A farmer in India used ChatGPT within days of launch: OpenAI’s Sam Altman recounts inspiring story

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reached India on Wednesday and also held discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, during his visit to India amid a global tour, shared his amazement at the country’s widespread adoption of ChatGPT. During an interview with The Economic Times, Altman said that he was curious about how India wholeheartedly accepted the artificial intelligence chatbot and was looking forward to knowing more about it during his pitstop.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.(AP)

He also recounted the inspiring story of an Indian farmer who was able to get access to a government portal with the help of ChatGPT and WhatsApp soon after its launch, portraying the benefits of AI in real life.

Highlighting the enthusiasm towards ChatGPT by users in India, Altman said, “India has been a country that has really, truly embraced ChatGPT. Maybe you can tell me why, I'm hoping to learn while I'm here. One of the very earliest things, like in the first weeks of launching ChatGPT, we heard about a farmer in India who wasn't able to access government services, and via ChatGPT hooked up to WhatsApp in some sort of complicated way and was then able now. That was like one of the early things - we did not think that was going to happen.”

The frontrunner of the AI revolution reached India on Wednesday and held discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the cons of the technology and the need for its regulation.

Read: ‘We welcome all collaborations’: PM Modi after meeting ChatGPT's Sam Altman

Ahead of his meeting with PM Modi, the OpenAI chief said, “It is super impressive what India has done in terms of national tech, national assets. But the government should focus on finding how they can integrate this technology into other services. Hopefully, we all start to use Language-Learning Models (LLMs) to make government services way better.”

Altman meets Modi

"I met PM Modi and talked about its (AI) downside and why it is important to look into it," Altman said addressing a group of students at Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi (IIIT-D).

"It really is amazing to watch what's happening in India with the AI adoption. Not just OpenAI, but other technologies, too," Altman said, adding that it will be the most transformational technology humanity has ever produced.

Start-ups in India

Altman also revealed that he is open to funding startups in India at the moment rather than setting up a company centre or research lab. He also said that the company is excited about its impact on education.