Sovereign AI | 13 Jan 2025

Source: BS 

Why in News? 

The government is investing in semiconductors and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to ensure AI sovereignty as India's digital economy is aiming for USD 1 trillion by 2028. 

What is Sovereign AI? 

• About: Sovereign AI refers to a nation's ability to develop, control, and deploy artificial intelligence using its own infrastructure, data, workforce, and business networks.  
  • This includes developing AI models, infrastructure, and fostering talent within the country. 
  • Growth of AI: In 2018, a 340-million-parameter model was considered large (LLMs), while today, ChatGPT has 1.8 trillion parameters, Gemini has 1.5 trillion, and China’s DeepSeek has 240 billion. 
    • Parameters are internal variables that are adjusted during training to improve a model's performance. 
• Key Aspects: 
  • National Control: Sovereign AI ensures alignment with national laws, regulations, and ethics. 
  • Data Sovereignty: It emphasizes data control within borders, safeguarding privacy and national security. 
  • AI in Governance: Generative AI is reshaping markets, governance, industries, and work dynamics, with AI-powered copilots assisting professionals. 
  • Ethical Considerations: Nations set security protocols and ethical standards for AI use. 
  • Strategic Autonomy: Sovereign AI reduces reliance on foreign technologies, promoting domestic AI development. 
  • Economic Competitiveness: AI is key to industrial innovation; without it, India risks falling behind globally. 
  • Various Applications: Sovereign AI is used in critical sectors like defense, healthcare, and transportation. 
• India’s Position: Tata Group and Reliance are developing AI infrastructure and Large Language Models (LLMs) for India. 
  • India allocated USD 1.2 billion for a sovereign AI project, including an AI supercomputer with thousands of chips under IndiaAI Mission. 
• Global AI Cooperation: A proposed Global AI Compact suggests that AI resources should be shared across nations, ensuring equitable access to critical technologies.