Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma Urges India To Turbocharge AI Efforts
Paytm Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma on Tuesday called upon India to significantly elevate its focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for national development.
Sharma, speaking at Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit 2023 in New Delhi, said there was a need for greater attention to AI, stating that it holds transformative potential across various sectors. He urged entrepreneurs to take the lead in harnessing the power of AI, highlighting its importance for India's future.
Sharma said that there was a misconception that the era before and after AI would be distinctly different, drawing parallels with the revolutionary impact of the internet. He added that, unlike other technologies, AI has the potential to be truly transformative, affecting every aspect of Indian life.
"Remember, LLMs (Large Language Models), whether open source LLM (or proprietary), made for India or made by India – the training of the data models and training based on the models in India will be a very key differentiator for us to have common citizen services served by government, by the power of AI" - Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Paytm Founder and CEO
AI In Education And Healthcare
The Paytm CEO particularly addressed the education vertical in his keynote by highlighting that the there was a language barrier in India, with more than 25 primary languages and English not being the first language. He expressed optimism about the role of local language AI bots, envisioning them as a significant leap forward in addressing educational challenges. Sharma said he sees AI assisting teachers and students across all levels of education, from early stages to postgraduate studies.
"[..] the power of internet and globally accessible videos have sorted out the problem of access to the content, but an interactive teacher whom they (students) can talk to is still missing. And in my opinion, the AI bots and especially, the local language AI bots, which will be built in India, will be one of the phenomenal leapfrogs that we will have in the education," he said.
Discussing healthcare, Sharma acknowledged the significant deprivation in India, with a shortage of hospitals, doctors and beds. He sees AI as a solution for remote consultations, data aggregation and expert opinions, particularly tailored to the unique challenges faced by the Indian healthcare system.
India-based And India-made AI
Sharma stressed the importance of developing India-specific expertise and models, urging entrepreneurs and investors to focus on solving the country's unique problems through AI. He cautioned against relying on Western solutions and spoke on the obligation to utilise India's data points for effective AI implementation.
"It is an important imperative that we do not become a country that is missing the AI wave at a scale that we are seeing it. AI is not just a productivity enhancer; it is a basic necessity of serving our citizens at a significant scale," said Sharma.
In addition to education and healthcare, Sharma highlighted the potential impact of AI on agriculture, where it could enhance farming practices and address ecological concerns. He also discussed the role of AI in urban development, particularly in realising the dream of smart cities, where data-driven insights could optimise traffic systems and improve overall efficiency.
