Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sat for a chat with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and discussed a variety of subjects related to India’s progress and development. Speaking with the billionaire, the PM discussed the importance of artificial intelligence in the modern world. On a lighter note, PM Modi told Gates that children in India these days pronounce ‘AI’ as their first word. “In some parts of India, we call mothers ‘aai’ and now children have become so smart that they not only say ‘aai’ as their first word but ‘AI’ too. It’s a joke but AI and aai sound similar,” Modi said.
The PM further pointed out that the penetration of AI in the country has been so effective that even a common man is able to use it smoothly. “I used AI during the G20 Summit for language interpretation,” he told Gates, adding that during the G20 Summit, all his drivers downloaded an AI app to communicate with the guests from different nations.
PM Modi also asked the billionaire to take a selfie through the Namo app during the conversation while demonstrating the use of AI on the Namo app to Bill Gates. He further emphasised that AI is important to enhance daily life and should be embraced by everyone. “I aim to ensure that users feel comfortable and recognise its utility and later encourage them to innovate and contribute new features,” he added.
Modi on women adopting technology
The PM stated that women in India are more open to adopting technology as he explained the ‘Namo Drone Didi’ scheme to Gates. “Women in India are open to adopting new technologies. I have initiated the ‘Namo Drone Didi’ scheme. It is proving to be highly successful. I have been interacting with the participants recently, and they are excited. They mention that they could not even ride bicycles before, but now they are trained pilots capable of flying drones. It is a shift in mindset,” the PM said.
Speaking about the dark side of technology, PM Modi cautioned over deepfakes and stressed upon the necessity of labelling such content and disclosing its full source on the Internet. In addition, he supported the creation of a thoughtful legal framework to control deepfake and artificial intelligence technologies.
Discussing healthtech
Talking about medical research, Modi said that the new government will allocate funds to support local research in cervical cancer. “Our aim is to ensure the vaccination for girls,” he added. He also highlighted that the priority is to enhance the quality of life rather than focusing on services.
“In sectors like health, agriculture and education, we have taken significant strides. For instance, India has established 2,00,000 Arogya Mandir Health Centers in villages and interconnected them with leading hospitals using modern technology,” he pointed.
