The growing role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in law and literature took center stage at the launch of “Informational Privacy: Constitutional and Common Law Remedies” by Nina Rohinton Nariman, where Justice V Ramasubramanian humorously highlighted AI’s evolving influence.
NEW DELHI: The growing influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in legal and literary domains was a key highlight at the launch of the book “Informational Privacy: Constitutional and Common Law Remedies by Nina Rohinton Nariman” . Addressing the audience, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairperson and former Supreme Court judge, Justice V Ramasubramanian, made a wittily profound observation—AI has now begun writing not only books but even judicial rulings.
Delivering a speech laced with humor and insight, Justice Ramasubramanian remarked,
“AI has already started ghostwriting books under human names and even drafting judgments. Fortunately, this book is not authored by AI but by NI—Native Intelligence.”
His comments underscored the increasing encroachment of AI into domains that were once solely human-driven, signaling both technological advancement and the potential ethical dilemmas accompanying it.
The book launch event, held in the presence of retired Supreme Court judge Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman and his wife, Sanaya Nariman, also saw participation from legal luminaries, including Senior Advocate Madhavi Gorodia Divan.
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The Intersection of Technology and Privacy
Reflecting on the pervasiveness of technology, Justice Ramasubramanian humorously narrated a personal anecdote related to astrology, stating that after a recent planetary transition, he woke up to a flood of messages advising him on remedies.
“I realized then that Google knows more about us than our spouses do,”
he quipped, emphasizing the profound significance of informational privacy in today’s digital era.
Justice Ramasubramanian also cautioned about the hidden costs of seemingly free digital services.
“When you log in to social media, you are both a consumer and a product. The first lesson we must learn is that when something is offered free of charge, you are actually the service being sold to someone else,”
he warned.
Highlighting global efforts to regulate Big Tech, he pointed to massive fines imposed by the European Union on data firms for privacy violations. Quoting a past remark by the former CEO of Sun Microsystems, he noted,
“Privacy is dead with the advent of the Internet—get over it.” While acknowledging that privacy has not yet entirely disappeared, he warned that it is now “on life support.”
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The Threat to Freedom of Thought
Senior Advocate Madhavi Divan, speaking at the event, shifted the discussion toward the fundamental nature of privacy and its connection to autonomy. While debates around free speech are prevalent, she argued that
“freedom of speech is meaningless without freedom of thought.”
She warned that data mining and digital surveillance pose a direct threat to independent thinking, as corporations manipulate user preferences through targeted advertising and algorithm-driven content curation.
She pointed to the recent global craze for AI-generated animated images in the style of Studio Ghibli, facilitated by platforms like ChatGPT.
“This trend highlights how digital experiences are commodified, with people willingly surrendering their personal data for momentary amusement. The real concern is that an educated generation of netizens is readily handing over its data without understanding the consequences,”
she cautioned.
Divan further explained how data monetization has turned human attention into a scarce and highly valuable commodity.
“While we imagine ourselves as consumers of information, in reality, we are the products being marketed to advertisers. This mechanism is not limited to product choices—it extends to influencing electoral preferences and social behaviors,”
she said.
Privacy, National Security, and Legal Remedies
Drawing attention to the ongoing US-TikTok controversy, Divan stressed the necessity of robust privacy protections to counter potential threats to national security.
“It is ironic how long it took us to recognize privacy as a fundamental right, given the pressing nature of the issue,”
she remarked.
She also advocated for extending the legal principle of the “right to be forgotten” beyond individuals to algorithms.
“If humans have the right to be forgotten, algorithms should be designed to forget as well. Data should not have an infinite shelf life,”
she asserted.
Calls for Expanding Constitutional Protections
In his brief but impactful address, Justice Rohinton Nariman called for a larger judicial bench to reexamine the scope of Article 226 of the Constitution, which empowers high courts to issue writs in cases involving fundamental rights violations. He argued that privacy protections should extend beyond constitutional rights and apply to private entities as well.
“It is crucial for a seven- or nine-judge Supreme Court bench to revisit the doctrine of public aspects and expand its applicability beyond fundamental rights,”
he stated.
The book launch event served as a platform for a compelling discussion on the intersection of AI, privacy, law, and ethics. Concluding the session, author Nina Rohinton Nariman emphasized the need for leveraging Article 226 as a tool to address breaches of informational privacy. As AI continues to reshape legal and societal landscapes, the event underscored the urgency of developing robust legal frameworks to safeguard individual autonomy and informational privacy in the digital age.
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