The Digital Personal Data Protection Act is expected to be a stepping stone to develop an eventual legal framework around artificial intelligence (AI) in India.

Speaking at a session organised by the Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday, S. Krishnan, secretary in the ministry of electronics and information technology, said that any regulation around AI should be mindful of containing any potential harm while not stifling innovation.

“As far as the DPDP Act is concerned, it is really a stepping stone to the way that we will eventually regulate artificial intelligence. An important chunk of regulating AI depends on how data is collected and used and that element is contained in the DPDP Act.

“Further elements that are needed will be tackled under the Digital India Bill which is in the drafting stage. That will take a little longer to come out and the consultation process is currently on. That act will also address what we need to do with emerging technologies, including AI,” Krishnan said.

Earlier, on the sidelines of the conference on systems and technologies for smart agriculture organised by C-DAC and University of Calcutta, Krishnan said the government is evaluating how to prepare the legal framework.

India’s efforts come at a time the US has brought out an executive order on AI while the EU has put out a draft act. India is also the chair of the Global Partnership on AI, a multi-stakeholder initiative of 29 members focussed on bridging the gap between theory and practice in AI.

“As we did in the case of the DPDP Act, in the same way we will try to strike a balance between ensuring that the user is not harmed while innovation is promoted,” Krishnan said.