By Girish Linganna
On last Friday Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Microsoft co-founder, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates, came together at the former’s residence in Delhi in a free-wheeling and insightful exchange on a range of topics that was as diverse as it was intriguing and thought-provoking—the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the importance of Digital Public Infrastructure, and the ‘Namo Drone Didi’ scheme.
PM Modi articulated his vision for a digitally inclusive India, stressing that he was committed to preventing a ‘digital divide’ by bringing even the remotest villages within the digital ambit by extending infrastructure. Modi said India’s digital push had been made possible by democratizing technology so that people could value-add according to their needs.
Gates was all praise for India’s “digital government”. He said, “India’s not only adapting to technology, but also leading the way”. Speaking of the new frontiers of technology, such as AI, Gates asked Modi what India’s vision was. Modi jokingly said that, in many states of the country, children call their mothers ‘Ai’, but these same kids were now also intrigued by the possibilities of Artificial Intelligence. AI should not be perceived as a ‘magic wand’, or as replacement for laziness of the person wielding the mouse and cursor.
Incidentally, Microsoft is celebrating 25 years of its presence in India. Microsoft chairman and CEO Satya Nadella, on February 8 this year, had highlighted the crucial role that India’s developer community was playing in building state-of-the-art products and solutions that solve challenges for the nation, even while being deployed globally. While Nadella addressed 1,100 developers and technology leaders at an event called the Microsoft AI Tour in Bengaluru, he spoke of the impact of Indian developers in accelerating AI innovation globally.
Microsoft owns software collaboration and innovation platform GitHub. And India is the fastest-growing market on that platform, with 13.2 million developers. It will likely overtake the US as GitHub’s biggest developer community by 2027. The second-highest number of generative AI projects on GitHub, after the US, is owned by Indian firms. “This next-generation AI is changing the way—and the products—developers build in any place, even in India,” Nadella said. “It’s wonderful how India’s developers are applying Microsoft tools and technology to build a future for India and the world.”
Microsoft would expand its Code; Without Barriers programme to India in February 2024, Nadella had promised. The company spoke the same language as PM Modi: Democratize access to tech skills nationwide. The programme provides support, training and networking opportunities to female developers and coders, especially, to contribute to inclusive economic growth, encourage innovation and reflect the region’s social make-up. Microsoft has ambitious plans to enable 75,000 women developers in India with skilling and certification in 2024 through this initiative.
Code; Without Barriers’ expansion builds on Microsoft’s other recent developer and skilling initiatives in India. Nadella—his visit preceded that of Bill Gates’s—also announced new skilling investments by his company in India to empower people and businesses to thrive in the AI regime. Microsoft will invest to up skill 2 million people in India by 2025 through its ‘ADVANTA(I)GE INDIA’ project. In January 2024, Microsoft empowered 100,000 developers to upskill their AI careers through its ‘AI Odyssey’. The initiative allowed those who participated to take the first steps towards becoming AI experts by learning new skills and earning Microsoft credentials.
‘Gates said that the company’s plan was to turn into a more creative and productive entity. “AI is a huge opportunity. But there are a few challenges that come with it,” he added. The PM said it would be a travesty of justice to use such an efficient tool simply to save time by drafting an e-mail message; it’s needed to be used for the welfare of the masses, he added. “We should use such AI tools as ChatGPT to constantly improve ourselves,” the PM said.
An important aspect of the discussion was that it also touched upon the use of AI in translating languages, showcasing India’s advancements during such international events as the recently held G20 Summit and the Kashi Tamil Sangamam. The PM said AI was used extensively during the G20 Summit to help drivers and delegates communicate in different languages using an app. He also mentioned how the people listened to him in Tamil as he spoke in Hindi at the Kashi Tamil Sangamam.
Inevitably, the issues of ‘deepfakes’ generated by AI and of data privacy that is inextricably linked with the use of such technology also came up during the discussion. The PM said there had to be ‘do-s’ and ‘don’t-s’, including watermarking images as ‘AI-generated’, to prevent the spread of misinformation. On the question of data privacy, Modi said the common masses needed to be trained about data quality and the ‘owner’ of any data should know what that data was being sought for.
Modi highlighted how the mindset of women had changed…how women who, earlier, did not know how to ride a bicycle, were now pilots and could fly drones. Under the ‘Namo Drone Didi’ scheme, drones are now used to monitor crop, spray fertiliser and sow seeds, besides other uses. The programme, he said, would boost the image of women as changemakers in villages.
The discussion also had its lighter moments, for instance when Modi inviting Gates to explore the features of the NaMo App and even suggesting they take a ‘selfie’ using the app’s Photo Booth function.
Bill Gates applauded India’s rapid adoption of technology and its spirit of innovation that is now visible in every nook and corner of the country—especially in the context of Green GDP and sustainable development. Modi said the global outlook on development must change. If development is measured only by the tons of steel or the amperes of electricity used, people would continue with that as a yardstick for progress. There had to be a concept of ‘Green GDP’, Modi stressed. (IPA
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