Wake up India, AI colonialism is not a myth

Countries without AI dominance will have to accept rules made by the AI superpowers.

By A K Mehta 

The world is heading toward unprecedented AI-driven inequity. Four pillars driving this disparity are AI power concentration, chip supremacy, compute and cloud monopoly, and AI & robotics inequity. Control over AI is poised to replace military dominance as the primary lever of global power.

A handful control AI ecosystem

AI is controlled by a few corporations (Google, OpenAI, Microsoft, etc.) and a handful of nations (U.S., China) and the EU. This inequity is further exacerbated by the fact that these same players control most high-quality training data. Developing nations rely on foreign AI without having control over its algorithms, decisions, or biases. The disparity in advanced chip manufacturing is stark, with just a few countries producing nearly 90 percent of the world’s supply.

The U.S. dominates chip design (NVIDIA, Intel, AMD), while India, despite its tech talent imports nearly all its advanced chips. Any country without domestic semiconductor fabs remains permanently dependent on AI superpowers.

The compute and cloud monopoly is equally alarming. AI models require immense computing power, controlled by AWS (Amazon), Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Chinese cloud giants. Smaller nations and companies must rent AI services, reinforcing their reliance on foreign infrastructure. Ultimately, control over AI translates into control over the economy, military, and society.

India has made progress in AI, but it does not yet have a globally dominant AI ecosystem to participate as an equal partner in AI ensemble models (like OpenAI, DeepMind, or Anthropic).

India has the building blocks in place

Not that India has no strengths. India’s strengths in AI include the India AI Mission and its investments in sovereign AI models and semiconductor R&D. India has the second highest number of AI engineers globally (after the U.S.). It has Institutes like IITs, IISc, IIITs, TIFR, etc. It has made significant progress in computational linguistics, AI ethics, and edge AI.

Companies like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, and Reliance are working on AI applications. India is leading in multilingual AI models (e.g., Bhashini for local languages). Tata Group is setting up India’s first semiconductor fab with Taiwan’s Powerchip. ISRO’s ‘Dhruva’ processor (for space applications) proves India can develop homegrown chips. C-DAC, with its Param AI chips, is working on AI-specific processors. India joined RISC-V International, aiming for an open-source chip ecosystem.

Yet, challenges are many

However, there are many challenges. India currently does not have a GPT-4 or Gemini-level AI model. It has limited compute infrastructure. It does not have domestic AI supercomputers that can rival Nvidia-powered clusters in the US/China. It has a rather weak AI Chip Industry and is dependent on foreign AI chips (mostly from Nvidia, AMD, and TSMC). India lacks a homegrown AI cloud ecosystem like Google Cloud AI or AWS AI. India is also low on AI Patents and startups. India has fewer AI patents and deep-tech startups compared to the US, China, or even smaller players like Israel.

If India has to become equal partner in AI, it must develop a sovereign AI Model and train a large-scale Indian AI model using local datasets. It should build AI Supercomputers, for which it needs to invest in exascale computing clusters for AI training. Indigenous AI Chips are a must. It needs to develop RISC-V-based AI processors (like China’s Huawei Ascend). It should also build AI Cloud Infrastructure and create India’s own AI cloud (like Baidu AI Cloud, Amazon AI). It needs to focus on AI-First Policy, AI R&D funding, AI ethics framework, and global collaborations. It can lead AI diplomacy, provided it acts fast and decisively.

Reasons why a quantum leap is non-negotiable

India's reliance on imported AI chips and processors makes it highly vulnerable to backdoors, hidden instructions, and supply chain attacks. Chips can be audited but there are limits. Foreign-made chips may have hidden firmware instructions that can allow remote access, surveillance, or shutdown in critical situations. Chips can be designed with hidden kill switches, disabling them remotely if geopolitical tensions rise. Imported AI chips could be secretly transmitting data to foreign agencies.

Hostile nations could feed false battlefield data to Indian AI systems, causing friendly fire or miscalculations. Weapon Systems could be paralysed. Fighter jets, warships, and missile systems depend on imported processors (Nvidia, AMD, Intel, TSMC chips) and they could be deactivated remotely. AI chips in telecom, banking, and government networks could leak classified data to adversaries in real time. India depends on Nvidia, AMD, TSMC, and Intel, meaning these companies can cut off supply anytime, as seen in China’s Huawei ban by US or Western sanctions on advanced semiconductors during Russia-Ukraine war. Without its own AI chips, India cannot fully optimize AI for defence, governance, or scientific research.

