Data centres must coexist with frugal AI in India, say experts at Frugal Innovation Forum

While data centres are imperative, in countries like India, they should coexist with frugal AI, suggested panellists who were speaking at the Frugal Innovation Forum, organised by The French Institute in India (IFI), in collaboration with the Alliance Française de Bangalore and Science Gallery Bengaluru.

“In 2023, when I heard about ChatGPT for the first time, I looked into it and thought about what was needed for a Large Language Model. It is not just software. It has all this hardware infrastructure behind it. You need servers, data centres… these data centres need specialist AI chips, water for cooling, electricity; that is just the supply side of the value chain,” said Serish Gandikota, co-founder & co-director, Frugal AI Hub and Visiting Fellow, Cambridge Judge Business School.