India's digital footprint biggest strength for AI development: Amitabh Kant

India's digital footprint marks its biggest strength for AI development, and established platforms like Aadhaar, UPI along with massive digital infrastructure create a "unique opportunity" for this futuristic technology to be leveraged to enhance transparency and improve governance, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Friday.

Speaking at the closing session of RAISE 2020 Summit, Kant said India optimally leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) to solve its developmental challenges will not only lead to a societal transformation within, but will also benefit other nations in the world, who face similar issues.

"Data lies at the core of development of AI technologies. India's digital footprint is its biggest strength for AI development," he said.

Noting India's digital prowess - humongous amounts of data generated at "cheapest possible cost", rising smartphone penetration and rapid adoption of digital modes of payment -- Kant said, "India's digitisation efforts through platforms such as Aadhaar, UPI, GST, public finance management system and digital infrastructure has created a unique opportunity for AI to be leveraged to increase transparency and improve governance".

India's resolve to successfully leverage AI to solve various developmental challenges will not just transform the lives of 1.4 billion population here, but, in fact, also holds out a promise for billions of people across the world, who are moving from poverty to middle class.

"Actually, when India solves using AI for people of India, it is not solving for 1.4 billion people of India but for the next 7 billion people of the world who are moving from poverty to middle class," he said.

Kant further said that India's 'National program on AI' will be dedicated towards the rightful use of the technology in solving societal problems.

"...therefore, we will ramp up our computing facilities... we will take big leap forward in quantum computing and we will, in a very big way, skill our people...for AI world of tomorrow," he said.

AI for social empowerment can define new era of co-operation and prosperity, thus ushering the next level of progress.

"We are still in the AI 'spring', we are still at its beginning era. And this summit has cemented India's position in AI world," he said.