Speaking at a fireside chat with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on February 5, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw discussed the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in reshaping governance and industry.
Vaishnaw’s rallying call—“On the same lines that we did the Chandrayaan mission, why can’t we do the same in the LLM space.”—served as both the inspiration and the clarion call for the session.
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During the event, Vaishnaw highlighted the dynamism of India’s startup ecosystem and the innovative drive of its young entrepreneurs. “Our young entrepreneurs they are really focused on getting the next level of innovation that will reduce the cost,” he remarked.
Expounding on the government’s proactive approach to AI adoption, Vaishnaw stated, “We have been using multiple AI applications in different wings of the government. That can really help us solve population scale problems.”
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He further detailed plans to open up a new chapter of collaboration by launching open competitions and empanelling startups.
While Vaishnaw’s vision for an AI-enabled future was clear and ambitious, Altman provided a pragmatic counterpoint. “We are not there at the technological level where we can expect these models to cure cancer or similar diseases,” Altman stated.
Despite these technological constraints, Vaishnaw remains optimistic regarding everyday applications of AI. “OpenAI really makes life easier, in terms of making notes etc.,” he said.
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