AI can be the latest and most advanced weapon as AI can control economies, finance, and infrastructure without firing a single shot. AI-powered cyber warfare can cripple nations by hacking banks, power grids, and communication systems. AI-enhanced autonomous drones and robots can wage wars without human soldiers. AI-driven disinformation campaigns can manipulate public opinion, elections, and entire populations. The conventional wars were fought in physical space. The AI war may be fought in mind space.

Essential steps to sidestep AI colonialism

In order to mitigate its vulnerabilities, India needs to develop Indigenous AI Chips and invest in RISC-V-based AI chips (like China’s Loongson & Huawei Ascend). It needs to expand Semicon India initiative to manufacture high-end 5nm or 3nm chips and develop open-Source AI Hardware. It can possibly partner with Japan (Renesas), Taiwan (TSMC), or EU (STMicroelectronics) for secure production. It also needs to invest in quantum and neuromorphic computing and future-proof AI processing with next-gen computing paradigms.

Given the urgency, India needs to fast-track semiconductor fabs in India (5nm and below); launch an ‘India AI Processor’ mission for homegrown chips; mandate Indian AI chips for critical infrastructure (defence, telecom, finance, governance) and develop sovereign AI cloud computing with India-made hardware.

The countries leading in AI research and technology are typically those with strong economies, significant investments in technology, and robust educational systems. According to recent reports, the top countries with advanced AI models include U.S., China, UK, Canada, Israel, Singapore, Germany, France, South Korea and Switzerland. U.S leads in AI models, semiconductor design, and cloud computing.

Front runners in the AI race

China is catching up fast with its own AI models, supercomputers, and chip manufacturing (SMIC). Europe (EU) lags behind in chips but is pushing for AI regulation and ethical AI. Japan and South Korea are strong in chip production but weak in AI models.  India has a strong software base but lacks advanced chip fabs and AI infrastructure. That India does not figure even in top ten in AI R&D should be of deepest concern, since it rules out India as equal partner in AI driven future.

The future can see a digital divide of frightening proportions. Most countries may become AI consumers. Physical sovereignty may be replaced by AI sovereignty. Nations without AI sovereignty will always be left behind in economy, security, and innovation. It may result in data colonialism. AI superpowers will control and exploit the data of weaker nations.

AI-driven inequality may see richest nations getting richer while the rest fall behind. Countries without AI dominance will have to accept rules made by the AI superpowers. It is time to think about AI independence.

Compute and cloud inequity

The U.S. has over 1,500 large-scale data centres, significantly more than most other countries. China follows, with estimates ranging from 400 to over 1,500, depending on the classification of data centres. In Europe, leading nations like Germany and the U.K. have around 500 each. In contrast, India has about 100 data centres, highlighting the disparity in global digital infrastructure and cloud capabilities.

Robotics complete the package

It is a crucial yet often overlooked dimension of global AI disparity. While AI-driven decision-making and computing power are significant, the ability to physically manifest AI—through robotics, autonomous systems, and cyber-physical integration—will determine who dominates the future economy, warfare, and labour markets. Advanced nations (U.S., China, Japan, Germany, South Korea) dominate industrial robotics, autonomous logistics, and AI-driven manufacturing. Developing nations risk losing their labour-cost advantage if AI-powered robots replace human workers in manufacturing, agriculture, and services. Countries without a robust robotics ecosystem will become dependent on foreign-built robots, increasing economic vulnerability.

In the area of military warfare, AI-driven autonomous drones, robotic soldiers, and unmanned naval vessels are the future. The U.S. (Boston Dynamics, DARPA), China (Norinco, DJI), and Israel (IAI, Rafael) lead in AI-powered autonomous weapons. Nations without indigenous AI-robotics for defence will be forced to buy AI-driven war machines from dominant players, making them vulnerable in conflicts.

AI-powered humanoids and robotic process automation (RPA) are transforming banking, retail, healthcare, space and deep sea exploration, and services. AI without robotics is just software power. AI with robotics is global dominance. The countries that own AI-powered robots will own the future economy, military, and industry.

By investing decisively in AI chips, sovereign cloud infrastructure, national AI models and AI & Robotics, India can secure its technological future and emerge as a global AI leader. The cost of inaction will be far higher than the investment required to build an AI-independent India. The future will not wait. India must act now.

(AK Mehta is a retired IAS officer who served as Chief Secretary of Jammu & Kashmir)

Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.