Ashwini Vaishnaw, Nandan Nilekani On TIME’s List Of 100 Most Influential People In AI

Ashwini Vaishnaw, the IT Minister of India, has been named in TIME Magazine‘s 2024 edition of the 100 most influential figures in the world of artificial intelligence (AI).

In a brief profile of Vaishnaw, TIME Magazine highlights his role in steering India towards becoming a significant player in the global AI landscape.

“Under Vaishnaw’s leadership, the country hopes to become one of the top five countries for semiconductor manufacturing—a key component for modern AI systems—within the next five years. Construction has begun on several factories,” the magazine notes.

The article also points out the challenges Vaishnaw faces in achieving India’s AI ambitions, including the country’s tech sector’s struggle with limited private investments in research and development and a scarcity of advanced manufacturing environments. Additionally, the high tariffs on electronic components, competition for resources globally, and the complexity of upgrading infrastructure are identified as significant obstacles to India’s AI goals.

The list titled ‘TIME100 Most Influential People in AI 2024’ also includes Nandan Nilekani, the co-founder of Infosys and architect of Aadhaar, as one of the leading figures in emerging technology. Nilekani secured a position on the list due to his latest initiative, ‘Adbhut India’, a non-profit organization dedicated to developing public infrastructure to support AI developers in creating products tailored for India. Adbhut India is working on creating datasets for Indic languages and establishing benchmarks specific to India.

Another Indian, actor Anil Kapoor, is also featured on the list for his legal victory against unauthorized use of his likeness in AI content.

Moreover, several Indian executives from US-based technology companies have made it to the list, including Satya Nadella of Microsoft, Sundar Pichai of Alphabet, Aravind Srinivas of Perplexity, Rohit Prasad, the head scientist of artificial general intelligence at Amazon, among others. Interestingly, social media platform X and AI company xAI’s CEO Elon Musk is absent from the list.

This recognition comes at a time when India is intensifying its efforts to promote and encourage the adoption of AI through various incentives and policy measures. The Centre’s ambitious IndiaAI Mission aims to enhance India’s computing capabilities, increase access to high-quality datasets, and foster a robust AI startup ecosystem through funding.

With growing interest in AI and regulatory support, India is home to over 100 GenAI startups that have collectively raised more than $600 million between 2019 and 2023. As per Inc42, India’s GenAI market is poised for significant growth in the coming years, expected to surpass $17 billion by 2030.