Analytics Insight explains some reasons for India to lag behind the US and China in the AI race

Being the second most populated country in the world, India is still lagging behind the US and China in the AI race, even in 2021. The US is positioned at the number one in the AI race for a long time while China is motivated to take over the position. These two countries are currently the leaders of Artificial Intelligence with proper infrastructure for R&D. It is a well-known fact that India is a developing country and the US, as well as China, are developed countries in the world. But there are other reasons for India to lag behind these two countries in the AI race. This article explores a few reasons for the readers to have a better understanding.

India is thriving with a domestic market with skilled laborers in 2021. But, there is a lack of reputed technology companies in the market to invest time in R&D for innovating machines and models with cutting-edge technologies. The US and China have Google, Microsoft, Baidu, and Alibaba respectively to create new innovations for the welfare of society. Google, IBM, Microsoft, and many other reputed tech companies have extended their market in India and are recruiting Indian employees for better productivity. But India is lagging behind in the AI race because the country does not have crazy and obsessed entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.

India is one of the most educated countries in the world, with numerous educational institutions. Gradually the education sector is integrating technical courses and curriculum in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Robotics in the form of Mechatronics. Students only know about those five traditional engineering courses but there is a wide array of engineering in these disruptive technological fields. They are slowly taking interest in these fields due to more exposure to globalization and digitization. There are a handful of Ph.D. scholars or engineers who are highly interested to develop new machines with these cutting-edge technologies. Thus, it will take some time for India to educate students and inspire them to be in the field of Artificial Intelligence and innovate new AI models efficiently and effectively.

Another reason for India to lag behind the US and China in the AI race is the lack of publishing research papers. China and the US have each published more than 15,000 AI research papers in recent years. It is observed that the average US research quality is better than in China or the EU. The US is becoming the world leader in designing AI chips for smart systems. India has integrated Artificial Intelligence and machine learning only in the field of computer science.  India is required to boost research tax incentives as well as expand the array of public research institutions to work on AI research papers. This will help in the creation of better efficient machine learning algorithms to take a lead in the AI race.

China has strict control over its population index with specific rules and regulations, for citizens to manage data explosion efficiently. The country receives sufficient and appropriate volumes of real-time data to train Artificial Intelligence models. It has a strategic priority to drive the Chinese tech companies in creating a plethora of potential AI applications with this data. Meanwhile, India does not have control over the population along with undocumented citizens. The rural sector still lacks proper internet connection, leading to a digital divide in the country.  It is more difficult for India to receive appropriate data from both urban and rural sectors.

The Indian government needs to articulate an ambitious mission on Artificial Intelligence for more innovations. The government is required to understand that India needs Artificial Intelligence to drive success and revenue for the nearby future. There are multiple sectors that need AI to boost productivity. There are certain progressive start-ups growing up in the domestic market to help the industries.

But it is better late than never. India should realize the power of useful knowledge from the enormous sets of data available due to digitization. This knowledge will help the country to solve its own problems and achieve five-year plans efficiently and effectively. There should be a key focus on developing advanced and modern data infrastructure to be in the AI race with the US and China.