India to lead SLM AI

Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani believes India is uniquely positioned to become a leader in applying artificial intelligence and frugal engineering. Unlike Western firms focused on Large Language Models (LLMs), India can excel by developing more accessible and customisable Small Language Models (SLMs). These SLMs can cater to local needs, such as providing real-time farming information to a farmer in Bihar in their local Hindi dialect.

Nilekani highlighted three key areas where AI and frugal engineering will have the most impact. These include multinational firms' global capability centres, IT service providers assisting clients with AI transformation, and India's digital public infrastructure. He also pointed to Aadhaar and UPI as examples of successful digital initiatives that demonstrate India's potential for innovation at a large scale. Nilekani sees technology as a leveller when applied carefully, emphasising practical uses of AI in healthcare and education, rather than chasing global dominance.

Nilekani believes that while LLMs may become a commodity, India's strength lies in developing cheaper and customisable SLMs to provide localised AI experiences. He also stressed that AI will not replace core human capabilities, such as empathy, leadership, collaboration and creativity. Instead, AI will make humans more productive and create new jobs.