Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said that he remains “struck by the pace of change” in India as he addressed the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Terming the artificial intelligence “the biggest shift of our lifetimes,” Pichai underlined India’s expanding role in the global AI ecosystem. He also described how the rapid transformation has taken place in the country since his student days.
Pichai on driverless cars on Indian roads
Sharing a personal anecdote, Pichai remembered how his father once told him he would be “more impressed” if driverless cars worked on India’s busy roads. Smiling, he replied, “Still working on that, Dad.” He also underlined that years ago, he could not have imagined taking his parents on a fully autonomous car ride in San Francisco, referring to Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving taxi business. He further added that “the progress shows what is possible when humanity dreams big.”
How is Vizag becoming a global AI hub?
Pichai recalled about travelling on the Coromandel Express from Chennai to IIT Kharagpur as a student, passing through Vishakhapatnam. “I remember it being a quiet and modest coastal city filled with potential. Now, in that same city, Google is building a full-stack AI hub,” he mentioned.
“I remember it being a quiet and modest coastal city brimming with potential. Now in that same city, Google is setting up a full-stack AI hub,” he said. The hub forms part of Google’s $15 billion infrastructure investment in India. It will consist of gigawatt-scale computing along with a new international subsea cable gateway. “Sitting on the train, I never imagined Vizag becoming a global AI hub,” he added.
Pichai termed AI as the biggest platform shift
Pichai described AI as transformative, stating, “It is the biggest platform shift of our lifetimes.” He also made reference to advances such as AlphaFold, which compressed decades of protein research into an open database that is now used globally. He also praised India’s use of an AI-powered forecast for farmers and highlighted new subsea cable links between the US and India. Pichai also mentioned that AI can “enhance billions of lives,” but he also emphasised that its development must be responsible and inclusive to ensure widespread benefits.