AI experts upbeat about U.P.’s potential, govt commitment
On February 20, CM Yogi Adityanath said that Uttar Pradesh is poised to emerge as a data centre hub with Lucknow as a prominent centre of artificial intelligence (AI) at an event held as part of the GBC 4.0
Top artificial intelligence (AI) experts and investors, who took part in the three-day groundbreaking ceremony (GBC) 4.0 that ended here on Wednesday, have expressed optimism over the state government’s commitment and potential of Uttar Pradesh to become an AI hub.
On February 20, CM Yogi Adityanath said that Uttar Pradesh is poised to emerge as a data centre hub with Lucknow as a prominent centre of artificial intelligence (AI) at an event held as part of the GBC 4.0.
“Four weeks back, I met a delegation from Uttar Pradesh at the World Economic Forum in Davos. We held discussed and exchanged ideas on how the ETH AI Center and U.P. could build synergies,” Daniel Naeff, head of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, ETH AI Center, Zurich, Switzerland told HT.
“With the ETH’s vision to lead the way towards trustworthy, accessible and inclusive AI systems for the benefit of the society, I realised how big a potential it could be with U.P. being the economic growth engine of India and having a focus on AI applications in the field of health, education and agriculture. There is a lot AI will change. It might not be as fast as some expect but it definitely will be transformative. And besides all its criticism, there is a substantial impact AI can bring in the economic growth,” he added.
“It’s exciting to see how much emphasis and investment U.P. is putting in strengthening its infrastructure, providing a great basis for Swiss innovations to access a large market with a tremendous impact potential,” he said.
Showcasing the cutting edge AI research and AI application during the GBC 4.0 was opportunity to strengthen potential ties with both ETH AI Center’s innovation and U.P.’s growth engine. The soon to be opened and largest airport of India in Noida (NIA), operated by the Zurich Airport International AG, could prove to be yet another great infrastructural advantage, Naeff added.
“Initiatives like Swiss AI where we advance the development of large, vertical specific (e.g. health) and open source AI Foundation Models could further benefit AI applications in U.P.. With ICAIN (International Computation and AI Network), an initiative geared towards leveraging the world’s most powerful supercomputers, U.P. and India in general could position itself at the forefront of AI technologies that are sustainable, accessible to all and help reduce global inequality in full support of the UN SDGs,” he said.
Shekar Sivasubramanian, CEO, Wadhwani AI who signed an MoU with U.P. government said, “AI is a fast growing technology with vast applications right from the smartphones in our hands to accelerating social impact. The Wadhwani Institute of Artificial Intelligence sees a significant opportunity in Uttar Pradesh. Our mission is clear to systematically and efficiently deploy our solutions for the benefit of the people.”
“The MoU with the U.P. government enables us to scale multiple solutions across various sectors, including health, agriculture, education and urban development. We plan to leverage AI to bridge the gap between advanced technology and those needing it most,” he added.
We will collaborate with the U.P. government to identify and allocate resources effectively. The state government will appoint nodal officers to facilitate the integration of AI solutions in the department operations and digital ecosystem, Sivasubramanian said.