AI Summit: Global consensus emerging on tackling AI harms, says Ashwini Vaishnaw

Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

A broad agreement is beginning to take shape among governments and industry players on the need for collective action to address the harms arising from artificial intelligence, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on February 18.

“There is a consensus emerging across stakeholders that there is a need to make a joint effort at controlling the harms that come from AI,” Vaishnaw told Moneycontrol, adding that the world is moving towards a stage “where all countries come together and have collective guard rails.”

He described the transition as a fundamental change in the way technology will be governed. “This is not a simple change but a tectonic shift in tech,” Vaishnaw said.

Vaishnaw’s remarks come amid growing international debate on how to balance innovation with safeguards, as countries grapple with risks ranging from misinformation and deepfakes to data misuse and algorithmic bias.

Meanwhile, Vaishnaw also doubled down on the government’s decision to reduce content takedown timeline to 3 hours. The minister said that Big Tech companies have the technological capabilities to adhere to this rule.