It’s a wrap: News this week (Dec 23 — Dec 29)

There have been multiple developments this week on the tech front. From The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s (MeitY) deepfake advisory to Wipro’s case against its ex-CFO, this is the list of the most important developments for a quick catch-up:

Jio-IIT-Bombay partnership 

Telecom company Reliance Jio Infocomm is working with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-Bombay) to launch Bharat GPT program. This was announced by the Ambani scion and Jio Infocomm chairman Akash Ambani at IIT-Bombay’s Techfest. Notably, this partnership dates back to 2014.

“We have been working on a project with IIT-Bombay to launch the Bharat GPT programme," he said. Ambani said that artificial intelligence (AI) will not just be vertical inside the organisation but will be leveraged horizontally across the services and sectors.

MeitY’s advisory on deepfakes

MeitY issued an advisory to all social media platforms on Tuesday. The ministry has now made it mandatory for intermediaries to communicate to users about prohibited content, especially those specified under Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT Rules.

Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT Rules makes it compulsory for the intermediaries to communicate rules, regulations, privacy policy, and user agreement in the user’s preferred language. It also entails efforts on the part of platforms to prevent users from hosting, publishing, storing or sharing any information or content prohibited on digital intermediaries. It aims to identify and promptly remove false and misleading content, which includes deepfakes. 

Adani-Sirius JV

Adani Global Limited announced a joint venture with Sirius International Holding to create Abu Dhabi-based Sirius Digitech International Limited. This JV entity will leverage emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and Secured Blockchain Products to deploy an integrated ecosystem of digital platforms. Sirius JV will be owned 51% by Sirius and 49% by Adani.  

“By integrating industrial digital solutions into their operations, companies are unlocking exponential levels of efficiency, productivity and innovation and in many cases reinventing their business models,” a press note said.

Wipro slaps case against ex-CFO

IT services firm Wipro has filed a lawsuit against its ex-CFO Jatin Dalal, seeking damages worth ₹25 crore plus interest. Jalal, who served at Wipro for over two decades, left the company in November and would be joining Cognizant as CFO early next year. Wipro says that Dalal has breached non-compete clause by joining rival Cognizant within 12 months of his exit. Wipro has also filed a case against former senior vice president Mohd Haque served as the head of healthcare and medical devices for the Americas on similar grounds.

NYT suing OpenAI

News organisation New York Times is suing ChatGPT-creator OpenAI over copyright infringement. The organisation has claimed that ChatGPT has been trained on ‘millions’ of articles and sometimes even generates verbatim excerpts from premium articles which cannot be accessed without a subscription. The Times alleges that the infringement could have cost “billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages."