INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
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India is the latest country to join the race to lead in AI
A
recent report on artificial intelligence (AI) by an Indian government think tank foresees the country as an AI hub for the developing world
Research analyst Shashank Reddy writes about the possibility of that happening.India is the latest country to join the race to lead the AI
revolution, which is still in the making
The world's richest - and most powerful - countries have long been in this competition
It cuts across all spheres of national power, from the economy to the military, because the idea is that leadership in AI will enable global
dominance.The two biggest powers so far have been the United States and China, with each investing heavily in AI and its applications
So does India stand a chanceYes, according to a report released this month by think tank Niti Aayog
What India can offerThe report - which has been drafted as a "national strategy on AI" - admits that India lags significantly behind the
superpowers in fundamental research and resources
Compared to the United States, it has fewer researchers and only a handful of dedicated laboratories and university departments
India also does not have tech giants such as Google and Amazon or behemoths like Baidu and Alibaba - all companies that can afford to invest
But India enjoys crucial advantages too
It has a vast engineering workforce, a burgeoning start-up scene and an increasing amount of data as more people buy smartphones and go
The report itself is the latest in a slew of recent endeavours by the Indian government to encourage AI research
The federal government has created special committees to explore the possibilities AI offers in various sectors, from commerce to defence,
as well as the issues that could arise from its widespread use
This year's budget allocated money to develop a national AI strategy.Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
India's
vast engineering workforce is an advantage
Part of that strategy envisions India becoming an "AI garage" of sorts for most
of the developing world - a platform for AI-led social innovations, what the report describes as #AIforAll
The report identifies five areas that would benefit most from AI intervention: healthcare, agriculture, education, "smart cities" and
infrastructure, and urban transport
Hurdles to overcomeThe report also understands the challenge in deploying AI on a massive scale
Secondly, there is a dearth of resources
India currently lacks the expertise to do the research and apply it - and it also doesn't have the vast networks of data to enable AI
Lastly, there is little awareness about the technology and the risks it poses to privacy and security
Regulation of data - how it is collected and used - is still at a nascent stage, which makes powerful technologies like AI vulnerable to
But the report sets out a two-tier plan to overcome these barriers and boost AI research
It envisages that top Indian universities will take charge of fundamental research while specialised centres will collaborate with the
private sector to lead the application of AI
This is ultimately expected to lead to the founding of a national "AI marketplace" that will aid innovation - an Indian version of what has
been called a "Cern for AI", a reference to the world's largest particle physics laboratory in Switzerland
Hopes for new marketsWhat stands out about the report is its suggestion that India cannot and will not compete with China in the AI realm -
instead it will play to its advantages by becoming a global AI hub for non-Chinese and non-Western markets
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AI may eliminate some jobs but it will also create others
What
about AI's potential impact on jobs The report is silent on this issue and with good reason
A lot of the arguments in favour of and against AI are still speculative, especially in relation to India
It is possible that the use of AI could eliminate certain jobs that exist now
But, as has happened elsewhere, it is also highly likely that AI will create a new class of jobs
It is too early to know either way
The report declares India's ambition to carve a niche for itself in an increasingly AI-driven world
It should not be seen as the government's final strategy but only as a credible first step in a drawn-out, and potentially transformative,
Shashank Reddy is Research Analyst with Carnegie India.
