India can remain the global back office for AI annotation, or we can become the designers of the systems that define the century.
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In the swapping development, India stands at quicksand, sinking slowly and steady. While other nations develop new techs, India is still computing and relying on borrowed technology. The political scenario and conflict over religion have left little room for technological advancement. India as the world's populous nation, face critique over extensive use and appliances of borrowed technology. As the other nations constructs the 'Digital Brain' for the future, India finds itself in the precarious position. There is a growing, uncomfortable realisation that we claim to be a tech superpower, but in reality, we are surviving on borrowed intelligence. The government's focus often appears fractured, prioritising social optics, political wins over building sovereign infrastructure.
India as one of the fastest developing nation, has invited sophisticated and pointed critiques from international bodies, economists and technology experts. For decades, India was the "back office" of the world and that India is struggling to transition from a service-provider to a product creator. Institutions like the World Economic Forum have raised concern about India's traditional IT model. Basing on high-volume, low-cost labour is highly vulnerable to AI automation.
Critics often argue that the focus is frequently diverted from the cultivation of a high-tech ecosystem. While the India AI Mission was launched with significant capital, the translation of funds into foundational models—India’s own version of GPT or Claude—remains slow.
India’s struggle isn’t about lack of intellect, but a lack of hardware. It is difficult to compete in AI when the chips are owned by others. Much of the "Western" AI progress is powered by the Indian diaspora. The talent exists but the environment to keep it home is what needs fixing.
On the other side of the screen lies a different concern. The rise of the “reel economy” has transformed human attention into a tradable asset. Critics argue that a large share of India’s demographic dividend—its vast youth population—is being redirected toward the chase for virality, shallow content creation, and influencer culture. When intellectual energy is rewarded with algorithms rather than innovation, the long-term pipeline for deep-technology development risks thinning out.
To avoid drifting into digital dependency, India must recalibrate both policy and cultural aspiration. Compute power should be treated as foundational infrastructure—no less essential than electricity or water. At the same time, young Indians must recognise that while content creation can generate income, it is deep technology that generates sovereignty.
The nation is not doomed, but it is undeniably at an inflection point. We can remain the global back office for AI annotation, or we can become the designers of the systems that define the century. The difference will be determined by whether we choose to engineer durable capabilities or merely curate digital visibility.
I Nokcha Jamir