Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted the risks of Deepfaak Video and AI-driven fraud, calling for stronger defenses to protect public trust. She emphasized that innovation must be safe, resilient, inclusive and praise Sebi's efforts to curb investors' impersonation.
Updated October 7th, 2025 at 4:51pm
Mumbai: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday that she had seen several deepfake videos of herself and called for her to strengthen her defenses to maintain the trust of the people.
Speaking at the annual Global Fintech Fest here, Sitharaman said that artificial intelligence is transforming finance, governance and everyday life, but also called to stand on the “dark side” while underscoring the need to ensure that technological advancements will benefit humanity. “The same tool that can weaponize power innovation for deception and fraud. I've not personalized it, but I've seen some deepfake videos myself circulating online.
The video is a reminder of the “urgency” that there is a need to up defenses against such actors, she said. “The new generation of fraud is no longer a violation of firewalls. It's about trust hacking. Criminals use AI to create practical videos that can mimic voices, clone identities and manipulate people,” she said.
The entire ecosystem, including fintech innovators, investors and regulators, plays a key role in this respect, she said, acknowledged that AI is transforming finance, governance and everyday life.
Along with being innovative, the system must be resilient, safe and inclusive, FM said. She praised SEBI's efforts to address the issue of spoofing and false representation targeted to investors through a dedicated unified payment interface (UPI) handle.
