This article highlights the Indians featured in Time magazine's 2024 'Most Influential People in AI' list, focusing on Anil Kapoor's legal battle against AI misuse and Ashwini Vaishnaw's role in India's semiconductor push.
Bollywood star Anil Kapoor and Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw are two of the Indians honoured in Time magazine's 2024 "Most Influential People in AI" list. The list, which was made public on September 5, recognises those who are having a major influence on artificial intelligence (AI).
1. Ashwini Vaishnaw
Ashwini Vaishnaw, who has been instrumental in India’s push towards semiconductor manufacturing, is highlighted for his vision of turning India into one of the top five nations for semiconductor production in the next five years.
According to Time, “Under Vaishnaw’s leadership, the country hopes to become one of the top five nations for semiconductor manufacturing — a key component for modern AI systems—within the next five years. Construction has begun on several factories.”
Vaishnaw, however, has significant difficulties. India's IT industry struggles with a lack of modern manufacturing ecosystems and low private sector R&D spending. Furthermore, the educational system is still changing to generate the trained labour force needed for the semiconductor and artificial intelligence industries.
The magazine also identifies other obstacles, including high import duties, international rivalry, and the substantial infrastructure required to sustain the semiconductor manufacturing industry—particularly the requirements placed on water and electricity supply networks.
2. Anil Kapoor
Recognised for his legal battle against AI's unlawful use of his likeness is actor Anil Kapoor. Following his historic court victory in 2023—in which the Delhi High Court issued an order prohibiting 16 organisations from utilising Kapoor's name, voice, appearance, or other distinctive personal characteristics without permission—he is now included on the list. The court's ruling was prompted by the unauthorised use of Kapoor's picture and his catchphrase, "jhakaas," in a number of AI-generated films and emojis.
The magazine noted, “Bollywood is one of the world’s largest film industries, rolling out more than 1,500 movies every year. But Kapoor’s ruling comes at a time when the industry is grappling with how to regulate the misuse of AI.”
Bollywood is becoming increasingly concerned about the exploitation of AI, especially in light of the proliferation of deepfake videos starring well-known performers like Alia Bhatt and Rashmika Mandanna.
When artificial intelligence-generated movies of celebrities like Aamir Khan and Ranveer Singh appeared and purportedly criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi during India's 2024 elections, the problem attracted even more attention.
3. Nandan Nilekani
The list also included Nandan Nilekani, a well-known player in India's digital infrastructure and co-founder of Infosys. Time featured Nilekani's contributions to digital public infrastructure as well as his efforts in creating India's Aadhaar program, the world's largest biometric identification scheme.
“Nilekani, the billionaire co-founder of Infosys, has spent fifteen years in and out of government developing digital public infrastructure for the world’s most populous country, earning him nicknames like ‘India’s Bill Gates’,” Time wrote.
His work on the Aadhaar initiative is thought to be crucial for enhancing benefit systems, lowering fraud, and facilitating bank verification and tax collection.
Notable Indians that are included in the 2024 list include:
Anant Vijay Singh, Product Lead at Proton
Rohit Prasad, Senior VP and Head Scientist of Artificial General Intelligence at Amazon
Shiv Rao, Co-founder and CEO of Abridge
Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity
The list illustrates the wide-ranging impact AI has in a variety of industries, from Silicon Valley to entertainment. Notable names on the list include actor Scarlett Johansson, YouTuber Marques Brownlee, artist Lawrence Lek, AI creator King Willonius, and technology leaders Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, and Satya Nadella.