Upskilling key to blunting impact of AI on jobs: IT Minister Sridhar Babu 

Upskilling key to blunting impact of AI on jobs: IT Minister Sridhar Babu

A two-day Global AI Summit, to be organised by Telangana government in Hyderabad from September 5, is set to serve as a forum for exchange of views on issues concerning Artificial Intelligence, seeking advice from global experts as well as getting inputs for the proposed AI City.

The summit next month will set an example for other States even while helping place Telangana in a different orbit in terms of harnessing the power of AI, Industries and IT Minister D. Sridhar Babu told a curtain raiser, organised by the Hyderabad Software Enterprises Association (HYSEA) here on Tuesday.

“This is the right time to take the leap”, he said, pointing to how the government is also looking to integrate AI in governance, enhance productivity and lead the technology to the next level.

The summit comes in the backdrop of the Congress government, in one of its major decisions after coming to power last year, announcing plans for an AI City on about 200 acres at Mucherala near Hyderabad.

The AI City will be part of the fourth city mooted by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy with various features and add a futuristic dimension to Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Cyberabad.

To queries, Mr. Sridhar Babu said that while 200 acres had already been set aside, discussions on contours of the project, to be developed on public private partnership model, are set to begin immediately after the summit. The AI City is estimated to receive investments in excess of $4 billion over time, he added.

On how the previous government had proposed an AI District and what promoted the present regime to conceptualise an AI City, the Minister said, “It is not clear what they meant. We are very clear on what is being planned. Whatever it may be, the ultimate aim is to make Telangana the [global] AI capital.”