Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, encourages India to prioritize AI investment for economic growth.
In light of the AI revolution, major global corporations are striving to integrate this technology into their range of products in order to increase their user base and boost profits. The debate surrounding whether the benefits of AI outweigh the risks continues, but Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has urged India and other nations to make substantial investments in this technology. Nadella emphasized that India has a distinctive chance to stimulate its economic development by harnessing the power of AI.
Satya Nadella on artificial intelligence
“Artificial intelligence is really in the air right now,” Bloomberg quoted Nadella as saying during a panel with industry leaders at the iconic Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai. “I’ve never seen this rate of diffusion of any technology in 70 years of computing.”
He said that Microsoft will help train 2 million people in India with AI skills, increasing its commitment to the nation. Countries that adopt the technology have the opportunity to expand their skills and boost economic growth, he said.
“This new feature, artificial intelligence, is going to affect GDP,” he said.
Microsoft has been a pioneer in the introduction of artificial intelligence and the commercialization of the technology through its software portfolio. The Redmond, Washington-based company invested more than $10 billion in OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, and is working with the startup on new products and services.
India is emerging as a central battleground in the AI race. With more than 5 million programmers in the country, it is one of the largest AI talent pools for startups and global companies at a time when AI skills are often in short supply.
“India’s AI technology community is second only to the US,” he said.
Nadella, who took the helm of Microsoft 10 years ago in February 2014, is getting a hero’s welcome when he returns home. The 56-year-old has led the stock market up 1,000% over the past decade, overtaking Apple Inc to become the world’s most valuable company.
At the event in Mumbai, he was praised by people who spoke of the “incredible privilege” and “honour of a lifetime” to meet him.
Microsoft has invested heavily in Nadella’s home country, where it employs more than 23,000 people in cities including tech hubs Bangalore and Hyderabad. Last year, it promised to train 100,000 developers to use the latest AI tools and techniques.
In his Mumbai appearance, Nadella drew a parallel to Britain and how its economy took off after the country poured 10 percent of its GDP into rail. “The rest is history,” he said.
Nadella predicted all kinds of opportunities for AI-related investments, including quantum computing, climate change and scientific research.
“AI models are like the foundries of the world,” he said.
(Courtesy of Bloomberg)
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