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The minister also highlighted that AI expansion is also raising ethical concerns in criminal investigations, especially as AI agents are now capable of committing crimes
He suggested looking for technological solutions in the age of tech advancements as “law alone will not be sufficient"
To deal with AI-led crimes, India needs a techno-legal approach, said Vaishnaw
Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw today emphasised the need for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to seek collaborations with startups, industries and academia, citing the challenges posed by artificial intelligence in crimes.
While delivering the 21st D P Kohli memorial lecture on the 62nd foundation day of the CBI, the minister also highlighted that AI expansion is also raising ethical concerns in criminal investigations, especially as AI agents are now capable of committing crimes.
“Today things have changed a lot. An AI agent can commit a crime, then the ethical question will arise, whom to arrest. Can you arrest the AI agent? Is the company creating the AI agent liable or the agent itself is liable?” said Vaishnaw.
Underlining the technological shift all across the world, the minister further said that the investigation mechanism has also expanded beyond questioning and evidence collection.
“Under such changes which are happening both on the economic front, social front and on the technology front, I request CBI and its great team should look at more collaborations. I would suggest that we should collaborate with startups, with industries and more so with academia,” said Vaishnaw.
He further suggested looking for technological solutions in the age of tech advancements as “law alone will not be sufficient” to tackle the crime, adding that India needs a techno-legal approach.
AI, A Double-Edged Sword
While artificial intelligence poses a potential risk of new-age crimes such as digital frauds, cyber crimes and deepfakes, it also has the capability to offer solutions for the same.
Multiple government departments are looking for collaborations with emerging startups and academia to make the most of modern technology and resources.
“In our AI mission, we are collaborating with academia to create many new tools. IIT Jodhpur has created a tool to identify deepfakes in a very authentic way,” said Vaishnaw.
Currently, India doesn’t have specific laws directly regulating AI, however the country is developing a framework through advisories, guidelines, and existing legislation and adopting measures to keep a check on such crimes.
To put a check on deepfakes using AI, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) also sought proposals from startups and other relevant stakeholders for building AI-powered tools to detect deepfakes in December last year.
It was also reported last year that the IT ministry is also building a mechanism to evaluate the safety and trustworthiness of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions.
Meanwhile, the cyber threats in India will be dominated by AI-driven attacks with cybercriminals leveraging generative AI to create more sophisticated and adaptive threats using AI-powered malware, as per The India Cyber Threat Report 2025 by the Data Security Council.
The report observed an increase in sophisticated threats targeting sectors like Healthcare, Hospitality and BFSI, while government entities remain prime targets as well.It added that fake apps, especially in the fintech and government sectors, will remain a significant concern.
