Climate change, health, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) featured in a conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The exchange took place on February 29 and the recorded interaction was released by news agency ANI on March 29. It was broadcast on multiple news channels over the day.
On health, Mr. Gates spoke approvingly of the lack of widespread vaccine scepticism in India during the COVID-19 pandemic, to which Mr. Modi responded that trust had been established with Indians. “If a place has ten doctors, one will win the trust of the people,” he said in a reference to Covaxin and Covishield vaccines that were developed or manufactured in India.
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On AI, Mr. Modi called for watermarks on synthetic videos and images, saying that the public could fall for deepfake content. “We need to have some do’s and don’t’s,” Mr. Modi said. He had Mr. Gates took a selfie on the NaMo app, showing him how the app was able to retrieve past photos from past meetings using facial recognition.
Mr. Gates asked about privacy concerns and data. “We have a legal framework but we need to make people aware” about data use, Mr. Modi said. He said digital public infrastructure was being used so that the government gets out of the lives of the middle class, but would be available where needed by the poor who relied on it.
Mr. Modi touted India’s involvement in improving the access to wind, solar and nuclear energy. He showed off his jacket as made from recycled tailor shop scraps and plastic from discarded bottles.
On consumerism and climate, Mr. Gates pointed out that moderation could still make progress. For instance, Mr. Gates told the Prime Minister, that people could eat more chicken instead of beef. “Even within vegetarianism, there is room for improvement,” Mr. Modi replied. “For instance, millets grow even on barren land with very little water and fertiliser.”
