Indian Frugal AI is broader in scope and impact than French Frugal AI
As a scholar in frugal innovation, and as a French citizen born and raised in India, I am glad France is (finally!) embracing frugality.
Frugality is deeply embedded in Indian culture, which explains why India is the birthplace of frugal innovation, that art of doing “better with less”.
Ahead of the AI Summit in Paris, in an interview with FirstPost, French President Emmanuel Macron announced France’s intention to invest in and lead a new paradigm: Frugal AI.
CNRS, the top scientific research body in France, defines Frugal AI as AI models and AI solutions that minimize energy use and ecological impact.
In this sense, the French definition of frugality is akin to “sobriété”, a French word for parsimony (not to be confused with the English word “sobriety”).
“Sobriété” became popular in Fall 2022 when the French government, against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, announced an “energy sobriety plan” that required French companies to cut their energy use by 10%.
As such, in the French context, Frugal AI is a strategy that aims at DECOUPLING, whereby “continued growth in the economy is accompanied by a further contraction in CO2 emissions.”
French Frugal AI aims at doing “more from less”
This so-called ‘green growth’ model based on decoupling calls for companies (and nations) to “do more from less”, i.e., keep producing more goods and services while “decarbonizing” their supply chains (and AI use).
While decoupling could reduce the negative ecological impact of business (and AI), it doesn’t incent companies to radically change their existing business models, or positively contribute to society.
My new book The Frugal Economy argues that what the world needs today is not decoupling but RECOUPLING.
We must tightly “recouple” (reintegrate) economic activities with people, communities, and the planet.
Such tight recoupling will enable a regenerative growth model that will boost human development and increase social and ecological harmony and will lead us toward a conscious society.
Indian Frugal AI aims to do “better with less”
By engaging in — and actively shaping — this virtuous regenerative growth cycle, businesses could serve a noble purpose than is larger than just profit-making.
Regenerative growth aims at doing “better with less” by maximizing human potential and social well-being within planetary limits.
India is leveraging its own version of Frugal AI to drive regenerative growth that will enable it to achieve Viksit Bharat (Developed India) and Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-sufficient India) by 2047.
In India, Frugal AI has a broader meaning than the French definition and aims at a larger goal.
Yes, yes, the Indian Frugal AI costs less money to develop and uses less energy: that’s a known fact. By sending spacecrafts to orbit Mars and land on the moon using a fraction of the budget of NASA, Indian scientists have proven that they already master the technical part of frugal innovation.
But India ALSO ensures AI is affordable and accessible for the masses: THIS is the deeper meaning (and impact) of the term “frugal” (which mistakenly is construed narrowly as “low-cost”)
Hence, In India, frugal innovation aims at creating (capital and energy) efficiency on the supply-side AND value on the demand side.
Most importantly, India aims at making AI not only Frugal but also Inclusive.
Inclusive AI is not just about democratizing access to AI. It is also about empowering more people to contribute to the development of AI solutions.
France has an elitist (exclusive) view on an AI : the French political leaders and media make it sound like you need a PhD to do credible AI work.
In India, however, organizations like Desicrew are pioneering “Inclusive AI” by empowering, for instance, rural women who graduated from vocational colleges to do AI development.
Read my post on Desicrew.
The French Frugal AI is powered exclusively by the MIND (intelligence).
The Indian Frugal AI is powered by both the Mind and the HEART (wisdom).
Bottom line:
I am happy both France and India are leading Frugal AI.
But I feel the Indian definition and practice of Frugal AI is broader in scope and wider in impact, and therefore more appealing to the Global South.
The year 2026 will be celebrated as the India-France Year of Innovation. It will be an opportunity for French economic and political decision-makers to visit India and understand — and learn — the benefits of Frugal AI made in India.
