New York, August 28: Senior Congress leader Sam Pitroda has expressed concern over India’s limited progress in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), despite the significant contributions of Indian experts in developing this technology. He emphasized that AI should be utilized to address issues within the country’s judiciary, education system, healthcare services, and agricultural sector.
In a special interview, Pitroda stated, “I regret to say that India is not in a good position regarding AI. However, Indian individuals are well-placed in the AI domain. These are two separate matters.”
He pointed out, “Many Indians are shaping AI. Yet, as a nation, we have made minimal progress. We lack a clear policy on AI. There is no direction. We have not utilized AI in governance.”
Pitroda, who played a crucial role in the expansion of telecommunications and information technology in India, noted that the true measure of AI’s success should be its ability to solve common people’s problems. He cited the millions of pending cases in courts as an area where AI could bring significant change.
He remarked, “Can I use AI to resolve my court cases? If a specific technical mission is launched to address court cases through AI and it succeeds, I would be very pleased.”
Pitroda stressed that developing AI solely to solve financial market issues or those of Western countries is insufficient. India must focus on its social and economic needs.
He stated, “Creating AI for the problems of Western countries, banking, or stock markets is fine, but it doesn’t attract me much. The real question is how AI will enhance our education? How will it strengthen our healthcare system? Can AI reduce healthcare costs? How can it assist our farmers? These are the real issues.”
He dismissed the notion that technology developed for India’s needs would have limited global utility.
“When you create something for India, it can also be useful for the world. Today, every product is a global product. It depends on the problem you are solving,” he said, referencing the pending court cases and noting that similar challenges exist in many countries, including those in Latin America. Thus, solutions developed for India could also benefit other developing nations.
Pitroda also supported indigenous technological development and recalled India’s early tech initiatives. “I certainly support indigenous development. We did this at C-DOT. We did this at C-DAC. This was about 45 years ago.”
According to him, these efforts cultivated human resources that later strengthened India’s IT sector.
“We developed human capacity. That capacity is what is benefiting us today. The IT sector created 7 million jobs. At least 7 million families rose out of poverty. India gained global recognition in IT. All of this happened due to Indian talent,” he added.
Pitroda urged India to leverage its talent to address the problems of poor and developing countries, rather than just catering to the business needs of wealthy nations.
“We must solve the problems of the poor. For the past 40 years, I have been saying that the world’s most talented people are focused on solving the problems of the rich, while the poor’s issues remain neglected,” he concluded.
Telecommunications engineer and policymaker Pitroda is widely associated with the establishment of the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) during former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure and later led the National Knowledge Commission under former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
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