AI Advisory Applicable on Big Platforms, Not on Start-Ups: MoS IT Chandrasekhar

The government's advisory on artificial intelligence (AI) is applicable to significant players and untested platforms, not start-ups, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Monday. His statement came in the wake of a controversy over Google's AI platform Gemini's response to queries related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The government issued an advisory on March 1 for social media and other platforms to label under-trial AI models and prevent hosting unlawful content.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, in the advisory issued to intermediaries and platforms, warned of criminal action in cases of non-compliance.

"Advisory is aimed at significant platforms, and permission seeking from Meity is only for large platforms and will not apply to startups. The advisory is aimed at untested AI platforms deploying on the Indian Internet," Chandrasekhar said on social media platform X.

All digital platforms are required to ensure that the use of artificial intelligence models, large language models, generative AI, software, or algorithms on or through their computer resources does not permit users to host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update, or share any unlawful content.

The advisory asked for the use of under-testing, unreliable AI models, generative AI, etc., and its availability to the users on the Indian Internet with the explicit permission of the government, and that it be deployed only after appropriately labeling the possible and inherent fallibility or unreliability of the output generated.

"The process of seeking permission, labeling, and consent-based disclosure to users about untested platforms is an insurance policy for platforms that can otherwise be sued by consumers. Safety and trust in India's Internet are shared and common goals for the government, users, and platforms," Chandrasekhar said.

The AI platform said Modi was “accused of implementing policies some experts have characterized as fascist.” The response of Gemini to queries about the Prime Minister led to a strong reaction from the government, with Chandrasekhar calling it a violation of IT laws. Following this, Google apologized to the government and said that the platform is unreliable, as reported by the Times of India.