Indians Make Their Mark on TIME's 100 Most Influential People in AI List for 2024

Anil Kapoor, Ashwini Vaishnaw Among Time's 100 Most Influential People in AI 2024

Ashwini Vaishnaw is highlighted for his vision of turning India into one of the top five nations for semiconductor production in the next five years. Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor are among the Indians recognized in Time magazine's 2024 "Most Influential People in AI" list. The list, released on September 5, honours individuals making a significant impact in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Ashwini Vaishnaw's Semiconductor Push Ashwini Vaishnaw, who has been instrumental in India's push towards semiconductor manufacturing, is highlighted for his vision of turning India into one of the top five nations for semiconductor production in the next five years. According to Time, "Under Vaishnaw's leadership, the country hopes to become one of the top five nations for semiconductor manufacturing -- a key component for modern AI systems -- within the next five years. Construction has begun on several factories." However, Vaishnaw faces notable challenges. India's tech sector is grappling with low private sector R&D investments and lacks advanced manufacturing ecosystems. Additionally, the education system is still adapting to produce the skilled workforce required for the AI and semiconductor sectors. The magazine also points out further hurdles, such as high import tariffs, global competition, and the extensive infrastructure needed to support semiconductor manufacturing, especially the demands on power and water supply systems. Anil Kapoor's Legal Fight Against AI Misuse Actor Anil Kapoor was recognized for his legal efforts against the unauthorised use of his likeness by AI. Kapoor's inclusion in the list follows his landmark legal victory in 2023, when the Delhi High Court issued an order preventing 16 entities from using his name, voice, image, or other personal traits without consent. The court's order came after Kapoor's image and his iconic phrase "jhakaas" were used without permission in various AI-generated videos and emojis. The magazine noted, "Bollywood is one of the world's largest film industries, rolling out more than 1,500 movies every year. But Kapoor's ruling comes at a time when the industry is grappling with how to regulate the misuse of AI." The misuse of AI has been a growing concern in Bollywood, particularly with the spread of deepfake videos featuring popular actors like Alia Bhatt and Rashmika Mandanna. The issue gained further attention during India's 2024 elections, when AI-generated videos of actors like Aamir Khan and Ranveer Singh surfaced, falsely appearing to criticise Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Nandan Nilekani's Contributions to Digital Public Infrastructure Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of Infosys and a prominent figure in India's digital infrastructure, also made the list. Time highlighted Nilekani's work in developing India's Aadhaar programme, the largest biometric identification program globally, and his contributions to digital public infrastructure. "Nilekani, the billionaire co-founder of Infosys, has spent fifteen years in and out of government developing digital public infrastructure for the world's most populous country, earning him nicknames like 'India's Bill Gates'," Time wrote. His efforts in the Aadhaar programme are seen as key to improving welfare systems, reducing fraud, and aiding tax collection and bank verification processes. Rohit Prasad, Senior VP and Head Scientist of Artificial General Intelligence at Amazon The list includes global figures from various industries, such as actress Scarlett Johansson, YouTuber Marques Brownlee, artist Lawrence Lek, AI creator King Willonius, and technology leaders like Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, and Satya Nadella, highlighting the broad influence AI has across sectors from entertainment to Silicon Valley.

From Ashwini Vaishnaw to Anil Kapoor: Indians in the TIME100 Most Influential People in AI 2024 List

TIME Magazine has released its list of the 100 most influential people in the world for this year, titled 'TIME100 Most Influential People in AI 2024'. The list features several Indians. Notable names on the list include Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, and Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. Key Indian figures include Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Nandan Nilekani, and actor Anil Kapoor. Regarding Vaishnaw, TIME wrote, "Under Vaishnaw's leadership, the country hopes to become one of the top five nations for semiconductor manufacturing -- a key component for modern AI systems -- within the next five years. Construction has begun on several factories. Yet, Vaishnaw faces significant challenges in realizing these ambitions. India's tech sector struggles with low private R&D investment and a lack of advanced manufacturing ecosystems. Its educational system is also catching up to produce the specialized workforce needed for cutting-edge AI and semiconductor development." The list also includes Anant Vijay Singh (Product Lead at Proton) and Rohit Prasad (SVP and Head Scientist of Artificial General Intelligence at Amazon). Another notable inclusion is actor Anil Kapoor, about whom TIME wrote, "Anil Kapoor won a landmark victory in a New Delhi high court in September over the unauthorized AI use of his likeness. Kapoor's victory has also paved the way for others to seek protection for their personality rights." The list features many other Indian-Americans as well. To view the full list, click here.

