The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the Centre to respond to a public interest litigation (PIL) against the unregulated use of artificial intelligence (AI) and deepfakes.
Deepfakes videos involve the use of AI to replace the likeness of a person in an existing video with someone else’s likeness. In recent times, deepfake technology has raised concerns as it can be used to create highly realistic fake videos that may be misused, such as spreading misinformation, creating fake news, or generating false narratives.
The High Court said the issue raised by the petition required deliberations that only the government could undertake.
“There is no easy solution. It requires a lot of deliberation. It is a very complicated technology,” the court said adding, “It is something that only the government with all its resources can do.”
The Central government counsel told the High Court that it was public knowledge that the government was looking into the issue and sought time to seek instructions.
Petitioner Chaitanya Rohilla, a lawyer, sought directions to the Centre to identify and block websites providing access to deepfakes and regulate artificial intelligence to protect the fundamental rights of citizens.
The petitioner, represented by advocate Manohar Lal, said while technological development was happening by leaps and bounds, the law was moving at a snail’s speed. The advocate said artificial intelligence has its own deep-rooted challenges and it was necessary to fill the vacuum caused by the absence of regulations.
Recently, actor Rashmika Mandanna became a victim of a deepfake video where her face was superimposed on the body of another person.
The High Court remarked that the law by its nature lags behind and listed the case for further hearing on January 8, 2024.
