Ashwini Vaishnaw and Anil Kapoor make it to TIME100 list of most influential people in AI in 2024

Ashwini VaishnawUnion Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Vaishnaw is credited with his leadership in developing semiconductor manufacturing in India. Under Vaishnaw’s leadership, the country aims to become one of the top five semiconductor manufacturing countries in the next five years.

TIME highlights the ongoing construction of new factories, but also highlights the obstacles Vaishnaw faces, including low private investment in R&D, an underdeveloped manufacturing ecosystem and a lagging education system.

Additional challenges such as high import duties on electronic components, global competition for talent, and the complexity of modernizing infrastructure, especially power and water systems, could impact India’s journey towards AI leadership.

Anil KapoorThe acclaimed Bollywood actor, is being honored for his landmark legal victory against the misuse of AI. In September 2023, Kapoor obtained a court order prohibiting 16 entities from exploiting his name, voice and likeness for commercial purposes without his consent.

The move comes amid widespread concerns in Bollywood about the misuse of artificial intelligence, including deepfake videos of Indian actors that have sparked controversy in recent years. TIME acknowledges that Kapoor’s legal battle is an important step toward protecting personality rights in the age of artificial intelligence.

Nandan NilekaniInfosys co-founder and EkStep chairman, also makes the list for his extensive work in digital public infrastructure. TIME praises Nilekani for his role in developing India’s Aadhaar program, the world’s largest biometric ID system. His efforts to combat welfare fraud, improve tax collection and streamline bank customer verification have earned him praise and comparisons to “India’s Bill Gates.”

Other notable Indians featured in the list include Anant Vijay SinghProduct Manager at Proton; Rohit PrasadSenior Vice President and Chief Scientist of Artificial General Intelligence at Amazon; Shiv RaoCo-founder and CEO of Abridge; and Aravind SrinivasCEO of Perplexity.

The TIME100 list also features global AI influencers from diverse industries, including Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson, YouTuber Marques Brownlee, artist Lawrence Lek, comedian and AI creator King Willonius, and tech leaders like Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella.