Admittedly, there is a global race for AI dominance. And the winner in this race will be decided by the quality of AI talent.

How India fares in this race? Has it got an ecosystem to attract and nurture and retain its AI talent? Are Indian universities equipped with cutting edge research capabilities and thought leadership? India’s need for AI talent is far greater than what a few outlier universities with such capacities offer.

It is estimated by NASSCOM that India’s AI talent pool is 16 per cent at the global AI talent. India has 2 million plus STEM graduates. What matters is the quality of this manpower. It is a big challenge for the Indian industry to convert this manpower into workable individuals by training them.

Even academia lags behind the current trends. They languish in obsolescence in STEM domain. They offer only a sparse of cutting-edge work. In fact, this is an injustice to the young India. There should be enough universities dedicated to AI research.

India has many data centers and digital public pipelines. These are repositories of accessible datasets. Indian citizens understand more than one language. Some speak a mix of two languages, say Hinglish. This sets India apart. It has a distinctive cultural-linguistic nuance not found elsewhere.

AI has so far remained a darling of media. It has to travel to research labs, and then to industry. There should be tie-ups across the sectors. There should be curated catalogues of AI datasets. There should be testbeds, educational resources, metadata.

AI’s commercialization will receive a boost at the hands of local industry. India is being leveraged by foreign tech firms for its cost-effective talent and backend development. They keep their commercial interest in mind. India must realize this and must cultivate its own ecosystem. India must learn to retain its AI talent which can push it to global stage. Otherwise, the talent will gravitate to global ecosystems.

At present, even Indian tech industry is in stress due to global factors. Hiring has slowed down except in AI and related domains AI is a key driver of innovation. India should adapt to client needs of digital transformation and AI solutions. There is a promise in tie ups of global firms such as Nvidia with Indian firms. India’s IT majors must recalibrate their AI offerings with the necessary skilled talent.

In AI, the US maintains an edge. It fosters AI unicorns. China too is making substantial investments in AI. The UK and Germany follow suit. The US attracts talent. In STEM fields, half the masters and doctorates are from the US universities. They remain in the US after their education. And 60 per cent of AI researchers are affiliated with US institutions.

Governments have recognized AI as an agent of change. At the same time, governments are also concerned with the risks posed by AI. It is a policy dichotomy. The government have to play a dual role — harnessing AI for its positives, and simultaneously addressing the risks associated with it.

In AI race, make no mistake, the winner takes it all.