Safe deployment: The AI advisory on the rollout of Artificial Intelligence models is for the safety of citizens, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said.

The statement comes after a March 1 advisory reportedly issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), which mandates the approval from government before testing generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and large language models (LLMs).

The advisory, the IT Minister clarified in a press conference would exempt platforms in sectors such as healthcare or agriculture, but apply to social media platforms, as per reports.

Earlier in the day, Minister of State for MeitY Rajeev Chandrasekhar said those deploying lab-level or undertested  AI platforms onto the public Internet, causing harm or enable unlawful content must be aware that, platforms have clear existing obligations under IT and criminal law. 

“So (the) best way to protect yourself is to use labelling and explicit consent and if you are a major platform, take permission from govt before you deploy error-prone platforms,” he posted on X.

Chandrasekhar was responding to a post by Californian VC firm Andreessen Horowitz’s General Partner Martin Casado, who said “India would lose” if it regulated itself out of leadership in computer science (CS). 

The advisory comes amid various generative chat platforms, like Ola’s Krutim AI and Google’s Gemini AI being under flak for inaccurate or biased responses.

While users highlighted Krutim’s inaccuracies on basic events, Gemini had provided a biased answer when asked to describe Prime Minister Narendra Modi, inviting cognisance from MeitY.

The advisory, MoS IT stated, will not apply to startups, and is aimed at significant platforms.

“Permission seeking from Meity is only for large plarforms and will not apply to startups,” he posted on X.

The advisory is aimed at untested AI platforms from deploying on Indian Internet, he further wrote, adding that the process of seeking permission , labelling and consent-based disclosure to users about untested platforms is “insurance policy to platforms who can otherwise be sued by consumers”

While the policy drew criticism from some, other startups expressed willingness for collaboration.

Ranjan Kumar, co-founder and CEO of AI-powered marketing Entropik said the company “fully comprehends and values the government's apprehensions regarding AI regulation, particularly in the domain of large-language models (LLMs) and generative AI.” 

“We acknowledge the importance of obtaining clear authorisation and are more than willing to collaborate with the government of India to ensure the responsible and ethical use of AI technologies,” he added.