India should take lead on global AI regulations, OpenAI's Altman says

India should take the lead in the conversation on global regulations on artificial intelligence when it hosts the G20 summit later this year, OpenAI's chief executive officer has said.

Sam Altman has held meetings with heads of governments around the world, impressing upon them that AI requires global regulations. He is meeting with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi later today.

Asked whether his stance on regulating AI was aimed at a regulatory capture of the technology to put down any competitor that may emerge in the future, Altman stressed that smaller companies should not be regulated as "it's important to let that flourish."

"The only regulation we're calling for is on people like ourselves," Altman said, speaking at a forum* organized by one of India's leading financial newspapers on Wednesday evening.

"We have a moral duty" as AI requires global regulations and governments have not regulated AI, Altman said.

"If governments do not get the act together, we will try to ask companies to cooperate," the CEO said.

Altman's visit comes just as India is on the verge of disclosing the draft Digital India Act that will replace the 23-year-old Information Technology Act.

Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said on several occasions that India does not intend to regulate AI separately.

The Digital India Act will contain a chapter on emerging technologies, which will deal with "high-risk AI," the minister said last month, adding that India intends to establish principles that act as “guardrails” to help regulate generative artificial intelligence platforms.

*The Economic Times Conversations in New Delhi on June 7, 2023