Artificial Intelligence technology-based start-ups on Thursday lauded government role in giving them back up and sought a regulatory regime that can help in innovation without any fear.               

While speaking at GPAI (Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence) Summit 2023, a group of start-ups said allayed apprehension around job losses and said that the technology will enhance efficiency in the existing professions and organisations.                

"I believe quite strongly that the government has done and is doing everything right. I think I almost feel like the ball is in our court. I feel like a government's role is to build the basic building blocks, and then the private sector should add on top of that. In my field with UPI, and Aadhaar and the last 10 years of public excellence we have-seen in this country, I think the job is now for the private sector to be excellent," Karya Co-founder and CEO Manu Chopra said.              

He said that there is a need for regulation and whatever the government decides will be the need of the hour.               

Nayan Technologies, Founder and Managing Director, Jayant Ratti said that sought protection for intellectual property rights and steps to increase IPR filing from India 

"Less than 0.1 per cent of Indian AI companies have an IP. This is a fact. 67 percent Israeli companies have an IP on artificial intelligence. They are the-masters of innovation. They are innovative, we have copied. We are not making an India, we are copying in India. That's the general philosophy behind Indian companies like us," Ratti said.

He said that it took blood sweat, millions of dollars of my personal money and investors’ money to fuel the IP innovation.

"Then the market got flooded with everybody copying what Nayan does-- 20 national awards, so let's do what they do because it's the best. Now the problem is why do we innovate in a country if the judicial system and the legislative system and the government system does not incubate innovation ground research into AI and core robotics. All these streams, which are the only future that we are counting on why is there no IP generation in any of these domains?" he said.

Ratti said Microsoft and Google are the best because they are the ones innovating, they are the ones IP generating. 

"We are using and deploying. We are now threatened by their expansion. We should be because they have nothing unique that they are not generating already. I feel the government has a larger responsibility than all of us. They are the ones who are the watchdogs of how we innovate? How to inculcate innovation, creativity, creation of intellectual property, rather than creating jobs," he said. Health tech start-up Qure.AI founding member and head of products, Ankit Modi said that India has a tendency to leapfrog into innovations. "Before we got a landline to every village, mobiles have reached everywhere. I think AI is going to be similar. We provided the best software services 20 years ago. But with AI, the best products will come out of India, not so just services. We have the largest data. I mean, we produce the largest number of datasets. We have the youngest population," he said.

Modi said regulation around AI will be a very tightrope to walk in balancing innovation with regulatory framework.  

"It would be naive to assume that anybody can get it right the first time. The government should treat AI regulation like we treat our AI models. Build something, deploy it, see whether it is stifling innovation or it is not being safe enough. So, the tendency to iterate fast on shaping these policies will be vital," he said. CoRover, Founder and CEO Ankush Sabharwal said to build an application there is requirement of technology, team, opportunities, customers and all these four are now being provided by the government.   

"Second, technology like, Bhashini, I've not seen any government creating it. If you have to-use a third party from big companies, say it will be RS 6 per minute, say for the speech to text, but Bhashini is giving it free. They are spending on GPUs," he said.         

Sabharwal said the government has exempted start-ups from turnover, bank deposits requirement etc. which is helping them compete with big companies in government tender.

"I have no answer currently from the government," he said. Haptik Co-Founder and CTO Swapan Rajdev said that the government can help in creating a use case to help companies solve problems.

"I think the government is doing a great job in giving startups and industry a-seat at the table. I think every conversation happening, startups industry is being given equal importance," Rajdev said.