India is going for AI: to invest over $1 billion in computing infrastructure

The Indian government will invest over Rs 100 billion (about $1.197 billion) in computing infrastructure. artificial intelligence (IA) for the next two to three months, Indian Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Wednesday.

“We will procure 10,000 or more graphics processing units (GPUs) under a public-private partnership so that industry efficiencies can be leveraged for a larger cause,” Vaishnaw said during the inaugural session of the IndiaAI Global Summit held in New Delhi.

India’s AI Mission, approved by the Cabinet earlier this year, though still in its infancy, will focus on developing skills that will enable startups to test and build their generative AI models, and accelerate their efforts.

The minister pointed to the various interventions that have taken place worldwide to limit the problems posed by AI systems, referring to the European Union’s AI Law, approved last March, and the executive order in the United States, while emphasizing the importance of this tool to solve “certain socioeconomic problems.”

“Our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) vision on technology has always been to democratise it, to make it accessible to everyone. Technology, especially modern technology, is becoming very expensive and in many geographies, the tendency is for it to be limited to a few hands,” he said.

According to the minister, AI has been on a “transcendental” journey in the past year, with growth in both its consumption and enthusiasm for how it could change businesses and society, while awareness has also been raised about its dangers for social institutions.

His speech ended with a call to institutions such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations (UN) and the European Union to join forces and think about collaboration “to ensure that humanity takes advantage of the potential of AI, while containing the risks”.