London, February 16 While the major artificial intelligence laboratories may be found in the US and China, India and Britain can become the best places in the world for the adoption of AI, according to UK Minister for AI and Online Safety, Kanishka Narayan.
The Labour MP from Wales, who was born in Bihar and is attending the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, believes that the technology presents significant benefits across the services, healthcare, and life sciences sectors.
Narayan's core message during his tour of Bengaluru and Delhi this week will be to highlight that both countries are pursuing the same objective of responsibly harnessing the "exceptional" economic opportunities of AI.
"Many of the major AI labs are in the US or China. The opportunity for the UK and India is to become the best places in the world for the adoption of AI, not just the invention of AI," Narayan told
"I think that's a really important and significant area. I'm talking about adoption in areas like services and healthcare. India has a huge population and a large, innovative healthcare sector. The UK has a world-leading life sciences sector, anchored by the National Health Service – there are huge opportunities for learning there.
"The second thing is how we think about the next phase of research and development in AI, with a focus on frontier AI and semiconductors. And then the third is shaping responsible AI, because I think we have a great opportunity as two countries with similar values to ensure that AI works for everyone. How we develop standards for assurance, governance, and the responsible use of AI is a really important part of it," he said.
The 36-year-old, who is the first Welsh member of Parliament of Indian heritage, will be pitching the UK as a prime location for Indian AI firms to invest and expand.
"The UK should be a top priority because it is one of the top three AI locations in the world. We have more 'unicorns' – companies valued at over $1 billion – than France and Germany combined, in terms of both research quality and the volume of startups; we have the biggest tech ecosystem in Europe.
"We are among the global top three – the US, China, and then the UK. And so, we are at the forefront in terms of scale and quality. And, we are open to collaboration and to the very best in the world coming and building exceptional companies and research here. In a context where others might be shutting their doors to opportunity, we are opening our doors to exceptional opportunity and exceptional people.
"The UK's Global Talent Visa is an example of a "concierge service" to help tech talent from countries like India to accelerate their processing in Britain.
"This is all about ensuring that the best talent in the world, a lot of which is in India, feels that Britain is truly open to exceptional AI talent," he said.
The minister cited data from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) from last year, which showed a staggering £24 billion in investment in AI companies in the UK, which in turn announced £28 billion in AI infrastructure spending.
"The deepest connection between the UK and India is that both our people relentlessly pursue the future; and being able to build a deeper bridge between exceptional AI talent in India and what we can offer them, and vice versa, that is really the central opportunity," said Narayan.
On the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) concluded last July and moving towards implementation in the coming months, the British Indian minister said that doing a deal with a "rapidly growing economy" like India is a sign of Britain "chasing the future, spreading opportunity, and doing it with countries that share our values".
"From time to time, we end up striking negotiations and agreements between our two countries. But the thing that persists through those periods of negotiation is the living bridge that remains.
"And so, the politics might change on the two sides, and the free trade agreements might change, but the thing that's really constant is that our people have this deeply shared experience, and that is the fundamental source of the strength and durability of the UK and India's connection," he said.
After his two-day visit to Bengaluru to explore bilateral tech collaborations, Narayan will head to New Delhi to join the deliberations of the AI Impact Summit.
