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aditya Thackeray questioned how the facial recognition system in the Vidhan Bhavan complex was created without obtaining the consent of MLAs, ministers and former legislators.
Thackeray sought details on where the facial recognition data was stored, which company was handling it, what privacy safeguards and firewalls were in place, and demanded a detailed statement from the government on the issue.
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Congress’s Aslam Shaikh said that legislators had never undergone iris scanning or biometric registration inside the legislature and questioned how the facial recognition database had been created.
If facial recognition could be generated from photographs, it raises wider privacy concerns for ordinary citizens as well, he said.
Ruling party legislators Sidharth Shirole (BJP), Chetan Tupe (NCP), and Namita Mundala (BJP) demanded that the government chalk out a framework for the use of AI.
Facial Recognition Privacy Concerns Raised
The minister said the matter did not fall under the state government's jurisdiction as the Legislature Secretariat functions under the authority of the Speaker.
“To the best of my knowledge, the facial recognition system appears to have been prepared using photographs already available with the legislature. However, the matter is under the Speaker's jurisdiction, and the Speaker will issue appropriate directions. If he orders an inquiry, the police machinery will conduct the investigation,” he said.
Kadam also reiterated that while Maharashtra would frame SOPs for the use of AI, the legal framework governing AI is expected to be enacted by the Central government.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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