Tech Mahindra CEO accepts Sam Altman's ‘challenge’ to build ChatGPT-like tool

OpenAI founder and CEO Sam Altman, during an event in India organised by The Economic Times, said that it is ‘hopeless’ for India to try and build an artificial intelligence tool similar to ChatGPT. His comments were made Thursday in response to a question posed by Rajan Anandan, former Google India head and currently a venture capitalist.

Anandan had sought guidance from Altman on how Indian startups could work towards creating models along the lines of OpenAI.

"Sam, we have got a very vibrant ecosystem in India, but specifically focussing on AI, are there spaces where you see a startup from India building foundational (AI) models how should we think about that, where is it that a team from India (should start) to actually build something truly substantial?" the former Vice President of Google in India and South East Asia asked.

Read: OpenAI's Sam Altman reaches India, says ChatGPT truly embraced; to meet PM Modi

Reiterating that it’s impossible to compete with OpenAI, Altman said, "The way this works is we're going to tell you, it's totally hopeless to compete with us on training foundation models you shouldn't try, and it's your job to like try anyway. And I believe both of those things. I think it is pretty hopeless."

Reacting to his comments, Tech Mahindra CEO CP Gurnani took up the ‘challenge’ put forth by Altman that Indian companies could not match the AI skill set of their American counterparts.

He wrote on Twitter, “OpenAI founder Sam Altman said it’s pretty hopeless for Indian companies to try and compete with them. Dear @sama, From one CEO to another.. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.”

Undeterred by Altman’s claims of India’s incapability in the AI space, Anandan also later tweeted: “Thank you, Sam Altman, for the clear answer. As you said, 'it is hopeless, but you will try anyway.' 5000 years of Indian entrepreneurship has shown us that we should never underestimate the Indian entrepreneur. We do intend to try.”

Read: Indian farmer used ChatGPT soon after launch: Sam Altman shares inspiring story

Expanding more about how his company built the chatbot that took the world by storm, he said, "We spent almost 8 months on GPT for making sure that it was safe enough to release. We built the technology, we have worked with organisations to figure out what the limits should be and tested them all. So self-regulation is important. It is something that we want to offer. The world should not be left entirely in the hands of the companies."

Altman kicked off his India visit, part of his six-nation tour, on Wednesday, and also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Altman also talked about…

Altman also talked about the possibility of AI replacing jobs as well as creating new roles. During his meeting with PM Modi, ‘India's incredible tech ecosystem’ featured as a key highlight in the discussion. Altman also praised India's achievements in building UPI and Aadhaar.

Indian ChatGPT?

Earlier this year, union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had hinted at the possibility of the government launching its own version of ChatGPT.

Altman’s India visit comes as the government is in talks to introduce a new Digital India bill which proposes ways to deal with things that could harm users such as revenge porn, cyber flashing, defamation, cyberbullying, and doxxing.

Union minister of state for electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday announced that AI-based tools will be regulated to ensure user safety. “We will regulate AI the same way we regulate any emerging tech. Either they will mitigate user harm or they will not be allowed to operate.”