Delhi HC seeks Centre’s stand on AI and deepfakes regulation

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday sought Central government's response in a PIL regarding the absence of regulations for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deepfake technologies in the country.

Filed by advocate Chaitanya Rohilla through advocate Manohar Lal, the PIL seeks a directive for the Centre to identify and block websites providing access to deepfakes and AI, along with the establishing guidelines for their regulation.

It also urged the court to ensure fair implementation of AI and issue guidelines for access to AI and deepfakes in accordance with the fundamental rights as mentioned in the Constitution of India.

The bench of acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna acknowledged the complexity of AI and deepfake issues, stating that these are challenging areas to address, and stressed the importance of understanding technology's significance, and recognising its benefits in certain aspects.

The Centre’s counsel noted that the matters raised in the PIL fall within the realm of lawmaking, and the government is already addressing them.

The court, however, observed that finding a solution to the issues requires balancing conflicting interests, involving extensive deliberations.

On the PIL, which is addressing various concerns, including defining AI, risks associated with AI systems, the deceptive nature of deepfakes, and the intersection of AI with personal data protection, the bench granted time to the Centre’s counsel to gather instructions on the matter.

The matter has been listed for next hearing on January 8.