Get Halfway There

Countries today want to be strong in AI (artificial intelligence), just like they want to be strong in defence. But the truth is, only a few countries can fully control their AI systems because they depend on things like special computer chips, huge data centres, and cloud services that come from other nations.

Recently, the US showed how powerful it is by capturing Venezuela’s leader, which proved that even big countries can’t always protect their independence. In AI too, most countries — including China and India — don’t have complete independence.

China, for example, makes impressive AI tools. Its chatbots and video‑making models, like Seedance 2.0, are so good that they surprise the world. But China still depends on advanced computer chips made in other countries, especially the US. If the US blocks these chips, China’s AI progress slows down.

India is even earlier in its AI journey. India doesn’t yet have its own world-class AI models or enough giant data centres needed to train them. That’s why the Adani Group’s plan to invest $100 billion in clean‑energy data centres and a special Indian cloud by 2035 is a big deal. The Indian government also hopes for up to $200 billion in data‑centre investments to make India a global AI hub.

Meanwhile, AI is growing super fast around the world. Big tech companies in the US spend huge amounts of money building powerful AI systems and chips. Tools like Claude’s latest version are changing office work, and video tools like Seedance worry artists and filmmakers.

India does have one major strength: a huge number of talented engineers. But without big investments in computing power and research, India can only reach “half sovereignty” — meaning it can control only some parts of AI, not all. And building chips inside India will take a long time.

Still, even half control is better than none. This is a good moment for India to push forward and build as much AI strength as it can.

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