
Telcos, banking, fintech firms warn of AI risks in spam crackdown amid clash
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s plan to use artificial intelligence to reduce a tide of spam is drawing the ire of the nation’s lenders and digital platforms, who warn the effort risks affecting the digital backbone of the economy. Banks and fintech giants claim the automated system could hinder essential customer alerts, from fraud warnings to one-time passwords (OTPs).The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is seeking to keep a crisis at bay, which saw spam complaints triple to 2.5 million last year from 2021, according to data tabled in the Lok Sabha in February by the Department of Telecommunications.
However, its proposal to empower telecom networks to automatically penalize senders based on AI assistance has pitted traditional banks like HDFC Bank Ltd, startups like PhonePe and logistics firm DHL Express India against the regulator.“AI-based detection may result in false positives, particularly for high-volume legitimate banking communication,” Rahul Prasad, vice- president—data privacy officer at HDFC Bank, told the telecom regulator in an email on 13 April. “A ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach is too harsh for legitimate high-volume senders who may reach thresholds due to technical glitches or legitimate peak-hour customer service needs,” PhonePe said in its response to Trai’s proposal.Trai in the draft regulations said that the chances of false positives from AI need to be minimised by corroborating such intelligence with the evidence.A dispute is erupting over the price of communication, too.
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