“Looming threat of deep fakes in digital media a big concern”: PM Modi urges media to educate people on AI

New Delhi [India]: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday highlighted the threats of deep fakes in new-age digital media content and said that it was important to understand how Artificial Intelligence (AI) works since they could be used to purposefully spread false information or have malicious intent behind their use.

Addressing the gathering at the Diwali Milan program at the BJP Headquarters on Friday, Prime Minister Modi spoke to the journalists about the dangers of deep fakes in digital media.

The prime minister urged the media persons to educate the people about the negative effects of using artificial intelligence to spread harmful content such as misrepresentation of individuals in deep fakes.

“I recently saw a video in which I was seen singing a Garba song. There are many other such videos online,” said PM Modi adding that the looming threat of Deepfake has become a great concern and can create a lot of problems for all of us.

Deepfakes are used to purposefully spread false information or they may have a malicious intent behind their use. They can be designed to harass, intimidate, demean and undermine people. Deepfakes can also create misinformation and confusion about important issues.

The Centre has said that creation and circulation of Deepfakes carry strong penalty – Rs 1 lakh in fine and three years in jail.

Misrepresentation of individuals in Deepfakes has led to the generation of blackmail materials to falsely incriminate people. As these videos and audio recordings can be difficult to verify, the negative impact on reputation can be difficult to recover from, even when verified as a Deepfake.

The Prime Minister further said that the ‘Vocal for local’ campaign has found people’s support and that the idea of a fully developed India was not just mere words but had touched ground reality.

The PM further said that local businesses had blossomed under the vocal for local campaigns and stated that we all must prioritise our local products.

“We now have a strong position on a global level, the world now acknowledges our achievements,” added the prime minister.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with the BJP leadership arrived for the ‘Diwali Milan’ program at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) central office in the national capital. Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda have also arrived at the event that has been organised by the ruling party.

Additionally, journalists from the Indian media were invited by BJP party chief JP Nadda to attend the program.