The race to build better artificial intelligence has already begun. Every week seems to bring a new model, a new capability or a new prediction about how the technology will reshape industries. Yet amid the excitement surrounding AI’s growing sophistication, a more fundamental question has continued to emerge: who gets to benefit from it?
For Neeraj Ruparel, Creative Technology Lead at WPP India, the answer has never been found in technology alone. Instead, it has been found in the people it reaches.
While businesses across sectors have explored AI’s potential to transform productivity, creativity and decision-making, Ruparel consistently argued that the technology’s biggest breakthrough will come when it becomes accessible to everyone, not just those with the latest devices, fastest internet connections or deepest pockets.
“A very powerful creative idea, unless it travels and touches millions in India and in many Indias, is not going to make a dent in the life of a brand,” Ruparel said. That belief has shaped the way he views both communication and technology. “It has to travel at scale. Technology innovation has to be frugal. AI should be made available to everyone.”
For Ruparel, accessibility has never been a secondary consideration. It has been the foundation upon which AI’s long-term impact will depend. “That’s how it becomes a problem solver, one that goes beyond media and marketing in so many ways.”
As conversations around AI have increasingly centred on advertising, automation and content creation, Ruparel pointed to a much larger opportunity. He has maintained that the technology’s true potential will be unlocked when it begins solving everyday challenges for people who have historically lacked access to information and digital tools.
“For me, AI will come into its own when it becomes truly inclusive.” That conviction has informed his thinking around the future of AI adoption, particularly in markets such as India where diversity of language, access and infrastructure continues to shape how technology is consumed.
“How do we democratise AI? How do we make it inclusive?” Ruparel asked. “By building language models that understand people better and by creating more frugal solutions that can run on every phone.” The goal, he explained, is not merely to make AI more intelligent, but to make it more accessible.
“There is no app, no internet, no screens, and yet AI can still help people make informed decisions.” In Ruparel’s view, some of the most transformative AI innovations have yet to emerge. Rather than being concentrated among digitally connected urban consumers, they are likely to create value for people who have traditionally remained on the margins of technological progress.
“That’s something I’m betting big on.” He has envisioned a future where AI serves as a bridge between information and those who need it most, helping individuals make better decisions regardless of geography, language or economic circumstance.
“In the years ahead, we’ll see some fascinating use cases where AI becomes a problem solver for millions and millions of people.” Importantly, Ruparel’s vision has extended far beyond India.
“Not just in India, but across the Global South and Sub-Saharan Africa, there are so many people who still struggle with access to basic information.” For him, that is where the next wave of meaningful innovation will emerge.
As the industry continues to debate the possibilities and limitations of artificial intelligence, Ruparel has remained focused on a simple but powerful idea: technology creates its greatest value when it becomes available to the largest number of people.
“Inclusive AI is a real problem solver for all.” At a time when AI is often discussed in terms of capability, competition and disruption, Ruparel’s perspective has offered a different lens through which to view the technology’s future. The defining question, he has suggested, is not how advanced AI can become, but how many lives it can improve.
Because ultimately, the success of artificial intelligence may not be measured by the intelligence of the machines themselves. It may be measured by how effectively that intelligence has been placed in the hands of everyone.
