Understanding AI’s evolving role in reshaping industries and balancing the potential benefits, risks, and its broader impact on industries and society.

The Global AI Conclave 2024 organized by CNBC-TV18 & Moneycontrol held on November 22 saw some insightful keynotes and lively debate on the path of AI innovation in India. Important business and government leaders addressed the Global AI Conclave event where AI investors, leaders and founders discussed which areas India needs to focus on to bring the promise of AI from hype to national scale impact.

Key Highlights

Rajiv Chandrasheker, former Union Minister of State for Electronics, IT spoke about the innovation ecosystem in India and the India AI Policy he launched. 

The policy aims to integrate AI with India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for transformative governance, focusing on measurable public service impact. AI’s grassroots impact Chandrasheker stressed, must replicate DPI’s success in delivering tangible benefits to citizens in the next 2-3 years to move beyond the hype.

He highlighted gaps in India’s AI regulations, advocated for fair compensation for creators whose content is used to train AI models, and stressed the importance of clear rules to balance AI innovation with protection against misuse.

Source: News18

Foundational Models or Apps? Investors Weigh In

India stands at a pivotal moment in advancing global AI technology and has unique advantages in talent, data abundance and frugal innovation. These can be vital strengths to propel India into a resource efficient as AI starts to deliver real world impact and transformation. Instead of focusing solely on large language models, should India prioritize decentralized, solutions and scalable, AI architectures? 

India will be at a disadvantage if it doesn’t join the LLM race, says venture capital firm General Catalyst’s CEO. Hemant Taneja.  Hemant Mohapatra, Partner, Lightspeed India said India has the data sets available to build the next big foundational model and added that, “India should be building these models but we’re not seeing enough of it happening.” Talent and capital barriers are major factors in the development of LLMs though, and we should focus on “playing the wars that we are capable of winning”, Mohapatra observed.

A panel of venture capitalists discussed this at the Global AI Conclave, and their views were mostly pertaining to the application side.

Premji Invest’s TK Kurien said his firm is unlikely to invest in companies that are building LLMs. Peak XV Partners’ managing director, Shailesh Lakhani, said, “There are so many new things possible with AI and applications so for most founders that seems like the most straightforward place to start. In applications, there are so many ideas from grating vegetables to processing an insurance claim faster. Manjot Pahwa, head of early stage technology investments at Premji Invest, said the most obvious thing to start with is applications. “There are a lot of revenue pools and efficiencies that can be gained by the sensible application of AI. Continue to build things that are easily winnable in the short term,” she added.

Will Gen AI Disrupt the Software Industry? Indian SaaS Leaders Discuss Strategy

At the Global AI Conclave, Multiple SaaS founders confirmed it is a disruptive force and that the GenAI revolution has already transformed their businesses. A panel of SaaS leaders observed that GenAI has forced them to adapt and make crucial decisions about their core business – everything from talent, to product engineering is impacted. 

Arvind Parthiban, CEO, SuperOps.Ai said their focus is on helping clients increase their revenue. He also noted that 30-40% of discussions revolve around how AI will disrupt the SaaS industry. 

Khadim Bhatti, CEO Whatfix, explained that AI is not being sold separately, but rather as a premium feature.

Aakrit Vaish, Advisor, India AI Mission, highlighted the significant software opportunities the Indian market represents. Solutions for emerging markets are a big opportunity for global software companies.

Karnataka Unveils Innovation Policy

At the Global AI Conclave, Dr. M.B. Patil, Minister for Commerce & Industries, spoke of the potential for Karnataka to lead the way for India in AI innovation. “Karnataka, with 1.2 million skilled professionals, leads globally in machine learning, robotics, and quantum computing,” he said.

Gunjan Krishna, Commissioner for Industrial Development, announced a new industrial policy, targeting ₹7 lakh crore investments and 25 lakh jobs. With its Clean Mobiliy Policy, the state is creating an ecosystem to attract companies like Tesla targeting significant investments in Clean Mobility. 

Tackling Infrastructure and Regulatory Challenges 

India must scale AI infrastructure (e.g., data centers and GPUs) strategically rather than mirroring Western models, which may be financially and environmentally unsustainable. 

S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & IT sated that his Ministry’s mission is to bring down the cost of GPUs. “Through bulk procurement of GPUs under the IndiaAI Mission, the government aims to lower prices without causing losses to manufacturers,” said the MeitY secretary. The first round of bids, opening on November 28, has received strong interest wih the government approach based on offering visibility into demand and letting all players bid to build a competitive environment. 

Secretary S. Krishnan addressed the question of deepfakes at the Global AI Conclave, observing that India does not need a complete regulatory overhaul to deal with these “technology issues.” A few minor tweaks in existing regulations can ensure speedy compliance. He pointed out that the government is against introducing stringent legislations, because India is still at an “innovation stage” of AI and they need to promote the innovation. 

The Global AI Conclave also showcased innovations and use cased in AI across sectors like healthcare, governance, urban planning, and more. From Benaguluru’s traffic woes, to healthcare diagnostics, discussion centered around building AI that will impact all Indian citizens. Advancements that can solve fundamental everyday problems like air pollution in Indian cities to wildlife protection and take AI from “hype to impact.” 

Frugality, Data Abundance as Core Indian Strengths

Passion, perseverance, and a frugal mindset – jugaad, as we are all familiar with – are essential features that will help us achieve ambitious goals in AI and other transformative technologies. Santhosh Viswanathan, Managing Director & Vice President, India Region, Intel explained how rapid digitization in India generates massive amounts of data. 

The opportunities lie in connecting industries and leveraging this data for AI-driven innovation. Besides, India’s AI talent is estimated at roughly 16-20% of global talent. The nation can lead in AI by crafting a distinct, resource-efficient path. 

The Global AI Conclave affirms India’s leadership and charts the path for groundbreaking transformation across industries, improving the lives of millions of Indians.