Deepfakes in a democratic country like India a big concern: PM Modi

New Delhi, March 29 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said artificial intelligence (AI) presents a huge opportunity but there is a significant risk of misuse, especially deepfakes, if such a powerful technology is placed in unskilled hands.

Responding to a question from Microsoft Co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on how India looks at AI which is a huge opportunity but comes with its own challenges, PM Modi said proper training is must to handle technologies like AI.”I have engaged with leading minds on AI and its risks. I suggested that we should start with clear watermarks on AI-generated content to prevent misinformation. Proper sources of AI-generated content should also be mentioned,” PM Modi emphasised.Deepfakes in a vast democratic country like India, which is going into general elections, is a real issue.”Someone can even misuse my voice to deceive people and such a deepfake can trigger widespread uproar. We need to think about creating robust dos and don’ts on deepfakes,” the Prime Minister told Gates.Using AI as a magic tool or asking ChatGPT to write letters is a great injustice to this wonderful technology as we should rather compete with AI to improve ourselves and innovate further to solve real life problems, according to the Prime Minister.”India has a myriad of languages and dialects and we need to push AI to recognise and adapt to those to help people,” PM Modi told Microsoft Co-founder.”I constantly present new challenges to AI whenever I get a chance to speak to a machine or a robot, fostering its growth and adaptability,” the Prime Minister said.–IANSna/svn