Infosys co-founder and Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani recently emphasized the critical importance of artificial intelligence (AI) investments for businesses. Nandan Nilekani says not investing in AI costs more, as AI becomes increasingly vital for competitiveness. Speaking on Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath’s podcast, People by WTF, Nilekani highlighted that failing to invest in AI could lead companies to go out of business. “If there’s a major platform shift in the next five years, companies that do not invest could find themselves out of the game permanently,” Nilekani stated.
Nilekani explained that while spending billions on AI infrastructure might seem steep, it is a necessary investment. Companies are willing to allocate $50 billion a year to stay competitive. He pointed out that for many, not investing in AI could be costlier than investing in it, given the rapid developments in the field.
Nilekani also reflected on the success of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in India, citing two key factors that drove its adoption. He attributed UPI’s growth to the demonetization efforts and the COVID-19 pandemic, which pushed people toward digital payments. The ease of scanning QR codes instead of handling cash further accelerated UPI’s usage.
AI Commoditization and Global Competition
As Nandan Nilekani says not investing in AI costs more, firms should prioritize AI investments to ensure future success. Large language models (LLMs) have already become commoditized, according to Nilekani. These AI systems, which can understand and generate human language, are being developed at an accelerated pace, with global tech giants heavily investing in the race to dominate the AI landscape.
“There is a competitive land grab among major tech players in the West, with billions being poured into AI,” Nilekani said. He noted that such large-scale investments are likely to drive down the cost of AI technologies, eventually making them more accessible to countries like India. He pointed out that the trend is already starting to unfold.
Benefits of Open-Source AI for India
Nilekani sees great potential in open-source AI, particularly models like Meta’s LLaMA 3, for India. These open-source tools could help the country harness AI advancements without incurring massive development costs. He emphasized that as the cost of AI reduces, India could benefit significantly from this shift.
Nilekani underscored the transformative role language AI could play in a linguistically diverse country like India. He explained that AI can help overcome communication barriers by allowing individuals to access information in their native languages. Nilekani illustrated this with a simple example: “A farmer in Uttar Pradesh could ask questions in Hindi, and the AI would provide real-time information on farming techniques, making the world’s knowledge accessible in the farmer’s own language.”
The ability of language AI to provide information in regional languages is seen as a way to make technology more inclusive, particularly for those who may not be literate or familiar with English. Nilekani highlighted how this could revolutionize access to knowledge in rural areas, improving livelihoods and access to critical information.
Nilekani likened AI’s future role to that of electricity. “AI is going to be like electricity—it will be everywhere. Every aspect of life will have some AI component,” he predicted, indicating that AI will become deeply integrated into daily routines.
AI and Philanthropy
Nandan Nilekani says not investing in AI costs more, suggesting that early adopters will have a competitive edge. Furthermore, when asked about his investments in AI companies, Nilekani clarified that his focus is on using AI to benefit society. Instead of profit-driven investments, his interest lies in deploying AI at scale to improve sectors like education, healthcare, and agriculture.
He cited his investment in Sarvam AI, a startup that has developed small language models (SLMs) designed for business applications. These voice-enabled AI agents, available in 10 Indian languages, cost just Re 1 per minute, making them a low-cost alternative to human customer service agents.
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