The TIME100 Most Influential People in AI 2024 list, released on Thursday, boasts a prominent representation from India and those of Indian descent. Notable figures include Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, actor Anil Kapoor, and Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani. This recognition underscores the significant contributions India is making to the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence.
Other prominent figures on the list include Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Amazon’s head scientist of Artificial General Intelligence Rohit Prasad, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas, Abridge co-founder and CEO Shiv Rao, Proton Product Lead Anant Vijay Singh, Indian-American businessman Vinod Khosla, AI Now Institute co-executive director Amba Kak, and United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology Amandeep Singh Gill. The list also includes Dwarkesh Patel, host of Dwarkesh Podcast; Arati Prabhakar, Director of the US Office of Science and Technology Policy; and Divya Siddarth, co-founder of the Collective Intelligence Project.
The Times’ list, categorized into leaders, innovators, shapers, and thinkers, highlights the breadth and depth of influence in the AI landscape. The magazine notes the diverse representation, from 15-year-old Francesca Mani, advocating for deepfake victim protection, to 77-year-old Andrew Yao, a prominent Chinese computer scientist calling for international AI regulation.
The 2024 list boasts a significant number of new entrants, reflecting the dynamic and rapidly evolving nature of the AI field. The Times notes that while 2023 saw the rise of startup labs like OpenAI and Anthropic, 2024 has seen the immense influence of major tech giants. The magazine emphasizes that these giants provide the crucial funding and computational power, or ‘compute,’ necessary to fuel the rapid advancement of AI startups.
