“AI can enhance human abilities, but humans will always be capable of far more. The future is not about AI replacing us—it is about AI making us better,” Dr. Manish Gupta.
“Our mission is to build AI responsibly for humanity, ensuring it benefits everyone—not just the privileged few,” Dr. Manish Gupta.
Mumbai: “India is not a poor country anymore, and we must take bold steps in developing our foundational AI models.” Dr. Manish Gupta, Senior Director at Google DeepMind, who leads AI research teams across India and Japan, shared his perspective at ABP Network’s Ideas of India 2025 on the crucial role of AI in transforming India and its power in solving global challenges.
Speaking on the topic ‘Transforming India with AI: Why We Need More Data’, Dr. Manish Gupta, said, “Some assume that building foundational AI models requires hundreds of millions of dollars, but we must have the courage to take on challenges that have never been attempted before. AI is an old discipline, almost as old as computing itself. The reason ChatGPT and similar models took off is the innovation of transformer architecture, which has been key to foundational AI models."
Adding to the conversation, Dr. Manish Gupta, said, “AI is accelerating progress on a range of critical problems, from drug discovery and plastic pollution to structural biology. Innovations like AlphaFold are helping us solve complex scientific challenges faster than ever before.”
Sharing his views on AI’s role in language and culture, Dr. Gupta added, “We are focused on building the best multimodal representation for 100+ Indic languages, ensuring AI development is inclusive and supports India's linguistic diversity. Multicultural AI models will shape the future of technology. Our mission is to build AI responsibly for humanity. The world is excited about AI, but we must ensure it benefits everyone, not just the privileged few. AI expertise should be widespread and accessible to all."
Talking about AI’s future capabilities, ethics and emotional understanding, he commented, “AI is biased because it is built by humans, and we carry our biases into these systems. The reality is that AI still struggles to understand emotions like love. Companies like Google are working on AI principles to mitigate bias and ensure responsible AI development. AI can become a better version of human beings, like AI can help artists explore new genres, but when it comes to competition, humans will always win. AI can hallucinate, but human creativity and intuition will always have the upper hand.”
The ABP Network’s Ideas of India 2025, centred on the theme ‘Humanity’s Next Frontier’, will convene thought leaders and innovators to explore the challenges and opportunities in India’s ascendance in a rapidly changing world. In the face of climate change, geopolitical conflicts, and technological advancements like AI, the summit delved into India’s role as both an ancient civilisation and a demographic powerhouse in shaping the future. The two-day summit brings together a confluence of ideas from global thought leaders, intellectuals, and change-makers, covering transformative possibilities in science, medicine, social contracts, and global leadership, with experts from diverse fields offering bold visions of a better, more sustainable world for all.