At Meta's inaugural Build with AI Summit in India, the company's chief AI scientist reportedly emphasised that artificial intelligence (AI) is set to enhance, not replace, human intelligence. "AI is not going to take over us; it is only going to amplify human intelligence," said Yann LeCun, vice president and chief AI scientist at Meta, on Wednesday, according to a PTI report.
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AI as an Empowering Tool
Speaking on Wednesday, LeCun likened the future of AI to everyone having "a staff of smart people working for them,” underscoring that AI should be viewed as an empowering tool.
"AI assistants will eventually be smarter than us, but we should not feel threatened by that. We should feel empowered by it. It's kind of like everyone would walk around with a staff of smart people working for them. There is nothing better than working with people smarter than you, right?" said LeCun in his keynote address, according to the report.
Ask AI Questions About Health Issues
LeCun noted the transformative potential of AI, especially in rural areas, where individuals will be able to interact with AI assistants in their native languages to access knowledge and healthcare information.
"It's not just people like us in the tech community or in academia; it's going to be everyone. Everyone in India, even in rural areas, can ask questions to their AI assistants in their own language or for health issues, whatever. And it's a very different future that will become possible," the report quoted LeCun as saying.
Importance of Open-Source AI
He also reportedly highlighted the growing significance of open-source AI, which he believes will become a shared infrastructure for all. "Because AI is going to become a common infrastructure that all of us can use in the future and share. We need AI systems in the future to become a kind of repository of all human knowledge," LeCun stated, according to the report.
AI Research in Paris
Furthermore, according to the report, LeCun pointed out the positive impact of AI research on the entire ecosystem, citing Paris as a model for how AI initiatives can inspire innovation and career opportunities.
"It gives a career perspective for young people. Like ten years ago, the AI research started in Paris had the effect of basically just completely jump-starting the ecosystem of AI in the country. Paris is now probably the second most vibrant place for AI startups in the world," he added, as reported.
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Psychological Effects and Contributions
"The effect has been psychological. And that, in turn, had a huge effect in practice. So, the first effect is that when you have an industry practising ambitious research in AI in a country, it gives hope for young people to contribute to it," the report quoted LeCun as saying.
India’s Role in AI Advancement
According to the report, LeCun acknowledged India's rapid advancement in AI technology and its important role in future developments, stating, “There is a lot of talent in India. We see many people from India making major contributions—both technical and scientific—to AI.”
The summit also featured Infosys Co-founder Nandan Nilekani contextualising AI for India. Additionally, it included a panel discussion on the 'culture of open science in democratising AI,' featuring LeCun and Nandan Nilekani
