Data Privacy Challenges in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: A Study of Privacy Awareness and AI Regulation

Abstract: The rapid adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has increased the collection, processing and automated use of personal data. While AI supports innovation, personalization and efficiency, data-intensive AI systems create concerns relating to privacy, consent, transparency, profiling, security, surveillance and individual control. In India, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 provides a statutory framework for digital personal data, while the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 provide the implementation framework. This study examines privacy awareness and stakeholder perceptions of data-protection regulation in an AI-driven environment using secondary empirical evidence obtained from an existing published research/data source. The analysis focuses on privacy awareness, awareness of selected rights under the DPDP Act, perceived regulatory effectiveness, privacy-business balance and grievance redressal. Reported statistical evidence indicates higher privacy-awareness scores for professional stakeholders than laypersons, while organizational communication is associated with stronger awareness of privacy rights. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Data Privacy, Privacy Awareness, AI Regulation, DPDP Act 2023, AI Governance, Data Protection, Ethics.