Experts urge govt to invest in open data, compute for AI leadership - ET Telecom

Experts emphasize that India’s success in the global artificial intelligence race hinges on the government’s active investment in open data, computing infrastructure, and open-source models. Currently, Indian startups remain dependent on Western foundational models, which often introduce biases unsuited to local contexts and pose geopolitical risks. To achieve autonomy and relevance, the government must unlock the vast, high-value datasets held within public institutions, ensuring they are accessible via secure APIs while preserving privacy and managing governance standards effectively. The private sector is unlikely to independently fund the creation of large, foundational models due to prohibitive costs and limited access to deep capital compared to global competitors. Consequently, the industry prefers developing vertical, small-to-medium applications rather than building core infrastructure from scratch. Without significant state intervention to provide patient capital and incentives, Indian AI firms will continue to rely on affordable, openly available foreign models, hindering the development of a mature, indigenous AI ecosystem capable of scaling globally. To address these gaps, the government is establishing public-private partnerships to create affordable high-performance computing hubs, democratizing access to essential resources for startups and enterprises. This strategic shift aims to reduce dependency on foreign technology while fostering innovation in critical sectors like agriculture and healthcare. This article is highly relevant to open data because it underscores that data openness is not merely a transparency goal but a strategic economic imperative, requiring robust governance frameworks to enable researchers and startups to leverage public information for national competitive advantage.

Source: telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com
Published on 2024-02-19

Experts urge govt to invest in open data, compute for AI leadership - ET Telecom

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