Beyond Coders: Why India Needs AI Strategists, Not Just Engineers
The future does not depend on producing more coders; it requires AI strategists.
By Ankush Sabharwal
India has established itself as a worldwide technology hub with one of the largest pools of software developers and engineers. However, as artificial intelligence (AI) transforms industries, societies, and even governments, it is now evident that coding will not be the key to the future. What India really needs is a new generation of AI planners, leaders who can balance technological capabilities with human needs, ethical principles, and long-term national interests.
From Coders to Strategists
The initial phases of the AI revolution were characterised by algorithm design, model training, and technical implementation.
Though these are still paramount, today the challenge is not so much to create models but to deploy them responsibly, ethically, and effectively. For this purpose, India requires talent that can conceptualise the knowledge that can be applied in public services, businesses, and daily life in a manner that promotes inclusivity and ease of living.
Coders code and strategists craft the impact. India’s true potential in AI is to fuel a human-focused scale of innovation rather than a servicing hub. As risk and opportunity forecasting visionaries come together, we can move from a back-office to a leadership role in steering global standards of responsible and transformative AI.
Building Human-Centric AI
AI strategists have to place people at the forefront of the technology system. This is achieved through developing Human-Centric and Secure GenAI architectures addressing bias, disinformation, and privacy concerns while still facilitating innovation. Engineers do not need to know how to scale models; strategists need to know where and why AI should be scaled.
For instance, Voice First interfaces become vital in a nation as linguistically and socially plural as India. Someone can engineer the model, but it takes a strategist to determine how that model can empower rural healthcare providers, or how Conversational AI Assistants or AI Agents can alleviate the load on teachers in underprivileged schools.
The Case for AI Literacy
Yet another crucial task of AI strategists is to promote AI literacy. Citizens should be taught how to engage with verification tools to counter deepfakes, how to interact safely with Virtual Assistants (VideoBots, VoiceBots, and ChatBots), and how AI can be an augmenter not a substitute.
Schools and colleges have to educate not just in coding, but composite AI methodologies, where students are taught how to assess an AI system throughout its design, deployment, and impact stages. This is particularly important in safeguarding democracy. As AI-generated misinformation spreads faster, strategists must ensure people are equipped with the skills to detect fake content, hold platforms accountable, and demand transparency.
Sovereign AI: A National Imperative
On a global scale, the dialogue is moving towards Sovereign AI, where nations develop and control AI systems according to their own cultural, legal, and economic contexts. For India, this is not a choice but a necessity. A robust AI strategy guarantees that data of a sensitive nature stays within borders, models are trained for Indian languages and environments, and systems are insulated against outside geopolitical tremors. Strategists, and not merely engineers, will shape this vision.
They will decide how India walks the tightrope of global cooperation without compromising on national security, and how AI can enhance, but not undermine, public trust. In this context, India’s Sovereign AI models such as BharatGPT, Bhashini, Krutrim, and BharatGen serve as foundational enablers of this self-reliant ecosystem.
Strategy Drives Scalability
Lastly, the future of AI is not innovation alone but execution at scale. With agentic AI platforms, including Telephony AI and Conversational AI, that blend in with the current enterprise and government infrastructures, AI can now automate pre-sales, sales, and customer support within hours. But it requires strategic vision to determine the right use cases, ensure compliance, and quantify impact across industries.
India's competitive advantage will rely on bringing forth leaders who can ride this complexity, leaders who can convert algorithms into solutions that are accessible to millions, establish guardrails for safe usage, and develop policies that optimise productivity and efficiency without sacrificing ethics.
Strategy Should Be Top Focus
The future does not depend on producing more coders; it requires AI strategists who know how to unlock the potential of Sovereign AI and Conversational Agentic AI to revolutionise healthcare, education, governance, and business in a way that is equitable, scalable, and sustainable.
For India, the message is clear: cultivating strategists will make the country more than a participant in the race of AI, but a nation that guides its direction. Coding provides the base, but strategy offers the blueprints for the future.
(The author is the Founder and CEO, CoRover)
Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs, and views expressed by the various authors and forum participants on this website are personal and do not reflect the opinions, beliefs, and views of ABP Network Pvt. Ltd.
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