The role of generative AI in India’s future

India’s “youth bulge” is expected to last till 2030 according to UNFPA projections, and this presents a golden period in any country’s existence where the youth can embrace GenAI to drive innovations. Amit Choudhary, Chief Operating Officer, Wipro Limited, explains.

Over the past few decades, digitization has been on everyone’s radar, and this has given rise to the question: now that so much has been digitized, what needs to be done with all this data? (Note that this data is much more than our traditional understanding of the term, i.e., numbers.) As a natural next step, this wave of digitization was followed by advances in AI that have continued at breakneck speed, and, over the next few years, it will become more integrated into our lives and the way we shape our careers.

Though we may not realize it, AI has already been part of our daily routine while remaining invisible to us. Personalized product recommendations and AI-enabled voice shopping help elevate our experience and are perfect examples of how largely unaware people are about AI integration.

The emergence of generative AI (GenAI) should be seen as a “natural evolution” of this interaction, where the AI moves beyond operating from the shadows and becomes our active companion; helping us to better navigate our lives. The popularity of some mainstream GenAI tools has already highlighted the true potential of AI in helping with everyday tasks and elevating us to new levels of productivity.

The reality of the new age of AI is here, and we must embrace it, or risk being left behind. This expectation becomes even more critical for India as the country has one of the youngest populations and the largest IT workforce in the world. India’s “youth bulge” is expected to last till 2030 according to UNFPA projections, and this presents a golden period in any country’s existence where the youth can embrace GenAI to drive innovations.

The India of today is constantly innovating and evolving with the times, giving us a significant head start in solving diverse societal problems proactively. Ever-increasing investments in the country’s digital public infrastructure and deep 4G penetration are some examples of India’s technological advancements. India truly has the potential to be one of the key beneficiaries of this massive technological shift that is AI — if it can enact the changes needed to succeed in this new environment.

With every change comes an opportunity

Throughout history, as much as there have been camps bemoaning the advents in technology, or the pace of change, we humans have always found ways to adjust, adapt, and thrive in the face of change.

When computers came along and replaced the typewriter, we all thought those who had made a profession out of typing fast would go into oblivion. We now know that that’s not what happened. We all learned to work with computers, which were able to do a lot more than what typewriters did, and we all became better, smarter, and faster for it.

The emergence of GenAI presents a critical turning point for companies and whole industries, especially for India, whose large engineering workforce has become an engine for the world’s technology needs.

In the event of such a “strong skill shift” for the workforce, Indian companies, the government, and business leadership must put in place the governance structure, the development initiatives, and the necessary training to capitalize on the opportunities created by such a change.

Taking advantage of change requires an agile mindset and a renewed focus on upskilling and reskilling

GenAI, as a technology, will transform how work gets done and reshape how humans interact with technology.

It will significantly enhance our productivity and provide new opportunities to apply thought, emotional intelligence, and critical thinking to tasks that were previously either fairly repetitive or time-consuming.

Let’s take coding as an example. GenAI-powered systems will become “coding buddies” to developers, opening up a sea of opportunities. Code developers will be able to improve their processes by using GenAI to write more basic code with increased speed and accuracy, and even automate repetitive tasks such as testing. According to Gartner, by 2025, over 80 % of product development will employ GenAI for code generation, and developers will become “orchestrators” and/or “validators” of the generated code.

Further, as new advancements get introduced, we will start to see the rise of new types of roles and competencies, which will be necessary to work alongside GenAI.

While the technology is still in its nascent stages, its potential to impact most, if not all industries, is clear. Getting ahead of this change will require the broader business community to act now.

Among the actions that India will need to take are:

• Academia will need to proactively recalibrate the curriculum to account for GenAI. A passive approach will lead to students exploiting the tool for shortcuts, while an active approach could see it being used as a part of coursework which helps students familiarize themselves with the technology from the get-go. India’s Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has initiated the integration of AI in education, with AI being offered as an elective subject from the 8th grade onwards.

Individual, social, technical and environmental impacts of this new technology must be considered every step of the way, with an eye toward privacy, security, fairness and transparency.

• Companies will need to invest in training their workforce to handle the technology responsibly, and also prevent its misuse at the same time. In the meantime, companies will need to equip their employees with the thought process and the skills to be able to actively collaborate with AI systems and augment their decision-making process.

• Non-tech industries will need to account for the emergence of GenAI. They will need to evaluate the use cases for GenAI and map out near and long-term AI plans, thereby accounting for existing knowledge gaps. An example of this is India’s steel industry, which can leverage the technology to discover more potent varieties of steel with wider application scenarios.

Responsible AI will need to be at the core of all decisions and actions

The benefits of GenAI are far-reaching and potentially disruptive.

With every new technology, comes a whole set of opportunities and risks. To harness the former, businesses, governments, and NGOs will need to work together to mitigate the latter.

Responsible AI must be placed at the heart of all decisions concerning the development and implementation of AI. Businesses must develop new governance processes and policies that ensure AI applications are responsible and ethical.

The lack of common standards across geographies (at least so far) means governments around the world will need to work up their regulations to ensure the technology is advancing ethically and equitably. India’s new landmark Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act requires any company dealing with data in a digital format to have security safeguards in place to prevent breaches of any kind. This ‘privacy by design’ approach ensures a sense of trust amongst stakeholders and can even accelerate growth opportunities.

Individual, social, technical, and environmental impacts of this new technology must be considered every step of the way, with an eye toward privacy, security, fairness, and transparency.

Every technology comes with its excitement and challenges. How we leverage it defines whether it becomes a boon or a bane for us. India has been investing in its digital infrastructure for more than a decade and is very well-positioned to leverage this new chapter with success.

GenAI tools, however powerful, are only as good as the people who use them; the scope for further evolution lies in the future. While an irresponsible user may get caught in a whirlpool of problems, a pragmatic user can unwind the hidden potential of this technology. The adage the teacher will appear when the student is ready ties into this perfectly, and the ultimate decision lies in the hands of the people to own the future or not, to be the ones leading the change or merely being followers.