Anil Singh of Saras AI Institute On Pushing the Boundaries of AI
My advice is to pick a problem. It can be a problem that you are facing yourself, personally, or one that society is facing. Now, decide how you can use this new technology in combination with human connection and human capital to solve that problem.
Artificial Intelligence is transforming industries at a breakneck pace, and the entrepreneurs driving this innovation are at the forefront of this revolution. From groundbreaking applications to ethical considerations, these visionaries are shaping the future of AI. What does it take to innovate in such a rapidly evolving field, and how are these entrepreneurs using AI to solve real-world problems? As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Anil Singh.
Anil is the founder and president of Saras AI Institute, an AI-dedicated higher education global institute with headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. With more than 25 years of organizational leadership experience, Anil founded the Microsoft Cloud Services company, Hanu, and led it for 15 years before its successful exit to a Fortune 500 company, Insight. Anil holds degrees from NYU and IIT.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory and how you grew up?
I was born in a small village in India, and during my teenage years, our family moved to a city in North India, Lucknow. The biggest thing I can tell you about my childhood is that my parents always, always made sure that I got a good quality education. Looking back, I feel that played a huge role for me, having lived the journey of being born in a small village in India to becoming a successful entrepreneur who is living in the U.S. I feel that the education I received early on and also during my college years played a huge role in helping me to become the person that I am today.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career? (We can omit this question if nothing comes to mind.)
I completed my bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering (EE) from IIT, Varanasi. My first job was as a software engineer, and at that point, I never imagined or thought of myself as an entrepreneur. That transition happened because of the education I received at NYU. At NYU, I majored in Information Systems. This program was a combination of computer science courses and the business courses I took at the Stern School of Business. Going in, I thought I would like the CS courses more — but it was quite the opposite. I loved the business courses at Stern, and taking those business courses gave me the confidence to start my own company. My journey from software engineer to being a successful entrepreneur … the genesis of that happened at NYU.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
There are two people I’m extremely grateful for. The first is my dad. My dad has been my role model, my inspiration, and my cheerleader from a very, very young age. I was born and raised in India. I had moved to New York City to work at Goldman Sachs; I was making a good salary and living a good life. My dad is the one who encouraged me to get a U.S. degree. And that’s when I enrolled in the master’s program at NYU. So, my dad is my hero.
The second is a life coach who has played a huge role in my journey. After I sold my company in 2022, I was lost. I didn’t know what to do, so I worked with a great coach: Ayse Birsel, the author of ”Design the Life You Love: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Meaningful Future,” who helped me to reflect on my journey up until that point. What came out of that was the fact that education is something very close to my heart. I strongly felt that the foundation of my success was the good quality education I received in the U.S. and India.
Now, my life’s purpose is to make quality education accessible and affordable to students throughout the globe. This is exactly what we are doing at Saras.
Can you please tell us more about Saras?
Saras is world’s first AI-only, 100% online, U.S.-based higher education institute. Saras AI Institute is a state-licensed, degree-granting institution redefining AI education. We provide quality AI education with an emphasis on the ethical and responsible usage of AI to students globally. By combining a role-based curriculum delivered by industry experts, a diverse and inclusive community, and personalized success coaching, Saras AI Institute aims to develop future leaders ready to tackle the world’s toughest challenges.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Be curious and be grateful.”
This is a lesson I have learned the hard way. When I started my business, there would be times when I would go into a meeting and tell everyone, “Okay, here is what we have to do, and here is how we are going to do it.”
And later, I learned that’s not the best approach. So, this principle is now a part of my life. When I go into a meeting, I usually start by saying, “Here is what we must accomplish. Let’s discuss, brainstorm and decide together the best way to get there.”
And that has made all the difference. The second part of that principle is expressing our gratitude to the people around us and all the hard work that they are putting into building this Institute. I think that showing appreciation goes a long way, and I feel that it helps people work even harder.
You are a successful business leader. What character trait do you think has been most instrumental to your success?
I think the first and foremost character trait is focus. A great teacher was teaching the art of archery to his students, and one day, he decided to test them by putting a wooden bird in a tree as a target. One by one, he told the students that their job was to hit the eye of the bird with their arrow.
But before each student released the arrow, he asked them a question. As the first student appeared and poised his arrow, the guru asked, “What do you see?” The student said, “Guru, I see the tree, I see the branch, I see the leaves, and I see a bird.” The guru replied, “Okay, step aside.”
The second student came forward, and he asked the same question. “What do you see?” “I see the cloud. I see the tree. I see the branch.” One by one, the students provided similar answers. He told everyone to step aside. The final student was Arjuna, and as he took aim, the guru said, “What do you see?” Arjuna replied, “I see the bird’s eye.” “Tell me, what else do you see?” Again, Arjuna replied, “I see the bird’s eye. Nothing else.”
So, the teacher said, “Okay. Release the arrow.”
This lesson and story have a lot of relevance in today’s business. How can we be mentally focused on doing only one thing, and how can we do it better than anyone else? So that, to me, is the lesson and the story I’ve carried forward into the Saras AI Institute. Saras is focused on quality AI education that is aligned with employment and leadership.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. Share the story of what inspired you to start working with AI. Was there a particular problem or opportunity that motivated you?
For me, that instance happened when OpenAI released ChatGPT in November 2022. The whole world was in awe of what ChatGPT could do. This was a pivotal moment, a turning point in the AI revolution. Now the generative AI technology is transforming every role and every industry. The last 25 years have been about computer science and programming. The next 25 years are going to be about AI. That moment was an eye-opener and, at the same time, was an inspiration about how we all can be more productive in everything we do.
Describe a moment when AI achieved something you once thought impossible. What was the breakthrough, and how did it impact your approach going forward?
