India well positioned to be leader in AI: Former British prime minister
The former British prime minister Rishi Sunak has said that India is well positioned to be a leader in AI and demonstrate its mass adoption and deployment in society, supported by deep talent pool, strong digital public infrastructure, and very supportive public stance towards technology. He added that India has recognised that leadership in technology doesn't just depend on inventing technology, it's about how you deploy it. Besides, India has moved into third place from seventh for AI competitiveness and ecosystem vibrancy in Stanford Global AI Vibrancy 2025 report. Sunak noted that this demonstrates that focus on adoption and deployment is working for India, and will have the impact on the large number of people.
He highlighted the difference of perception towards artificial intelligence (AI) of the Western countries and India. He noted that there is an incredible optimism and trust towards AI in India, while the West is experiencing anxiety towards AI. He underlined that for political leaders, ‘AI can't be some specialist subject on the side’, it's got to become the ‘central responsibility’ of a government.
Moreover, he pointed that the world is on the ‘cusp of a moment’ where access to best education and healthcare could be brought to people with AI. On the anxiety around AI’s impact on jobs, he said that AI is going to change the labour market and will eliminate some jobs while altering the nature of other jobs. However, the government will have to play the key role of supporting people to take on these new tasks, new roles with confidence and security.
