Data, trust and skills to drive AI adoption in India: IBM CEO

Stressing that artificial intelligence (AI) is a driver of economic growth, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna has said that a greater AI adoption is driven by three imperatives — data, trust and skills — and this is where India should focus its efforts.

Speaking at the Responsible AI for Social Empowerment (RAISE 2020) global summit, Krishna said that getting AI done right is difficult and we're only at about four per cent into the journey globally.

"The basic premise is this — to run, AI needs good data. Like other sources of capital, the value comes from how you refine and apply it," he told the audience during the virtual event.

"The second imperative is trust. This is paramount. Especially when you are applying AI in highly-regulated and safety-critical domains like healthcare, for instance. Instilling trust in AI means avoiding bias, being explainable and being able to reproduce results," Krishna elaborated.

The five-day 'RAISE 2020', a virtual summit on AI, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.

According to Krishna, the third and final imperative for success in AI is skills.

"Building AI models can be a daunting and labor-intensive task. And there's a massive skills shortage. I'm proud of the investments IBM is making in the future of Indian skills," he said.

AI is slated to unlock $15.7 trillion in productivity by 2030.

"That is a big number. But AI has the potential to not only boost economic growth but improve the livelihoods of millions around the world,' said Krishna.

Krishna called Hybrid Cloud and AI "the two dominant forces driving digital transformation."

"AI, together with Hybrid Cloud and, in the not so distant future Quantum computing, is having a profound impact on virtually every sector of society.

"I'm eager to see India push this transformation forward," the IBM CEO said..