In 2023, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s remarks in India on the cost of training foundational AI models — like the ones that power ChatGPT — sparked a debate on whether Indian firms should spend millions of dollars on the aim of that technology. The issue pits sovereignty and national pride against financial constraints.

Is it necessary for sovereignty and business reasons for India to work towards a foundational model, as the IT Ministry’s IndiaAI Mission has announced it will? Here we discuss the issue.

Guests: Pranesh Prakash co-founded the Centre for Internet and Society, and is currently an Associate Fellow at the Yale Law School Information Society Project; Tanuj Bhojwani was until recently the head of People + AI, and has worked extensively on IndiaStack projects like UPI and Aadhaar as a part of iSPIRT

Host: Aroon Deep

Edited by Jude Francis Weston