OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, held a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to discuss various aspects of artificial intelligence (AI), emphasizing the need for global regulation. During the meeting, Prime Minister Modi expressed his appreciation for the vast potential of AI in India’s tech ecosystem, particularly among the youth. He welcomed collaborations that could accelerate India’s digital transformation and empower its citizens.
“Thank you for the insightful conversation @sama. The potential of AI in enhancing India’s tech ecosystem is indeed vast and that too among the youth in particular. We welcome all collaborations that can accelerate our digital transformation for empowering our citizens.” Prime Minster Narendra Modi tweeted after his meet with Sam Altman.
Altman, during a session at IIIT Delhi, he talked about the opportunities before the nation and what it should do in the field of artificial intelligence. He highlighted the extensive efforts made by OpenAI to ensure the safety of their AI model, ChatGPT, before its release. “We spent almost 8 months on GPT for making sure that it was safe enough to release. We build the technology, we have worked with organisations to figure out what the limits should be and tested them all. We do think that coordination is important. 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 said at the session. He emphasized the importance of self-regulation and expressed the company’s commitment to offering responsible AI technology. Altman acknowledged the significance of coordination among organizations and the avoidance of leaving AI entirely in the hands of companies. “We also felt the need to think about global regulation, which prevents some of the downsides from happening,” said Altman
Altman also shared his plans for India, mentioning that the first step would be to fund start-ups. “We were always amazed and quite grateful for the quality of Indian start-ups,” he said, adding that he had met some start-ups in India. He expressed admiration for the quality of Indian start-ups and had already met with some during his visit. Leveraging India’s strong IT industry and vast data resources, Altman recognized the immense potential for AI-based utilities in the country, despite AI being in its early stages.
The Indian government cited NASSCOM data, stating that the AI sector employed approximately 416,000 professionals with a growth rate estimated at 20-25%. Furthermore, AI is projected to contribute an additional USD 957 billion to India’s economy by 2035. While many countries have adopted AI technologies for improved service delivery and reduced human intervention, concerns about job cuts persist as the technology evolves.
