Digital Personhood and the Right not to be Simulated: A Constitutional Response to AI Identity Replication

In the digital world, human identity has drastically changed thanks to the quick growth of AI technologies like generative artificial intelligence. Today, AI-powered tools can simulate an individual’s voice, face, gestures, and even thought processes with a level of detail that goes beyond deepfakes to complete personality cloning. The article reviews the current state of the law on the right to privacy in Article 21 of the Constitution of India, personality rights, and digital personal data protection under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, the Information Technology Act 2000, and copyright, and how they fall short of addressing the various harms caused by AI-generated simulation of the human identity. In light of parallels drawn from the United States, the European Union and China, the article calls for the recognition of a separate constitutional and statutory “right not to be simulated” that is based on the principles of human dignity, informational self-determination and personal autonomy in Article 21. The proposed right would give every individual a right to “withhold consent” for the replication of their identity through AI, including for commercial purposes or posthumously. The article also calls for specific legislative changes such as amendment of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, introduction of a special law on AI identity protection and creation of a separate AI regulatory body. This article thus adds to an emerging debate on digital personhood and the constitution of technological simulation.