AI Impact Summit 2026 Misinformation Poses Serious Threat to Democracy: Om Birla

By DELHI BUREAU
NEW DELHI, 22 Feb: Om Birla cautioned that deepfakes and misinformation pose serious threats to democratic institutions, asserting that Artificial Intelligence (AI) must be used to strengthen truth and credibility rather than distort or suppress facts.
On Feb 20, addressing the special session on “AI for Democracy” at the India AI Impact Summit held at Bharat Mandapam here, the Lok Sabha Speaker underlined the need to develop robust safeguards alongside rapid technological advancement to prevent manipulation of democratic discourse.
Birla said AI holds immense potential to make democracy more transparent, accountable and citizen-centric. Referring to India’s civilisational ethos of “Sarvajan Hitaya, Sarvajan Sukhaya,” he observed that technology must serve the welfare of all while upholding ethical and democratic values.
Highlighting Parliament’s digital transformation, he noted that initiatives such as Digital Parliament have made legislative functioning paperless, modern and environmentally sustainable. AI tools, he said, have helped systematically organise thousands of hours of parliamentary debates, making them searchable and accessible to citizens, thereby enhancing public scrutiny and accountability.
Emphasising India’s linguistic diversity, Birla referred to the Sansad Bhashini initiative, which uses AI-enabled translation tools to make parliamentary proceedings available in multiple regional languages, strengthening inclusivity and participation.
He added that AI-driven advancements in education, healthcare and agriculture would accelerate the vision of “Viksit Bharat 2047,” while reaffirming that technology must remain guided by human sensitivity and ethical judgment.
The session was attended by international parliamentary leaders and jointly organised by Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya and the Inter-Parliamentary Union.