Make 'Artificial Intelligence' work for India: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that with Artificial Intelligence (AI), bots and robots, productivity will increase, but warned of rising apprehensions of 'human redundancy' as the mind and machines would compete directly.

For avoiding this scenario, he urged that AI should be Made in India and Made to Work for India and asked the students and teachers to identify the grand challenges facing the country that can be resolved by applications of AI.

Modi made it clear that "the march of technology cannot be at the expense of further increasing the difference between societies over access to technology".

"The evolution of technology has to be rooted in the ethic of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas'. Technology opens entirely new spheres and sectors for growth, and entirely new paradigms for more opportunities.

"The road ahead for AI depends on and will be driven by Human Intentions'. It is our intention that will determine the outcomes of artificial intelligence," Modi said after inaugurating the Wadhwani Institute of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Mumbai's Kalina Campus.

"Can AI help us predict natural calamities? Can it help us detect serious health conditions before they manifest physically? Can AI help our farmers make the right decisions regarding weather, crop and sowing cycles," he asked the gathering of students and teachers.

Modi sought to know whether the combination of teachers and AI would help bridge the gaps in the teacher-student ratio, which in turn can help deliver quality education to every student in India, or take quality healthcare to every corner of the country by expanding capacities of healthcare workers.

He said the government is of the firm belief that this power of the 21st century technology, AI, can be utilised to eradicate poverty and disease, and by doing so, prosperity can be brought to the poor and underprivileged sections.