New Delhi: The two-day Global INDIAai Summit 2024 kicked off today at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, with a grand opening ceremony graced by Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Railways, and Information & Broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw. The event also featured prominent guests including Vice Minister of Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Hiroshi Yoshida, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, and Commerce & Industry, Jitin Prasada, Secretary of MeitY, S Krishnan, President of NASSCOM, Debjani Ghosh, Vice President of OpenAI, Srinivas Narayanan, and Additional Secretary of MeitY, Abhishek Singh.
The summit attracted a diverse group of participants, including experts from the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), industry and startup veterans, AI practitioners, academicians, students, and officials from both Central and State Governments.
In his address, Ashwini Vaishnaw emphasized the Government of India’s commitment to democratizing technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI), making it accessible to all. He announced plans to invest in AI-focused public platforms that promote innovation and development. Vaishnaw also discussed the progress in AI by countries like Japan, the European Union, and the USA, while highlighting the risks AI poses to democratic communities. He called for the development of responsible and human-centered AI.
Hiroshi Yoshida praised India’s strong commitment to responsible AI, evidenced by hosting GPAI. He noted Japan’s support for India as the Chair of GPAI for the global south and mentioned the establishment of the Tokyo Centre of GPAI. Mr. Yoshida highlighted the growing Horishma AI Process Friends Group, which now includes 53 countries, with India being one of the first to join.
Jitin Prasada affirmed India’s readiness to lead in global AI innovation. He highlighted India’s achievements in AI skill penetration and substantial investments in AI startups. Prasada stressed the INDIAai mission’s vision of creating AI in India and making it work for India. He emphasized the need for collaborative efforts to develop AI solutions for key sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and education, noting that India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) is sought after by other nations for replication.
S Krishnan underscored the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach for AI adoption on a large scale. He spoke about AI’s potential benefits to the community and the need to prevent user harm. Krishnan emphasized that AI will be a cornerstone for achieving a developed India by 2047.
Srinivas Narayanan expressed gratitude to the Government of India for organizing the summit and highlighted OpenAI’s willingness to partner with INDIAai. He shared various AI use-cases, including Digital Green in agriculture, Bhashini in Indian languages, and Physics Wallah in education.
Debjani Ghosh discussed the transformational impact of AI, the reconciliation of investment with return on investment, and the human-driven aspect of AI. She expressed hope that INDIAai will set a gold standard for AI by being inclusive and keeping AI in the human loop rather than the other way around.
In his opening remarks, Abhishek Singh welcomed dignitaries, GPAI experts, and delegates from research, academia, industry, startups, and government. He provided an overview of the INDIAai Mission and outlined the 12 sessions planned over two days to delve into the mission’s seven pillars. Singh also mentioned India’s close collaboration with GPAI member states, OECD, and the global south to shape the future vision of GPAI.