“Won’t Come Out Of Thin Air”: S Jaishankar Warns Of AI, Deepfake Threat

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday warned against risks that new technologies like artificial intelligence and deepfakes pose for national security and said attempts of foreign interference through the cyber domain are growing.

In an interactive session at a think-tank, Jaishankar said there is a need to guard against threats emanating from the cyber domain.

“When we think of security, it is not just the defence of the borders, it is not countering terrorism alone…. But there is the daily routine which is so susceptible today to manipulation and this is growing,” he said.

“I would say frankly, in many ways, today foreign interference in this country is growing. It is important for the average person to understand how the world is changing because it is an era of AI (artificial intelligence) and deepfakes,” Jaishankar said.

The external affairs minister was speaking at the Ananta Aspen Centre.

“They will not come out of thin air. They are today at a certain level. There was a whole culture and a process which has allowed it to happen,” he said.

Jaishankar was asked whether India is becoming a surveillance state as the map of security threats to the ordinary Indian has increased exponentially.

“It is not a question of being paranoid. I mean, there are real problems out there. It is not again a question of surveillance. There is a certain responsibility that the state has. Let us not confuse anarchy and irresponsibility with freedom,” he said. PTI MPB RC