The Rise of Generative AI - Is India Ready to Lead?

Change is time-intensive. Consider the time it took for traditional businesses to migrate to the cloud and invest in digital transformation. 

This was different when Generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) was launched. Businesses did not wait for their turn but jumped right into the AI wagon, securing their spot. The transformation was rapid and it reshaped industry functions and job markets. The ripple effect extended even to educational institutions and newsrooms with AI teachers and virtual news anchors making waves across. Before we knew it, AI and ML (Machine Learning) redefined workplaces and changed in-demand skill sets. Here are some data points to assess the trend. 

The demand for AI talent is expected to grow at 15% CAGR by 2027, making India one of the top countries in AI skills penetration. According to NASSCOM, roles like AI Engineering are growing at a whopping 70% year on year. The technology is opening up economic possibilities for the country which has the potential to become a USD 17 billion AI/ML market in a few years. The proliferation of Gen AI startups designing and building Gen AI and ML based SaaS models is also significantly high. NASSCOM reports that India has about 100 Gen AI startups as of January 2024, indicating a rise in investment in the sector. Indian enterprises are finding it an opportunity to invest in AI businesses. Jio Platforms made a USD 200 million investment in Singapore-based Glance Digital and there are many more. 

Even the state governments are eager to leverage the opportunity. Gujarat has partnered with Immerso.ai and other enterprises to build an AI park, data center, and university in Gandhinagar. The government envisions strengthening India’s technological prowess and access to world-class solutions from within the country. Meanwhile, Kerala is set to host the first international Gen AI conclave in India in July. As the central government envisages, the current peak will also drive enterprises to set up Centers of Excellence (CoE) across the country. Maybe, this could even drive India to have more than three as announced by the government. Wipro has already collaborated with IIT Delhi to build a Gen AI CoE in Bangalore. 

The magnitude LLMs (large language models) and other AI models dominating the technology spectrum is vast. All of these initiatives and facilities are surely going to strengthen our research and development capabilities in AI/ML. The bigger question is,  are we ready for this sudden shift? Is India prepared for the move to AI?

A 2024 EY research brought out the C-Suite perspective on the sudden shift to generative AI. While there is no doubt about the value uplift, about two-thirds of tech-services CXOs feel that their organization’s readiness to leverage GenAI is between 16% to 48% (low to moderate). Almost 48% of the respondents expressed concerns about data privacy while a majority voiced for stringent regulatory frameworks. The opinions on the nature of regulations differ but it is viewed as critical to ensuring customer trust, 

The European Union (EU) was the first to implement regulatory guidelines for the ethical use of Generative AI. This was a necessary move as the uncontrolled technology landscape gave way to potential misuse of the technology. In India, the advisory, formulated by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) took some steps to regulate the market. As per the guidelines, companies (large enterprises and not startups) currently testing LLMs would require government approval before market launch. While the government aims to prevent criminal attacks or any harm, the move has not gone well with entrepreneurs and technology developers. The government is set to release the draft regulatory framework by June-July, this year. Coincidently the regulations are also being released when India is getting ready for an AI-driven transformation. From Jio’s Bharat GPT to other indigenous models being developed in the country is sure to make AI work for India as the government desires. 

How far will these regulations support innovation and the free flow of ideas in the space? How ready are we to lead with the ongoing flak from the entrepreneur community on the regulatory draft? Questions are aplenty as we try to find our sweet spot in the AI/ML domain. Professionals are upskilling to make themselves relevant in the industry. Students are picking up professional courses to prepare themselves for the ever-changing techade. Are we prepared to meet their aspirations and expectations as a growing country with immense potential?

Maybe, we could learn and course correct as we go, rather than waiting to set a perfect avenue for technologies to be explored. 

Would love to know your thoughts too.