Gen AI has enormous potential for good: Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani

Speaking at Infosys’ 43rd Annual General Meeting (AGM), Nandan Nilekani pointed out their attempts to integrate generative AI components into their service lines.

BENGALURU: Generative AI has enormous potential for good when advanced within the guardrails of responsibility, Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani said.

Addressing shareholders at Infosys’ 43rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday, Nilekani said, “As we look at the larger business environment, we are now into the second year of the generative AI revolution, and the initial AI doomerism has quietened down.” He added that the pace at which everything around us is evolving is dizzying. A big challenge of our time is to unleash AI for the next wave of productivity for enterprises.

Infosys has integrated generative AI components into its entire service lines and developed 25 playbooks to create impact for its clients. “Our clients are combining it with cloud capabilities in Infosys Cobalt to help them scale AI,” he said.

To drive exponential growth in AI and accelerate Infosys’ Chip-to-Cloud strategy, the company acquired InSemi, a semiconductor design services provider, for $34 million, earlier this year. The Bengaluru-based IT services firm is currently working on over 225 generative AI programs for its clients.

Infosys has created 23 AI industry blueprints to solve industry-specific challenges. “We have invested significantly in hiring talent with generative AI skills as well as rapidly upskilling our existing talents. We have over 2,50,000 employees trained in the areas of generative AI,” he told shareholders.

He said every day brings new advances in large language models. These range from large models which need massive computing infrastructure to small ones that can run locally on the phone. “The real power of AI will come from configuring all different models and tools to get best solutions. The rise of powerful open-source AI models has accelerated the deployment of AI to solve tough business and societal challenges,” Nilekani added.

The chairman said manifestations of consumer AI will make life easier and more productive for millions of people. It will push the envelope of usability, convenience, and accessibility for all. Speaking at the AGM, the company’s CEO Salil Parekh said they have applied gen AI playbooks on their own offerings. “Our Cobalt ecosystem is enabling the enterprise transformation journey,” he said.