In the contemporary eon, regulation of societal norms and values is multifaceted. The regulation of society in pre-technological advancements was only restricted to social institutions and law, but in today's era of technology, the regulation of conduct in society has been extended to technology, which is both applaudable and a big concern for humans to rethink. In this article, I will cover the role of artificial intelligence (AI) and law in regulating society, assessing its efficacy and solutions through established facts.

Understanding Artificial Intelligence (AI)

In this modern era, technology is everything. Technological advancements have given AI significant influence, sometimes surpassing traditional governmental oversight.. The contemporary world is the game of technology—through technology, one can influence change in government, influence people, deviate people, target an enemy, destroy the world, and also transform the world in a positive sense.

With the emergence of new technologies, several exceptional advancements have been made, one of which is artificial intelligence. Before proceeding in detail, let us first understand the basics of AI. Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to computer systems capable of performing complex tasks that historically only a human could do, such as reasoning, making decisions, or solving problems.[1]

However, the conception of a perverted form of artificial intelligence that has been filled in our minds by different sources is completely different from reality.

Contemporary artificial intelligence has not reached the pinnacle where it can perform as shown in movies like Robot and Robot 2.0. We are far from that level of technology. The AI we have today can only crystallize things out of the data fed into it, nothing beyond that. That's why many scholars argue whether the phrase 'artificial intelligence' is even correct for contemporary technology.

I am not criticizing its importance, but what I am criticizing is its exaggeration. The artificial intelligence shown in exaggerated movies is artificial general intelligence (AGI), which is the hypothetical ability of a machine to possess human-like intelligence and the ability to self-teach—something that is far beyond our reach.

Contemporary AI: Benefits and Risks

Contemporary AI possesses both potential benefits and risks simultaneously.

Benefits of AI include:

• Greater accuracy for repeatable tasks, such as assembling vehicles or computers.
• Decreased operational costs due to the greater efficiency of machines.
• Supplementing decision-making.
• The ability to quickly generate new content, such as text or images.
  

Risks of AI include:

• Job loss due to increased automation.
• Potential for bias or discrimination as a result of the data set on which the AI is trained.
• Lack of transparency over how decisions are made, resulting in less-than-optimal solutions.
• The potential to create misinformation or inadvertently violate laws and regulations.

By knowing these things, we can assimilate clear knowledge that the artificial intelligence that exists today is not something extraordinary that can surpass human intelligence. Humans have the ability to form original ideas, whereas contemporary artificial intelligence can only interpret existing ideas to form another idea. It is true that contemporary artificial intelligence has an edge over humans in analyzing large existing data, meaning AI has higher retrieving power than us.

AI and Legal Challenges

When anything comes into existence, it has to pass through the tunnel of law. As AI is a relatively new invention, its intricacies in law are not much detailed yet, but we will discuss its relevance to law. In today's world, AI is used in many aspects of our lives, so a lot of questions arise regarding AI, such as:

• When a self-driving car causes an accident, who should be held liable—the software developer, car manufacturer, or the owner?
• When AI generates an image, who should be credited—the instructor or the AI developer?
• When an AI-powered medical tool makes a mistake, who should be held responsible?
  

The most striking thing about artificial intelligence is that it is discrete, meaning that any person sitting in any corner of the world can develop AI software, making jurisdiction a major issue. Suppose we accept that if an autonomous car causes an accident, its software developer should be held liable. However, AI-generated results are highly unpredictable, even for its developer, and AI does not take data from a single source—it gathers information from various parties like first-party, second-party, and third-party sources, often numbering in the millions. So, the question remains: who will be held liable?

India vs. Global AI Laws

Till date, India has not developed a dedicated AI law but depends on the pre-existing laws like:

• Information Technology Act, 2000: Regulates cybersecurity and electronic transactions.
• Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023: Governs AI-driven data collection and privacy.

Till now, the world's most comprehensive AI law is the "European Union AI Act, 2021."

This law has classified AI into four levels based on risk, each level with different regulatory requirements:

1. Unacceptable Risk: (Banned AI systems) includes AI used for social scoring, real-time biometric surveillance in public space (with limited exceptions), etc.
2. High Risk AI Systems: (Strictest regulations apply) includes AI in critical sectors like healthcare, law enforcement, border control, etc.
3. Limited Risk AI Systems: (Transparency required but minimal regulations) includes AI-powered chatbots, recommendation algorithms (like in Meta, YouTube, etc.)
4. Minimal Risk AI Systems: (No specific regulations) includes AI applications like spam filters, AI-assisted video games, and productivity software.

The act has given concept of Strict Liability for High-Risk AI. AI developers must prove their AI is safe, fair, and transparent before use. Failure to comply may result in fines up to €30 million or 6% of global annual revenue (whichever is higher).

Bias and ethical concerns:
The use of AI also Involves ethical considerations. AI does not operate independently; it learns from past human actions. For example: While using street cameras in New York, AI may discriminate between black and white people. When analyzing loan applications, AI may introduce racial and caste discrimination.

AI requires large amounts of data, which many giant companies use to regulate human behavior for their own profit, regardless of its consequential impact on customers.YouTube, Facebook (Meta), Twitter, Google, Swiggy, Zomato, etc., all suggests content based on past actions. These corporations understand every behavior of a person and some of them directly or indirectly exploit its users. To prevent these corporations from playing with the data of common people, strict global and state-level laws must be established. Governments will only act if the public is aware of these malpractices.

AI in the warfare and surveillance
AI is also used by armed forces in various operations, despite the fact that it can misunderstand situations and make wrong decisions. A recent example is the genocidal war of Israel (as per findings of UN special committee to Israeli practices) against Palestinians, in which Israel has been using artificial intelligence to recognize and target journalists, activists, and health workers by retrieving data from biometric records.

Antony Loewenstein, a distinguished Australia-based Jewish commentator has discussed in his book "The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World" that Israel is testing its newly developed technology in Palestine to show its buyer the effectiveness.

Given the failures and negative aspects of AI, there must be laws based on global consensus that recognize liability in cases involving AI and its malicious or immoral use. This can only be achieved through comprehensive and critical research in the field with a rational mindset. For now, law in this field is evolving at a slow pace.

Conclusion
As we have seen, AI, law, and social institutions are interconnected in regulating society. All three must be given equal importance. If we want to create a healthy society, we must regulate AI's use and find solutions to its intricacies. The pace at which India's law on AI is developing is not in line with the pace at which AI is accelerating. India must consider to develop AI specific law in line with laws made by EU AI act and other developed countries.

This framework should address issues of AI liability, ethical considerations and accountability. An educated and rational society has a greater capacity to influence governments in restricting malpractices and enacting laws.

End Notes:

1. Coursera, What Is Artificial Intelligence?, https://www.coursera.org/articles/what-is-artificial-intelligence (last visited Apr. 12, 2025)