The ambitious flagship initiative, US India Artificial Intelligence (USIAI), leverages the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum’s (IUSSTF) unique ability to bring together key stakeholders from India and the United States to create synergies that address challenges and opportunities at the interface of science, technology and society.
The Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum is a bilateral organisation funded by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Governments of India, and the U.S. Department of States.
The USIAI Initiative focuses on AI cooperation in critical areas that are priorities for both countries. USIAI will serve as a platform to discuss opportunities, challenges and barriers for bilateral AI R&D collaboration, enable AI innovation, help share ideas for developing an AI workforce and recommend modes and mechanisms for catalysing partnerships.
The U.S.-India AI Initiative will provide an opportunity for key stakeholder groups to share experiences, identify new R&D areas and opportunities that would benefit from synergistic activities, discuss the emerging AI landscape, and address the challenges of developing an AI workforce.
India and the US are logical partners in charting the future growth of AI, which promises economic growth and social benefits to both countries in key sectors such as healthcare, education, energy, financial technology, retail, and mobility.
India is well-placed to be an essential part of these efforts, as the world’s largest democracy, a key advocate for the developing world, and the home of a significant informational technology sector already well-meshed with the United States.
The United States and India are logical partners in charting the future growth of AI, which promises economic growth and social benefits to both countries in key sectors such as healthcare, education, energy, financial technology, retail, and mobility. A successful partnership will, however, require the resolution of existing bilateral disagreements affecting digital trade and investment.
Prof Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology, emphasised the necessity to scale up the S&T relationship between India and the United States to solve problems of both countries and overcome barriers for growth at the launch of the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum’s U.S. India Artificial Intelligence (USIAI) Initiative.
He acknowledged that the two countries’ relationship in the field of S&T was well established and that collaboration has resulted in great benefits for both the countries. He clearly sees the need to further scale up this cooperation in other fields. Artificial Intelligence, he said, can play a major role in the future. The government has identified the barriers for growth in India that could be useful for the United States too.
Research, technology in artificial intelligence is being promoted and implemented in the country through a network of 25 technology hubs working as a triple helix set up under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS).
Jonathan Margolis, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Bureau of Oceans & International Environmental & Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of State, said that collaboration between India and United States is based on shared values of openness, transparency, and reciprocity and encourages innovation that will benefit both countries. “The US-India strategic partnership can be strengthened by focusing on AI cooperation in critical areas that are priorities for both countries.”.
The countries are looking forward for more research and high-impact collaboration to boost both the economies, create jobs, and bring prosperity.
Over the next year, IUSSTF will conduct a series of roundtables and workshops to gather input from different stakeholder communities and prepare White Papers that identify technical, research, infrastructure, and workforce opportunities and challenges, and domain-specific opportunities for R&D in healthcare, smart cities, materials, agriculture, energy, and manufacturing.