'Challenge is on': Days after Sam Altman's India visit, Tech Mahindra's AI think tank is 'action-ready'

Tech Mahindra CEO, CP Gurnani, has declared that the company's AI think tank is ready to take on the challenge of building its own tech. This announcement comes in response to a statement made by Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, who expressed doubts about India's ability to train an AI model similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT. Gurnani claimed that the 'challenge is on' via his latest tweet.

Gurnani emphasized that the purpose of the challenge was not mere competition but to push the boundaries of technology for India. He highlighted Tech Mahindra's commitment to working with academia and the government to apply human and machine intelligence for innovation.

In his tweet, Gurnani said, "The purpose of this challenge is not one-upmanship or competition or headline hunting. It is a challenge to ourselves -- to push the frontiers of technology for nation-building. I’ve always believed that AI is not “artificial” intelligence –- it is “augmented” intelligence.

He further said that Tech Mahindra’s AI think tank is in action already. "We will work with academia and government to figure out how we can “apply” human and machine intelligence to boost innovation and transform India, one industry at a time," Gurnani added.

To all those who are asking.. Yes, the CHALLENGE IS ON!

The purpose of this challenge is not one-upmanship or competition or headline hunting.

It is a challenge to ourselves -- to push the frontiers of technology for nation building.

I’ve always believed that AI is not…

— CP Gurnani (@C_P_Gurnani) June 13, 2023

Sam Altman's 'Hopeless' Statement on India's own Generative Artificial Intelligence

During a recent visit to India, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, expressed his views on India's potential in AI. At an event organized by The Economic Times, Altman was asked about the possibility of India developing an AI tool like ChatGPT with a budget of around $ 10 million. Altman stated that competing with OpenAI on training foundation models would be challenging, saying it could turn out to be 'hopeless'. However, he encouraged Indian entrepreneurs to accept the challenge.

CP Gurnani swiftly responded to Altman's remarks by accepting the challenge on behalf of Tech Mahindra.

Gurnani told Business Today that Tech Mahindra has already accomplished feats in the AI ecosystem. He mentioned Tech Mahindra's early work on generative AI and the development of the Storicool platform, an auto content creation tool that demonstrated the company's foresight. Tech Mahindra has since launched a suite of AI offerings, including an AI, which provides enterprises with centralized access to various aspects of content generation.

Also read: 'Taken out of context': Sam Altman clarifies 'hopeless' remark on India's AI potential

Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, weighed in on the controversy, stating that Altman should be respected for his work but emphasizing that he doesn't have a full understanding of India's capabilities in AI. Chandrasekhar stressed the importance of building Indian capabilities in AI through collaborations between Indian startups and global entities like OpenAI.

Altman's visit has invigorated the debate about AI in India. He also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss India's embrace of ChatGPT and expressed his interest in the country's AI potential.

Also read: ‘We should not consider Sam Altman anything other than an important man in AI’: MoS IT