Even as stakeholders in the tech ecosystem talk about the hype around artificial intelligence (AI), Microsoft India and South Asia president Puneet Chandok said the technology is not hyped enough, considering the elevated expectations of the next generation.Speaking during a panel discussion with Haptik CEO Aakrit Vaish at the Mumbai Tech Week on Monday, Chandok emphasised the transformative impact AI could have on various aspects of daily life.Elevate Your Tech Prowess with High-Value Skill CoursesOffering CollegeCourseWebsiteIndian School of BusinessISB Product ManagementVisitIndian School of BusinessISB Professional Certificate in Product ManagementVisitMITMIT Technology Leadership and InnovationVisit”People say AI is overhyped, but I think it’s not hyped enough. The next generation who will use this in the next few years will have a much higher bar on what technology can do for them. So how you build it for that generation, how you build it for that future will be really interesting to see,” Chandok said.”AI is truly a general purpose technology, which can change everything that we do,” he added.His comments coincide with Microsoft’s commitment to skill over 100,000 developers in India on AI technology and tools, an initiative announced by the global software giant’s CEO Satya Nadella on his recent visit to the country. Chandok expressed the need for more extensive training, pointing out that even Nadella’s ambitious goal of training 2 million people in India on AI in the next two years is insufficient.Discover the stories of your interestBlockchain5 StoriesCyber-safety7 StoriesFintech9 StoriesE-comm9 StoriesML8 StoriesEdtech6 Stories”Satya (Nadella) last week announced that we’re going to train 2 million people in India in the next two years on AI. Even that’s not enough,” he said.Nadella, during his visit earlier this month, told ET that India’s robust market and growth rate position it favorably to harness the benefits of artificial intelligence-led growth. He also highlighted the pivotal role of AI in boosting productivity and identified it as a competitive advantage for India.Concurring with Chandok, Vaish said there is a need for increased enthusiasm and hype around AI within India.”I don’t think entrepreneurs or new-wave startups are pushing the boundaries of AI to the extent that other parts of the world are. It needs to be hyped a lot from here to make people, product managers, students, engineers realise what the power of this tech is and what it will bring in the next 10, 20, 30 years,” Vaish said.Chandok also underscored that those who do not embrace AI run the risk of falling behind in the rapidly evolving technological landscape. He encouraged Indian developers to seize the “lifetime opportunity” to make themselves unstoppable by learning to use and deploy AI effectively.
