Ashwini Vaishnaw features on TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in AI

Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister of electronics and information technology- featured on TIME magazine’s “Most Influential People in AI 2024” as India is trying to become a major player in artificial intelligence. The efforts for the same are led by Ashwini Vaishnaw, the magazine said, adding that even though India is yet to create binding AI laws, it has chaired the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence.

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The magazine said, "Under Vaishnaw’s leadership, the country hopes to become one of the top five countries for semiconductor manufacturing—a key component for modern AI systems—within the next five years. Construction has begun on several factories."

India hosted the Global IndiaAI Summit in July, attended by over 2,000 AI experts, top bosses from OpenAI and Microsoft and delegates from over 50 countries. India's AI initiatives' have been funneled through its “IndiaAI” initiative, managed by Ashwini Vaishnaw. The government is also aiming to secure over 10,000 Graphic Processing Units that power most AI technology, to increase the country’s computing capacity, it was reported earlier.

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Ashwini Vaishnaw has faced "significant challenges" in this process of pushing AI as "India's tech sector struggles with low private R&D investment and a lack of advanced manufacturing ecosystems. Its educational system is also catching up to produce the specialized workforce needed for cutting-edge AI and semiconductor development," the magazine noted.

As per TIME, the hurdles that India faces on the path of becoming a leader in the AI space include high import tariffs on electronic components, global competition for talent and resources and complexity of rapidly upgrading infrastructure.

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It said, "As in every country, India is striving to strike a balance between fostering innovation and ensuring AI benefits its people and constraining the technology’s risks. Whether it will succeed remains to be seen."