DRDO DG at AI Summit: Cannot depend on Google Gemini, ChatGPT and other foreign-developed AI models for military apps

Director General of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Chandrika Kaushik made it clear at the ongoing AI Impact Summit that the country India cannot afford to rely on AI models built by foreign companies for military applications. Speaking at the AI summit to news agency ANI, Kaushik lamented the fact that there are not enough popular made-in-India AI models. Kaushik underscored the urgent need for indigenous artificial intelligence (AI) solutions in the defence sector. Speaking to ANI, Kaushik said, "In the defence domain, we can't afford to depend on solutions and AI models which are coming from abroad. We need to be very sure about the trustworthiness of the models and the systems which we are adopting."Talking about DRDO's initiatives, she said that the organisation has already developed two key frameworks. The first, the ETAI (Evaluating Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence) framework, focuses on building resilience into AI-enabled systems. The second provides guidelines for validating and verifying AI solutions, offering a structured approach for developers in the domain. We have started incorporating AI in almost every solution that we are developing, wherever there is data which can be used for analysis," she said, adding that AI applications are now moving closer to operational environments. "AI has started going to the edge. It is going to the battlefield itself. So, over time, we have to quickly gear up towards incorporating the AI solutions into the defence domain," Kaushik added.Highlighting the growing penetration of AI across sectors, she said that the technology has already spread across daily activities, from education to problem-solving and solution development. "If you look at the students, you look at the teachers, you look at people who are making presentations, or you are trying to find quick solutions, or you are trying to develop solutions, the first thing is one kind of hook into an AI solution. It could be any one of the existing ones. But most of these solutions are coming from abroad," she noted.Kaushik expressed appreciation for the efforts of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Government of India in bringing together stakeholders to strengthen the country's AI ecosystem. She described the summit as "the way to go" and said it provides a platform for collective efforts towards building trusted, indigenous AI capabilities.