The India AI summit that could fundamentally shift the balance of power in tech
The global AI community is converging in India for one of the most significant AI summits of the year, with representatives from OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Meta, and other top tech companies in attendance.
If you’re not following along, you’re likely to miss out on some of the most important AI developments of the year. Catch up with our full coverage of the India AI summit here:
The change in tone is difficult to miss. For years, AI developments have mostly been about whether Silicon Valley or China will win the race. Now India is playing catch-up with confidence.
Indian officials and industry leaders are talking about “sovereign AI” — AI systems developed, trained, and used in India. The focus is no longer just about catching up. It is about sovereignty. Frankly, it is only natural.
India has over a billion people, hundreds of languages, and one of the world’s fastest-growing digital economies. The country can’t depend entirely on imported AI systems. It wants to develop its own.
India’s central government has already committed major investments to boost India’s AI ecosystem, from data centers and cloud infrastructure to semiconductor production.
India’s overall digital plan includes long-term ambitions to make the country an AI hub, capitalizing on the nation’s plan for local innovation and technological self-reliance, as India’s national AI strategy describes it.
And, of course, there’s money. AI will add trillions of dollars to the world economy over the next decade, and India is keen to reap its share of that. Perhaps even more than we expect.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has previously referred to India as one of the fastest-growing markets for AI solutions in the world, “with a vibrant enterprise adoption and a thriving developer community,” in comments about the rise of AI in India and the world at large Yet this isn’t just about making money.
There’s a vision of sorts playing out here, too. Many of the speakers have waxed eloquent about the need to develop AI that augments humanity, not replaces it.
Easier said than done, but even that’s a conversation worth having. And even though it’s easier to have this conversation in Silicon Valley than in India, it does seem to mark a shift in direction.
India’s not just about technology; it has a demographic dividend, too. Millions of engineers and developers are coming of age in India and learning about AI.
Its universities and startups are racing to create AI solutions and platforms that could transform everything from healthcare to farming.
Companies like Google, Microsoft and Facebook are pouring money and resources into research labs and hiring staff in India, as it starts to play a larger role in the worldwide story of AI: India has geopolitics, as well.
AI is a technology that’s starting to underpin everything from national security to economic dominance, and India has the potential to play a big role in determining how AI evolves worldwide, particularly as other countries start to regulate the technology and its boundaries.
Global politics and economics are intertwined as never before, as we see with global moves to regulate the future of AI.
This is odd. 10 years ago nobody thought much about AI. Today nations are reorienting themselves for the future based on it. India isn’t just keeping pace. India is racing. You can almost feel the flywheel starting to turn.
The dialog in this conference room is destined to impact policy, business and consumer lives. The conference will close. The change it represents has just begun. If you are asking if India will become one of the AI superpowers of the world? The answer is not “you must be joking.”