Sam Altman, the creator of ChatGPT, has expressed his belief that India may attempt to develop an AI model similar to ChatGPT; however, he is skeptical about the potential success of such an endeavor.
Sam Altman’s remarks garnered significant attention on social media shortly after he made them. He claimed that if Indians attempted to develop a ChatGPT like model, they would be “completely incapable” of doing so. This statement gained traction due to the perception that India can sometimes pose challenges for tech enthusiasts, particularly when it comes to expressing opinions without ensuring accuracy and responsibility.
During his recent visit to India, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI and creator of ChatGPT, focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI). A notable event was his one-on-one session with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where he discussed AI tools with students of Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Delhi on June 8, 2023. Altman’s visit coincides with India’s ongoing efforts. Establish AI norms through the Digital India Bill, which has been in progress since last year. However, it was Altman’s particular comment that caught the attention of the Indian audience.
During his visit to India as part of his tour of Asia, Sam Altman made his remarks in response to a question posed by Rajan Anandan, a venture capitalist and former CEO of Google India, at an event hosted by the Economic Times. Altman’s comments were interpreted as implying a lack of infrastructure in India and asserting that OpenAI’s development of ChatGPT placed it in a perpetual advantage. He stated that creating a tool like ChatGPT for an Indian user would require specific infrastructure that is currently unavailable. Altman emphasized the difficulty, if not near impossibility, of building a foundational AI model for a startup, considering the existence of OpenAI’s already-established ChatGPT driven by a massive LLM (large language model). Notably, Altman did not directly address the skills possessed or lacking among Indians in his response.
It is worth mentioning that Sam Altman’s visit to India coincides with the Indian government’s search for conversational AI tools to assist in administrative tasks. The government aims to provide support to farmers in understanding various government schemes, addressing customer grievances, and fulfilling other citizen-oriented responsibilities.
OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, is advocating for crowdsourced AI regulation through its new grant program-
According to reports, when asked about his meeting with PM Modi, the creator of ChatGPT expressed his admiration, stating, ” The PM displayed immense enthusiasm and a genuine understanding of AI and its benefits. We inquired about why India has embraced ChatGPT so eagerly and at such an early stage. It has been truly delightful for us to observe. He provided excellent insights on that matter.” Sam Altman further mentioned, “We discussed the opportunities ahead for the country and what actions it should take, as well as the importance of global regulations to mitigate potential drawbacks. It was a fantastic hour of conversation.”