With AI Startups At The Core, India To Host Maiden Global IndiaAI 2023 Summit In October

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is all set to host the maiden edition of the Global IndiaAI 2023 summit in October. 

The conference aims to spur investment opportunities in the country’s AI startup ecosystem and nurture talent.

The event is expected to see participation from both global and domestic artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, researchers, startups, and investors. 

In a statement, the ministry said that the summit will cover a wide spectrum of topics, allowing all major stakeholders to deliberate on the future of AI and its impact on India Inc.

“The Global IndiaAI 2023 conference is tentatively planned for October 14/15 and it will bring together the best and brightest in AI from India and around the world… The Global IndiaAI summit will also catalyse India’s AI landscape and innovation ecosystem,” said Minister of State (MoS) for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar. 

As per the ministry, the event will centre around emerging areas in the AI space, including next-generation learning and foundational AI models, future research trends and AI computing systems. In addition, stakeholders will also deliberate the application of AI in areas such as healthcare, governance and next-generation electric vehicles.

With this, the government wants to emulate the ‘huge success’ of the SemiconIndia summit held in July this year and catalyse the local AI industry. 

As per an official statement, the event will showcase the state-backed IndiaAI ecosystem that comprises projects such as the Digital India Bhashini India Datasets Program and IndiaAI Future Design Program for startups.

Chandrasekhar is chairing the steering committee that has been given the task of organising the Global IndiaAI 2023 summit. The panel comprises members from MeitY’s Digital Economy Advisory Group and other industry experts in the field of AI.

Lauding the role of startups and academia, Chandrasekhar said that a holistic framework developed in partnership with stakeholders for the IndiaAI initiative will serve as an integral part of the upcoming conference’s agenda. He also called for the responsible use of AI to curb user harm and encourage innovation. 

“… What we want is that AI should be responsible so that user harm is curbed and innovation is encouraged. Our primary aim is to ensure a collaborative and participatory approach, steering AI to enhance governance and transforming lives while building global partnerships and actively shaping the world’s technology landscape,” the MoS said. 

This comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for building a global framework on the ethical usage of AI while addressing the B20 Summit India 2023. 

Not just this, industry veterans, such as Sridhar Vembu, have also raised concerns over the emerging technology, while Tata Sons’ chairman N Chandrasekaran has expressed optimism over the positive impact of AI on the job market in India.