Ashwini Vaishnaw On TIME's List Of Most Influential People In AI

Meanwhile, multiple other Indian-origin executives of US-based tech giants also grabbed a spot on the list, including Satya Nadella, Sundar Pichai, Aravind Srinivas, among others Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has been featured on TIME Magazine's 2024 list of the 100 most influential people globally in the space of artificial intelligence (AI). In a short biography for Vaishnaw, the magazine said that the Minister has been leading India's efforts to become a "major player in the world of AI". "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 said. The report also underlined that Vaishnaw faces "significant challenges" in realising India's AI ambitions as the country's tech sector "struggles with low private R&D (research and development) investment and a lack of advanced manufacturing ecosystems". It also flagged the high import tariffs on electronic components, global competition for resources, and the complexity of rapidly upgrading infrastructure as other key hurdles to India's AI dreams. Titled 'TIME100 Most Influential People in AI 2024', the list also featured Infosys cofounder and Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani as one of the biggest faces in the field of emerging technology. Nilekani grabbed a spot on the list on account of his latest project 'Adbhut India', a non-profit collective that aims to create public infrastructure to enable AI developers to build India-specific products. For instance, Adbhut India is developing datasets of Indic languages and India-specific benchmarks. Another Indian on the list was actor Anil Kapoor, who grabbed the limelight for his landmark legal victory in September last year in connection with the unauthorised use of AI to create content bearing his "likeness". Meanwhile, multiple other Indian-origin executives of US-based tech giants also grabbed a spot on the list, including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas, head scientist of artificial general intelligence at Amazon Rohit Prasad, among others. Curiously, social media platform X and AI company xAI's CEO Elon Musk did not feature on the list. The list comes at a time when India has ramped up its focus on promoting and spurring the adoption of AI through a slew of sops and policy initiatives. The Centre's ambitious IndiaAI Mission aims to increase the country's computing capacity, increase access to high-quality datasets and push the homegrown AI startup ecosystem with funding. Owing to the growing AI mania and the regulatory push, India, as per Inc42, is home to more than 100 GenAI startups that have raised more than $600 Mn between 2019 and 2023.

Ashwini Vaishnaw, Anil Kapoor among Times 100 most influential people in AI

'India, the world's fifth-largest economy, is striving to become a key player in the field of AI. The country's electronics and information technology minister, Aishwini Vaishnaw, is spearheading these efforts," the magazine stated. According to TIME, India's journey to becoming a leader in the AI sector could face additional challenges due to high import tariffs on electronic components, global competition for talent and resources, and the complexities involved in rapidly upgrading infrastructure, especially the extensive power and water supply systems required for semiconductor manufacturing.

Anil Kapoor among Time magazine's 100 most influential people in AI

The list, released on Thursday, features 15 Indian or Indian-origin people. Among them are Sundar Pichai of Google, and Satya Nadella of Microsoft Actor Anil Kapoor, Union Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani are among Indians who have been honoured in Time magazine's prestigious list of the 100 "Most Influential People in AI 2024". The list, released on Thursday, features 15 Indian or Indian-origin people. Among them are Sundar Pichai of Google, and Satya Nadella of Microsoft. Jackie Shroff moves Delhi HC against unauthorised use of his name Writing about 54-year-old Vaishnaw, the magazine said under his leadership, India hopes to become one of the top five countries for semiconductor manufacturing-a key component for modern AI systems within the next five years. "Yet, Vaishnaw faces significant challenges in realising these ambitions. India's tech sector struggles with low private R&D investment and a lack of advanced manufacturing ecosystems. Its educational system is also catching up to produce the specialised workforce needed for cutting-edge AI and semiconductor development," it said. India, the world's fifth largest economy, is trying to become a major player in the world of AI, it said. Bigg Boss OTT 3 grand premiere kicks off with new host Anil Kapoor Kapoor, 67, has been included in Time's AI list after a landmark victory in September 2023 over unauthorised AI use of his likeness. The actor took up the case after a large number of distorted videos, gifs, and emojis bearing his likeness began circulating online. Nilekani, 69, is Co-founder of Infosys and co-founder & chairman of EkStep. "Nilekani, the billionaire co-founder of Infosys, has spent fifteen years in and out of government developing digital public infrastructure for the world's most populous country, earning him nicknames like 'India's Bill Gates'," the magazine wrote about the entrepreneur. "Nilekani led India's Aadhaar programme, the world's largest biometric identity card programme. He promoted the programme as a salve to welfare fraud, alongside a means to help improve tax collection, and ease bank customer verification, among other benefits," the magazine added. "If the world of AI was dominated by the emergence of startup labs like OpenAI, Anthropic, and their competitors in 2023, this year, as critics and champions alike have noted, we've seen the outsize influence of a small number of tech giants...," TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs said. OpenAI's ChatGPT has more than 1 million paid business users The 2024 TIME100 AI list features 40 CEOs, founders and co-founders, including Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, Pichai of Google, Nadella of Microsoft and Aravind Srinivas of Perplexity among others. Amba Kak, Co-executive Director, of AI Now Institute, Arati Prabhakar, Director, of the US Office of Science and Technology Policy and Divya Siddarth, Co-founders, of Collective Intelligence Project, were among the women leaders featured in the list. Other Indians or Indian-origin leaders in AI in the list include Rohit Prasad SVP and head scientist of Artificial General Intelligence, Amazon, Shiv Rao Co-founder and CEO, Abridge, Anant Vijay Singh Product Lead at Proton, Dwarkesh Patel Host, Dwarkesh Podcast, Amandeep Singh Gill, United Nations Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology, and Vinod Khosla, Founder, Khosla Ventures. Published - September 06, 2024 03:42 pm IST Read Comments

