Telangana Global AI Summit 2024: Making AI work for everyone

The state of Telangana is making significant strides to harness the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) through its ambitious project of making AI accessible to everyone.

On September 5, 2024, the two-day Global Telangana AI Summit commenced in the presence of Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, along with IT and Industries Minister, Duddilla Sridhar Babu, and a host of international delegates and speakers.

The two-day-long event was filled with insightful discussions highlighting AI’s potential to address pressing global issues.


“Telangana is embarking on a visionary journey to establish itself as a leader in the realm of AI," remarked Telangana CM Revanth Reddy as he released the ‘AI-Powered Telangana Strategy Document and Implementation Roadmap’ during the inaugural of the Global AI Summit. The visionary strategy document showcases how AI will be leveraged to power interventions to solve the most critical governance challenges across domains including education, healthcare, agriculture, and service delivery, impacting a crore-plus people.
Duddila Sridhar Babu, Minister of Information Technology, highlighted that the state’s vision of becoming a global leader in AI is underpinned by a deep sense of responsibility. “Our focus is not just on an AI-driven future for economic growth but on ensuring that AI is trustworthy, transparent, and aligned with ethical standards. Our goal is to democratise AI, ensuring its benefits are equitably distributed across sectors,” he said.

Jayesh Ranjan, Special Chief Secretary, ICE&T, Industries and Commerce, Government of Telangana, echoed Sridhar Babu’s sentiments. “A key focus of our approach is on fostering indigenous innovation. By prioritising investment in local talent, creating region-specific datasets, and developing applications tailored to our unique needs, we are crafting AI solutions that are relevant and effective,” Ranjan said.
A major highlight of the roadmap presented by the CM is the creation of an artificial intelligence city, a flagship project set to be developed on 200 acres near Hyderabad. The AI City will host an advisory council and state-of-the-art data centres with high performance computer facilities.

26 MoUs signed

A total of 26 MOUs spanning diverse areas have been signed. Among the notable partnerships, Meta, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads have signed MOUs.

Meta’s open-source GenAI will advance e-governance solutions.

• PATH and Nazara Technologies COEs aimed at advancing AI in critical and emerging sectors.
• NxtWave, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Microsoft will focus on skill enhancement.
• YOTTA will provide a state-of-the-art GPU-based cloud infrastructure to benefit over 250,000 students and professionals.
• Nvidia with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) to set up an AI Research Lab to enhance governance services.
• Partnerships with Uber, Swecha, and JNTU for data annotation projects.
  

AI-based solutions
The summit also showcased numerous innovations from various exhibitors, including startups and students. Civil engineering students from CBIT introduced an AI-powered solution for the Musi Riverfront Development, proposing the use of AI-driven drones for waste removal and monitoring. Another important innovation came from HC Robotics, which presented an AI model designed to provide surveillance of individuals, vehicles, or objects in crowds.

Looking into the future
Futurist Peter Diamandis praised the Telangana government for its focus on morality and ethics as “something we will have to grapple with a great deal in times ahead". He said, “The most important asset India has is the intelligence of its youth. In an automated world, the mindset we have is our greatest asset.” He said the world is entering a phase of 100x growth and AI, its greatest tech, is mostly free. Given that GPT 5 will have PHD-level intelligence, we all need to think of the impact this will have on our lives.

Global thought leaders on AI
Top-tier speakers, tech leaders, and policymakers spent extensive time discussing how AI can shape industries, improve societal outcomes, and revolutionise various sectors. Sal Khan, Founder and CEO, Khan Academy, said, “What’s exciting about the time we live in is that the same things Bill Gates’ children use can now be made available to every child on the planet.” Khan spoke at the session titled ‘Social Good: Humanising AI in Education’.

Dr Arun Sundararajan, Professor and Director, NYU Stern School of Business, praised Telangana’s AI vision, noting, “It’s exciting to see the forward-looking strategies of the Telangana Government. AI must be both innovative and responsible, balancing business value and societal challenges.”