Tech3 | AI chaos: Govt climbs down; New milestone for ONDC; and more

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In today’s newsletter:?

• AI advisory outrage: Govt clarifies
• New milestone for ONDC, again?
• Placement tests get tougher

AI advisory outrage: Govt clarifies

The Indian government's recent advisories have become a familiar sight, tackling issues like deepfakes and misinformation.?

• However, none have caused quite the stir as the March 1st missive on artificial intelligence (AI).

Driving the news: The Indian government's requirement for platforms to seek permission before launching AI products sparked criticism from the industry, prompting clarifications from ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

• Vaishnaw defended the advisory but clarified that its provisions will not apply to AI platforms in healthcare and agriculture.

• Chandrasekhar further clarified that startups are exempt from the advisory

However, it will apply to social media platforms, according to Vaishnaw, and to other "significant platforms," as defined by Chandrasekhar.

Advisory details: The March 1 missive demands that platforms seek "explicit permission of the government" before deploying AI products in testing.?

• Additionally, it requires platforms to incorporate a unique identifier on AI-generated content to trace the first originator of misinformation

Industry reaction:?Industry leaders expressed concerns, labelling the advisory as regressive and a potential impediment to innovation.

"We don't have extremely powerful AI at a product level yet. Therefore, regulating something like that doesn't make sense,” said Srikanth Velamakanni, Co-founder of analytics platform Fractal.

In other news: The controversy surrounding Google delisting apps from prominent Indian companies gained momentum over the weekend.?

• Today, affected companies held meetings with Minister Vaishnaw in person and Chandrasekhar virtually

Sources said that Vaishnaw assured affected companies of government support, while Chandrasekhar pledged that the IT Ministry would engage with Google for "a sustainable and long-term solution."

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