Washington: US President Donald Trump’s chief science advisor has said that India is a ‘technological superpower’ and it has an important role in the White House’s plan to advance Artificial Intelligence (AI). He praised India’s engineering capability and rapidly growing ecosystem. Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Science and Technology Policy Office, Michael Kratsios, said in an interview to Fox News, ‘India is a technological superpower.’
What warning are you giving to developing countries?
The top American scientific advisor, who recently returned from attending the India AI Impact Summit, said, ‘India produces a large number of engineers every year, has strong domestic talent and is developing good products and applications.’ He said that the difference in the speed of adoption of AI between developed and developing countries is increasing every day. According to him, the world can be seen broadly in two categories and different types of measures are needed for both.
He warned that if developing countries do not give priority to AI in areas like health, education, energy infrastructure, agriculture and government services related to ordinary citizens, then they may be left behind at a critical juncture. The White House is moving the ‘American AI Exports Program’ forward in this direction. Kratsios said that until now developing countries faced a difficult choice, but this program gives them a new path to better technology, financial support and cooperation in implementation.
Explaining the meaning of ‘real AI autonomy’, he said that it means using the best technology in the interest of one’s own people and deciding one’s own country’s direction amid global changes. He clarified that this strategy is not against any one competing country. He said, ‘This is about the fact that the United States has the best AI technology in the world and many countries want it in their ecosystem.’
Called India a strong partner
Regarding standards, he said that ‘agents’ will play an important role in the next phase of AI. Uniform standards will be needed for how these agents communicate and work together. For this, the American institute NIST has started an initiative, so that these systems can work together in a safe and effective manner. Financial resources are also a major challenge, especially for emerging economies. Kratsios said that the entire infrastructure of AI is expensive. In this, basic facilities like ‘data centres, semiconductors, power generation’ are necessary.
He said that Washington is gathering support through the US International Development Finance Corporation, Export Import Bank and other agencies. He also announced a US Tech Corps. He said, ‘These will be like Peace Corps volunteers, only the focus will be on technology. We are looking for people with technical background who want to help implement AI solutions.
Kratsios said India ‘has long been a strong partner in how the United States shares technology abroad.’ He said that American big technology companies have data centers and research centers in India, due to which cooperation in the AI field between the two countries is deepening.
