NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged the dangers of 'deepfakes' and said the developers of artificial intelligence should consider tagging their products to caution people about AI-enabled deception."A new crisis is emerging due to deepfakes produced through artificial intelligence.

We have a big section that does not have the wherewithal to verify their genuineness and there lies the concern," Modi said, adding that he had raised the matter with people in the AI industry."I suggested to them that they should consider tagging AI-generated content that is vulnerable to misuse," PM Modi said in a likely reference to his meeting with Sam Altman, the founder of Open AI and the developer of ChatGPT, in June.

The conversation had seen Modi pitching for soft touch regulation of the AI industry.

Open AI, along with other artificial intelligence biggies like Alphabet and Meta, have been watermarking their AI-generated content and what started as voluntary pledges have turned into legal obligation by an executive order of the US President.Interestingly, the Prime Minister cited a deepfake video showing him participating in a garba dance during Navratri festivities that has gone viral.

"They have done it rather well.

It is a different thing that I have not played garba for long.

I used to play garba during my childhood, and I was good at it.

But I stopped playing after my school.

However, thanks to artificial intelligence, I can be playing garba, and many of my own followers are forwarding the clip," he said.In a deepfake video or photo, a person's face or other body parts are super imposed on someone else's to pass it off as authentic.

A few celebrities like Rashmika Mandanna have recently fallen victim to deepfake.

The proliferation of deepfake videos on social media has raised significant concerns, prompting the government to issue comprehensive guidelines to social media companies to address identification and removal of misleading and deepfake videos and photographs.

The Prime Minister said that in a diverse society like India, deepfakes could cause a big crisis and could spread disaffection among people.

"Since our Independence, there is a legacy of trust about the media and people start believing that there might be some truth.

Therefore, we are heading towards a serious crisis, as by the time the truth comes out, it becomes too late," Prime Minister Modi said and suggested that the media could play a bigger role and promptly highlight the truth.The Prime Minister recalled his meeting with a group of experts from ChatGPT and said they were equally concerned and were looking at containing the technology's misuse.

"I suggested that just like there is a provision of a disclaimer that cigarettes are hazardous for health, in the same way, there should be prompt mention of 'deepfake'," the PM added.WatchDeepfake Video Row: PM Modi says deepfakes one of the biggest threats