India poised to expand global influence with robust AI strategy, says Khosla

Washington, Dec 6:  Artificial Intelligence (AI) could become "the great equalizer" for India and dramatically expand the country's global influence — but only if policymakers move quickly to harness its potential, tech investor Vinod Khosla has said.

Delivering the keynote at India's AI Impact Summit pre-conference in San Francisco, hosted by Indian Consulate in San Francisco, this week, Khosla said AI represented "the largest opportunity I could have ever imagined, even 10 or 15 years ago."

He predicted that "within the next 15 years, almost all expertise on the planet will be free," including medical, legal, scientific and educational services.

"There is very little AI won't be able to do that humans can do," he said.

Labour, he added, would also be "almost free," creating both immense opportunity and profound disruption.

Khosla said the technology would open new doors for India precisely because it removes traditional barriers to entry. "All you need is voice in your language," he said.

"You don't need any other skills to access AI." That reality, he argued, would be especially powerful for those historically left behind.

"It bodes really well for the people who don't have an education, and that's where it can have the most impact," he said.

He warned that traditional economic measures would struggle to capture the coming changes. "GDP will not be a good measure because so many services we think of as part of GDP will be free," he said.

He forecast "a hugely deflationary economy" in which "$10,000… will buy more than 30, 40, $50,000 buys today."

Khosla said India could rapidly extend high-quality services to every household. "Almost certainly every kid in India before 2030 can have very affordable free personal tutors," he said.

He predicted "doctors 24/7 in your home… at 10 p.m… at 3 a.m." and argued that legal services would be "near free." The implications for healthcare, he said, were profound.

"Almost certainly… the right systems can provide much better care than human doctors," he said.

"Even if I have access to the best doctors, it's still, AI is the best doctor." Khosla pointed to India's digital foundations — Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker and India Stack — as a decisive advantage.

"India's already done the hard work," he said, calling them the backbone upon which AI-enabled essential services can be built. But he also issued a blunt warning. "Short term, almost certainly the entire BPO business and the IT services business in India will go away," he said.

That would be "a massive problem for the economy unless it's turned into an export of transformation services."

The geopolitical implications, he argued, were equally significant. With the right capabilities, he said, "Ukraine could easily beat Russia in the current war," and "Taiwan will be able to defend itself against China if it has access to the best AI."

Khosla predicted "a really abundant economy globally" by 2050, with significant breakthroughs in energy — especially fusion — and transportation. But he said technology alone would not secure that future.

"What it mostly needs is good policy," he said. "The technology development will happen… This won't happen. It'll be made to happen, especially in a country like India."

Khosla's remarks set the tone for a day of high-level discussions among Indian officials, U.S. tech leaders, global investors and researchers preparing for the AI Impact Summit 2026, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate in New Delhi next February.

Opening the event, Consul General K. Srikar Reddy described AI as a domain where India aims to “reshape our economies and societies” and invited closer ties between Silicon Valley and India’s rapidly expanding innovation ecosystem.

“I encourage all participants to engage openly, collaborate meaningfully, and think boldly about how we can collectively shape an AI future that is innovative, responsible, inclusive, and sustainable,” he said.

India’s Deputy Chief of Mission in Washington, Ambassador Namgya Khampa, framed AI cooperation with the U.S. as both strategic and indispensable.

“Our bilateral relationship today with the United States is broad-based, resilient, and anchored in strategic trust,” she said.

“It is this strong, trusted, and future-oriented partnership that will provide the foundation for deeper cooperation in AI,” Khampa said.

India “chooses a future in which AI empowers people, protects our planet, and accelerates inclusive progress,” noting the country’s strengths in talent, digital public infrastructure, and population-scale datasets.

She added: “In other words, we see India–US collaboration in AI as not only desirable, but essential — as not only commercial, but strategic.”

--IANS