Ashwini Vaishnaw features on TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in AI 2024

India's Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, was named one of TIME magazine's "Most Influential People in AI 2024" for leading the country's efforts to become a major AI player. Despite not yet having binding AI laws, India has chaired the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence and hosted the Global IndiaAI Summit, aiming to democratize technology.India's Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday secured a coveted spot on TIME magazine's "Most Influential People in AI 2024." India -- the world's fifth largest economy -- is trying to become a major player in the world of AI. "The country's electronics and information technology minister, Aishwini Vaishnaw, leads its efforts," said the magazine. While the country has yet to create binding AI laws, for the past year, it has chaired the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence -- an international initiative to support states in governing AI, it says. As part of its chairmanship, India hosted the Global IndiaAI Summit in July, attended by over 2,000 AI experts, including senior leaders from OpenAI and Microsoft, and delegates from over 50 countries. At the Summit, Vaishnaw emphasized the need to "democratize technology," so it's accessible to all. The Indian government has also allocated over $1.2 billion to support its nascent AI sector. Most of the country's AI efforts have been funneled through its "IndiaAI" initiative, managed by Vaishnaw's ministry. The ministry aims to secure over 10,000 Graphic Processing Units, the chips that power most AI technology, to increase the country's computing capacity; provide finance for local startups; increase access to high-quality datasets; expand access to AI educational opportunities for Indians; and develop its own state-of-the-art AI models. "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." Yet, Vaishnaw faces "significant challenges" in realizing these ambitions, says the magazine. "India's tech sector struggles with low private R&D investment and a lack of advanced manufacturing ecosystems. Its educational system is also catching up to produce the specialized workforce needed for cutting-edge AI and semiconductor development," it adds. High import tariffs on electronic components, global competition for talent and resources, and the complexity of rapidly upgrading infrastructure (particularly the extensive power and water supply systems that are required for semiconductor manufacturing), may be further hurdles on India's path to becoming a leader in the AI space, according to TIME. "As in every country, India is striving to strike a balance between fostering innovation and ensuring AI benefits its people and constraining the technology's risks. Whether it will succeed remains to be seen."

Indian minister Ashwini Vaishnaw among TIME's most influential people in AI

According to a report by TIME, India is trying to become a major player in the world of AI and Vaishnaw is leading this effort. Indian Electronics and Information Technology (I-T) Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is among TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in Artificial Intelligence (AI). According to a report by TIME, India is trying to become a major player in the world of AI and Vaishnaw is leading this effort. "While the country has yet to create binding AI laws, for the past year, it has chaired the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence -- an international initiative to support states in governing AI," the report said. India recently hosted the Global IndiaAI Summit in July where Vaishnaw emphasised the need to democratise technology so that it is accessible to all. The summit was attended by more than 2,000 AI experts including senior leaders from OpenAI and Microsoft, and delegates from over 50 countries. The report pointed out that most of India's AI efforts have been funnelled through the IndiaAI initiative, managed by Vaishnaw's ministry. "The ministry aims to secure over 10,000 Graphic Processing Units, the chips that power most AI technology, to increase the country's computing capacity; provide finance for local startups; increase access to high-quality datasets; expand access to AI educational opportunities for Indians; and develop its own state-of-the-art AI models," the report added. "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," it further said. The report also highlighted the challenges that Vaishnaw would face in realising the above ambitions. "India's tech sector struggles with low private R&D investment and a lack of advanced manufacturing ecosystems. Its educational system is also catching up to produce the specialised workforce needed for cutting-edge AI and semiconductor development," the report said.

Ashwini Vaishnaw features on TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in AI

Read more: Employees in Japan pay this much to quit their jobs, here's how much and why The magazine said, "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." India hosted the Global IndiaAI Summit in July, attended by over 2,000 AI experts, top bosses from OpenAI and Microsoft and delegates from over 50 countries. India's AI initiatives' have been funneled through its "IndiaAI" initiative, managed by Ashwini Vaishnaw. The government is also aiming to secure over 10,000 Graphic Processing Units that power most AI technology, to increase the country's computing capacity, it was reported earlier. Ashwini Vaishnaw has faced "significant challenges" in this process of pushing AI as "India's tech sector struggles with low private R&D investment and a lack of advanced manufacturing ecosystems. Its educational system is also catching up to produce the specialized workforce needed for cutting-edge AI and semiconductor development," the magazine noted. As per TIME, the hurdles that India faces on the path of becoming a leader in the AI space include high import tariffs on electronic components, global competition for talent and resources and complexity of rapidly upgrading infrastructure. It said, "As in every country, India is striving to strike a balance between fostering innovation and ensuring AI benefits its people and constraining the technology's risks. Whether it will succeed remains to be seen."