Telangana: Telangana doubles down on AI with its World AI Summit

Telangana is looking at his AI City as the “cradle of innovative advancements,” the state’s IT Minister said. Duddila Sridhar Babu He said in two days World Summit on Artificial Intelligence being held in Hyderabad. The government signed 26 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with private players, including academic institutions, large technology companies, startups and non-profit organisations.

The government said that these MoUs were signed in various dimensions necessary to make Telangana a AI Superpower in the country. MoUs were signed mainly in seven areas: IT infrastructure, centres of excellence, training, impact assessment, startup innovation, generative artificial intelligence, research and collaboration, and data annotation.

At the heart of Telangana’s AI strategy is the creation of AI City, a 200-acre hub near Hyderabad dedicated to AI research, development and application. He said the project would place Telangana at the epicentre of global AI innovation, offering cutting-edge computing facilities, large data lakes and robust connectivity.

“Telangana is not just participating in this revolution, it is leading it,” Babu said in his inaugural address. “This AI City will be the cradle of revolutionary advancements, consolidating our status as a technological powerhouse. We are also planning to launch an AI school in our AI City.”

Meanwhile, Telangana has partnered with the World Trade Centre, Shamshabad, to provide 200,000 sq ft of office space for AI-powered companies, ensuring that they can start operating as the AI ​​City takes shape.

Babu also laid special emphasis on the importance of ethical governance in AI development. He said Telangana was committed to establishing a robust AI governance framework that balances innovation with ethical responsibility. He spoke of open collaboration between global experts and the general public to frame AI policies as a new way of making AI policies in the country.

“We are not creating these policies in isolation,” he explained. “By inviting diverse voices from around the world, we ensure that our AI policies are not only cutting-edge but also based on a wide range of perspectives.” He said the framework would also include strict regulations to prevent misuse of AI, such as deepfakes and AI-driven disinformation. “We will follow Japan’s example of balancing ethical AI,” he said.

Telangana’s AI strategy is supported by partnerships with leading universities and corporations, fostering an environment in which AI research thrives. The state aims to democratize access to data, making anonymized government data widely available to drive AI innovation, while maintaining strict data privacy and security measures.

The minister also outlined plans to make other districts of Telangana key contributors to the economic growth of the state. This initiative is in line with the state’s overall goal of becoming a trillion-dollar economy in the near future and a three-trillion-dollar economy in the next decade.

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy was also present at the inauguration and in his address said that Hyderabad is uniquely positioned to lead in the AI ​​era.

“As India has not participated in the previous industrial revolutions, Telangana is all set to embrace and shape the future of AI,” he said. “Our commitment to AI is strong, with initiatives like the Telangana AI Mission (T-AIM) in association with Nasscom, laying down a strong framework for our future. With today’s summit, Hyderabad declares its readiness to drive AI innovation and set new standards. The future of AI starts here.”