India can gain global influence with the right AI policies: Vinod Khosla

WASHINGTON: Artificial Intelligence could radically reshape India’s economic and geopolitical landscape, emerging as “the great equalizer” — but only if the country moves swiftly on policy and adoption, tech investor Vinod Khosla said at the India AI Impact Summit pre-conference in San Francisco this week.

Delivering the keynote address at the event hosted by the Indian Consulate, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur described AI as “the largest opportunity I could have ever imagined,” predicting that in the next 15 years, almost all forms of expertise — medical, legal, scientific or educational — would become freely accessible.

“There is very little AI won’t be able to do that humans can do,” he said, adding that labour itself would become “almost free,” ushering in unprecedented opportunity alongside disruptive economic shifts.

Khosla argued that AI’s ability to eliminate traditional skill barriers places India in a uniquely advantageous position. “All you need is voice in your language. You don’t need any other skills to access AI,” he said, noting its transformative potential for people historically excluded from formal education. He forecast that “every kid in India before 2030 can have very affordable free personal tutors,” while households could soon have “doctors 24/7… at 3 a.m.”

He said India’s digital public infrastructure — including Aadhaar, UPI and DigiLocker — had already laid the groundwork for mass-scale AI services. But he warned that the shift would also create severe short-term challenges, especially for India’s BPO and IT services industries, which he predicted could “almost certainly” disappear unless transitioned into AI-driven transformation services.

On the global stage, Khosla said AI would reshape military and strategic capabilities, arguing that with advanced AI systems “Ukraine could easily beat Russia” and Taiwan could defend itself more effectively against China. Looking ahead to 2050, he predicted breakthroughs in fusion energy and transportation would enable a “globally abundant economy,” but stressed that “good policy” would determine whether countries like India fully reap the benefits. (IANS)

 Also Read: Elon Musk, Vinod Khosla trade barbs as Joe Biden quits presidential race