People centric use cases crucial for India’s AI push: USISPF’s Rohit Kumar Singh

India’s approach to artificial intelligence must remain rooted in real-world impact and public benefit, rather than technological hype, said Rohit Kumar Singh, Chair of the USISPF Global Value Chains Committee and Advisor to its Board, in an interaction with Business Today on the sidelines of an AI summit.

Singh emphasised that India’s distinguishing approach to AI policy lies in its focus on people-first deployment. For a country of 1.4 billion people, he argued, the priority is not merely building computing capacity but ensuring that AI is applied in sectors where it can deliver measurable social value. “The best thing about the summit is that India has placed people at the centre of AI,” he noted, highlighting education, healthcare and agriculture as areas where AI can help bridge systemic gaps.

He pointed out that India continues to face structural challenges such as uneven learning outcomes, teacher shortages and language diversity in education—areas where AI-driven tools can potentially deliver scale and accessibility. However, he stressed that computing infrastructure, including access to GPUs and processing capacity, remains a foundational requirement for enabling such solutions at a national scale.

Singh cautioned that AI, like any powerful technology, carries dual potential. “You can either empower the consumer or exploit the consumer,” he said, underscoring the need for regulatory oversight when misuse emerges. Drawing from his experience in public administration, he cited instances where digital platforms employed so-called “dark patterns” to influence consumer behaviour. Authorities intervened in such cases, he said, demonstrating that government oversight becomes necessary when technological deployment crosses ethical or consumer-protection boundaries.

On the international front, Singh said the proposed India–US trade agreement could unlock significant opportunities, though its full implications will become clear only once detailed provisions are available. Access to a large external market, he noted, could accelerate growth for Indian companies across sectors, particularly those leveraging advanced technologies.