My daughter, who is in college, was asking me a question. I know that as a parent, I should have all the answers, but I told her, “I don’t know, but you have three assistants at your disposal. Why don’t you ask them?” What I meant by this was that the three tools, ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, may not have great and complete answers, but they can give us a strong starting point for how to start our journey. I’m trying to incorporate this method into my working model to have them answer any questions we might have now. How do I go to the three assistants first, take their opinions, and build upon them? That is a paradigm change.
Talk about about a challenge you faced when working with AI. How did you overcome it, and what was the outcome?
I think the question of how we make using AI tools as our first instinct is a challenge. I just turned 50, and for 50 years, these tools were not there. We had other ways of finding answers, such as talking to 10 different people we know or talking to our parents, our teachers or people we are in touch with. That default has been in place for the last 50 years. How do you change the default mode to AI-first? That is really the challenge I’m still trying to overcome. How do we look at AI as our assistant, as our advisor, and learn to use it as a partner?
Here is the main question for our discussion. Based on your experience and success, can you please share “Five Things You Need To Know To Help Shape The Future of AI”?
Consider this: In the latest World Economic Forum Report, it says that 85 million jobs are going to be replaced by AI. And that seems like a doomsday scenario. But the next statement is even bigger (and far better): at the same time, 97 million new AI jobs will be created.
The next 25 years are going to be powered by AI technology. There is only one thing you need to know to shape the future of AI. If we don’t want to be left behind, it’s important we start using these tools today, start understanding these tools, and start incorporating them in both our work and our personal lives. I think our success is in not being afraid to embrace the tools and in getting a focused AI education.
So how do we get ready? How do we prepare for these new AI jobs? How do we make sure our youth are ready to be part of the AI revolution and that they don’t get left behind? The solution is this: Get educated, embrace the tools, and incorporate them in your daily lives.
When you think about the future of AI, what excites you the most, and how do you see your work contributing to that future?
Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, made a remarkable statement in one of his interviews. The reporter asked him, “In the war of man versus the machine, who will win?” I loved his answer. He said that it’s not about people versus machines. It’s about the man and the machine working together to make this world a better place.
Think about that again: The individual and the machine, working together.
In that light, how do we use AI technology to provide better healthcare and to make it accessible and affordable to 9 billion people? How do we use AI in conjunction with our teachers to make education accessible and affordable to every child, every youth, and every working professional across the globe? That’s the message. And that’s the path to a better world, where most people will not be bogged down in the depths of manual work.
This is why we built the Saras AI Institute — it’s for the sole purpose of getting students ready for meaningful and rewarding employment in AI. And we’re not stopping there. We want to help them become future AI leaders — the compassionate and responsible leaders of tomorrow who are ready to change the world again and again. We are providing them with the education to fulfill the idea of the man and machine working together to make the world a better place. This is what we are about.
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs who want to innovate in AI? Can you share a story from your experience that illustrates your advice?
My advice is to pick a problem. It can be a problem that you are facing yourself, personally, or one that society is facing. Now, decide how you can use this new technology in combination with human connection and human capital to solve that problem.
And in advising them, I will go back to my life lesson of being focused many times. I have made this mistake when starting a business — you try to run in 10 different directions. But the sooner you find your focus, the better the business is going to be. It’s a concept that is very well documented in Jim Collins’ book, “Good to Great.” He talks about the “hedgehog concept.”
The Hedgehog Concept is based on a metaphor from an ancient Greek parable that says, “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.” The hedgehog knows how to protect itself by sticking to its main strength, which is rolling into a ball with sharp spikes. So, the concept comes down to a single question: “What can you do better than anybody else in the world?”
You can represent the concept with a Venn diagram of three overlapping circles that identify:
- What you are passionate about,
- What you can be the best at,
- And what best drives your economic or resource engine.
- The central vision is the overlapping middle area of the Venn diagram that represents your company’s central vision and guiding principle.
If you follow these principles, you will find your success in any market, in any region, and in any economic condition.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
I’m going to give you three people, one from history and two who are living. The person in history who has been a very inspirational leader for me was JFK, John F. Kennedy. He is the epitome of inspirational leadership. The way he declared his vision that this country must send a man to the moon and bring him back safely before the decade is over. And the way he handled the Cuban Missile Crisis. The world was on the brink of nuclear war, and he brought us back, almost single-handedly, to normalcy. I find his example to be very inspirational.
The second person is Warren Buffet. I love his simplicity, the way he takes complex ideas — one of the most complex topics in the world is investing — and simplifies it to a level that even a child can understand. The second part I admire is how he is almost 95 years old, yet he keeps on going with the same intensity, day in and day out. And he keeps on making one good decision after the other. I would love to have lunch with Warren Buffet.
My final pick is Michael Jordan. There’s a very good quote where he talks about how many times he has failed in each of the things he’s ultimately excelled at. And then he says, “I’m successful because, I have failed so many times.” The relationship between failure and success is one that not many people understand. And at the same time, he has this drive to win and to work really, really hard. That’s why he’s been able to win so many championships, right?
As a final note on Michael Jordan — if you watched the movie “Air Jordan,” you will see that he owes his financial fortune with Nike to the foresight his mother had when she asked for a 20% cut of the revenue from the sale of Air Jordan shoes. He ended up making far more money from Air Jordan than he probably made from playing basketball. It is fascinating how one decision can change the trajectory and the course of your life.
The things I admire in these individuals are very much aligned with the work we are doing at Saras. These are the principles we’re working to instill in as many students as possible with our AI education. What if we were able to instill these principles and embed this level of knowledge and drive into the people who fill every one of these 97 million new AI-focused jobs? This is what we believe we can do better than anyone else in the world, and this is where we’re putting our focus.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
This is easy! You can visit the Saras AI Institute website at www.sarasAI.org.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work.
