Discussed AI Opportunities, Regulations During Meeting With PM Modi: OpenAI’s Sam Altman

SUMMARY

Altman said he and PM Modi discussed the opportunities which AI presents for India, the steps ahead, and the need to think about global regulations

On Wednesday, Altman called AI an existential risk and asked global leaders to join hands and come out with global regulations for the space

Responding to a question by Inc42, Altman, who is on a visit to India, expressed interest in investing in Indian startups through OpenAI’s VC arm

Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, on Thursday (June 8) said he had a great meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the PM was very enthusiastic about artificial intelligence (AI).

Altman, who is on a trip to India, met the PM earlier in the day.

Responding to a question, during an event in Delhi, about his meeting with Modi, Altman said they discussed the opportunities which AI presents for India, the steps ahead, and the need to think about global regulations around AI to prevent some of the downsides of the technology.

“He was so enthusiastic, really thoughtful about AI and the benefits of it. We asked why India has embraced ChatGPT so much and so early. It’s really been fun for us to watch. He had great answers about that,” the CEO of OpenAI, which created waves globally with the launch of ChatGPT, said.

It must be noted that Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar recently said that the Centre has started internal consultations on principles and guardrails for the use of AI in language learning models.

“Sam Altman is obviously a smart man. He has his own ideas about how AI should be regulated. We certainly think we have some smart brains in India as well and we have our own views on how AI should have guardrails,” Chandrasekhar reportedly said.

Meanwhile, Altman also called AI an existential risk on June 7 and asked global leaders to join hands and come out with global regulations for the space.

Besides government officials, Altman met startup founders as well during his India visit and attended many events.

Answering a question by Inc42 during the event today about plans to invest in Indian startups, Altman said, “We had some discussions yesterday (about investing in Indian startups) and we would love to invest in Indian startups.”

OpenAI has already been investing in startups. The ChatGPT creator launched the OpenAI Startup Fund to back AI startups and recently raised $175 Mn for the investment fund.

OpenAI also seems to be increasing its focus on the Indian market and recently expanded the availability of ChatGPT for Indian iOS users, along with over 30 other countries, last month.