Artificial Intelligence would power the world across multiple sectors in the years ahead. The five day India-AI Impact Summit in the national capital made waves with the presence of a battery of top technocrats, IT honchos, business leaders and was graced also by France’s president Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Hosted by the central government’s India AI Mission, it “marked a defining global inflection point, transitioning from dialogue to demonstrable impact.” It envisioned a future where AI “advances humanity, foresters inclusive growth and safeguards our shared planet.” AI’s eminence in the public sphere is growing by the day after its slow beginning some 15 years ago. Almost every branch of science can be impacted by AI. India’s transformation to AI is mainly led by startups, governmental pushes and policies like Digital India. Globally, AI’s advances in recent years have been phenomenal and, on the current trajectory, “we’re only a couple of years away from super intelligence.”
AI also has the ability, it is promised, to “radically reduce poverty” and improve healthcare – areas of prime engagements for the third world. The AI market in India is sized at $8 billion by now, registering a growth of 40 per cent in the last five years. Some 60,000 professionals here work in AI-related positions – a number that could double in the next two years. Alongside India, China too is making major forays into this technology. Education and healthcare are two areas where AI’s impact could be felt widely. AI enables instant access to learning in any language; and in healthcare, it can detect diseases earlier and help in disease screening. India’s successes in UPI, direct benefit transfer and other schemes have a direct bearing on AI. Artificial General Intelligence or AGI is cited as one of the “most momentous periods” in human history, like the advent of fire or electricity. As per one claim, AI is going to have 10 times the impact of the Industrial Revolution. Equally importantly, this is happening at 10 times the speed of past technological shifts. Industrialist Mukesh Ambani now promises to majorly power India’s AI ambitions. He promises a Rs 10 lakh crore investment with a promise to revolutionise this sector; similar to what he did with mobile data 10 years ago. This year is cited as the threshold moment for Artificial General Intelligence that nears reality.
AI presents big opportunities for economic growth and social development. It could also pose challenges, some of them unforeseen as it evolves. There are also worries about data privacy, ethical aspects, and cyber attacks in relation to AI use. Fears of massive job losses are dismissed; rather, as in computers, it could create more opportunities for work. As the prime minister stated, “Some people fear AI and some take it as luck. AI is both luck and the future for us. India, from semiconductor to chip to quantum computing is getting stronger in all. So, let us make India affordable, securable in AI.” A message, from UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, is significant: that the “future of AI cannot be decided by a handful of countries—and AI must belong to everyone.
