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India Needs Independent AI Strategy, Vembu Warns Against Overreliance
Sridhar Vembu says India should make its own plans for artificial intelligence.
He thinks India can work with the United States, China and other countries without choosing sides.
He wants India to spend money on basic research that can help technology grow over many years.
Vembu does not believe AI will automatically destroy humanity.
He also doubts that all countries and companies could successfully stop developing AI.
His bigger worry is that people may rely on AI so much that they stop learning important skills.
He is especially concerned about students and younger workers, including software engineers.
He says experienced people may use AI more safely because they already understand the basics.
Vembu believes humans should keep making important judgments in fields such as medicine, law and education.
Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu urged India to develop an independent AI strategy while maintaining partnerships with all countries.
He called for major investment in foundational research and development across sectors, saying some projects could cost $100 million to $200 million.
Vembu dismissed catastrophic AI predictions and argued that a worldwide development pause would be difficult and potentially self-serving for market leaders.
He warned that excessive AI use could weaken human judgment, reduce skills among junior workers and disrupt software engineering jobs.
Vembu supported cautious AI use in education and training, saying people should retain core skills and independent judgment.
- Who
- Sridhar Vembu, Zoho’s co-founder and chief scientist, made the recommendations.
- What
- He advocated an independent Indian AI strategy, foundational R&D investment and cautious use of AI to preserve human skills.
- Where
- The interview concerned India’s position in the global AI landscape; no specific location was stated.
- When
- Vembu made the comments on Wednesday during an interview with PTI.
- Why
- He said India should build long-term technological capabilities, avoid being locked into the United States-China rivalry and prevent excessive AI dependence from weakening human judgment and skills.
Caution, independence and human skills
Rapid development and frontier competition
Global AI pause
Caution, independence and human skills
Vembu argues that a worldwide pause would be difficult to enforce and may be an attempt by some companies to slow competitors while consolidating market power.
Rapid development and frontier competition
Researchers and safety experts at companies including OpenAI and Anthropic have warned about serious risks from increasingly powerful AI systems, while the United States has opposed a halt because it could weaken its position relative to China.
India’s strategic alignment
Caution, independence and human skills
Vembu says India should pursue an independent AI strategy, build partnerships broadly and avoid becoming entangled in the United States-China technology rivalry.
Rapid development and frontier competition
The article describes the global AI race largely through competition between the United States and China, with the United States arguing that slowing development could hand China an advantage.
AI use in learning and work
Caution, independence and human skills
Vembu favors cautious or restricted AI access for junior engineers and careful integration in schools so people develop core skills and independent judgment.
Rapid development and frontier competition
AI can increase short-term productivity, and Vembu acknowledges that automation may create demand in other economic sectors even as some software engineering roles come under pressure.
Key facts
- Speaker
- Sridhar Vembu, Zoho co-founder and chief scientist
- Strategic recommendation
- India should remain friendly with all countries, avoid enemies and keep its AI options open.
- R&D priority
- Vembu called for foundational research across every sector.
- Estimated research scale
- He said some foundational R&D could be pursued with $100 million to $200 million, rather than the tens of billions spent on frontier model development.
- Main concern
- Overreliance on AI could erode human judgment and skills, particularly among junior professionals and students.
- Employment concern
- Vembu said software engineering jobs could face pressure, although other categories of work may expand.
- Personal AI practice
- He uses AI for tasks such as reviewing language and edits but says he keeps his own thoughts and judgment.
Quotes
Sridhar Vembu
Zoho co-founder and chief scientist
“I am worried about the number of software engineering jobs, but at the same time I am optimistic that other categories of work will expand to absorb us”
rediff.com
“We must be friends with everybody, enemies with nobody and keep our options open”
rediff.com
Sources
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