Telangana unveils 'AI Minister' avatar of IT Minister Sridhar Babu

Telangana unveiled an "AI Minister", an artificial intelligence avatar of the state's IT Minister D. Sridhar Babu, at DevFest 2026, a developer conference organised by Google Developer Groups (GDG) Hyderabad, on Saturday, 24 October 2026. The avatar, described by its makers as a "pre-AGI" digital twin of the minister, answered questions from young attendees in English and Telugu on stage. It was built by the technology company TensorGo on its HumAIn platform, with guidance from the state's IT adviser Sai Krishna. The minister himself delivered his keynote address virtually.

A digital twin, in technology, is a virtual copy of something real: a machine, a factory or, in this case, a person. Here it means an AI system designed to answer questions in the style of, and with information about, a particular minister. It typically combines a large language model, the kind of AI behind chatbots that generates text in response to questions, with voice and video generation so that the avatar looks and sounds like the person. "Pre-AGI" is the makers' label: AGI, or artificial general intelligence, refers to a hypothetical AI that could match humans across most tasks. Calling the avatar "pre-AGI" is a description by its makers, not a technical standard, and it should not be read as a claim of human-level intelligence.

For governments, the attraction is reach. A minister cannot personally answer thousands of questions from citizens, but an AI avatar can be available at any time and in more than one language. Answering in Telugu as well as English matters in a state where many people are more comfortable in their own language than in English. If the planned grievance feature is launched, it could also give the minister's office a way to collect and sort complaints from across the state.

There are also open questions: who is accountable if the avatar gives a wrong or misleading answer; how personal data shared by citizens through it would be stored and protected under India's data protection law; and how people will know what the AI is permitted to say on the minister's behalf. Commentators have pointed out that the avatar is not a constitutional office and does not make decisions, and that a launch before a hall of developers does not show how well it would work for residents who are less used to digital services.

For start-ups, the project is a showcase. A state government choosing a local company's platform for a visible project can help that firm win other clients in government and industry, and it signals that Telangana is willing to try new AI tools in public services.

Short-term: The avatar is a demonstration for now. Its first public role was answering questions at a developer event, and the state has not announced when or how citizens will be able to use it.

Long-term: If the grievance feature is introduced, it could change how people in Telangana raise issues with the IT department and how quickly those issues are sorted. It may also encourage other states to try similar tools, which would make clear rules on accuracy, accountability and data protection more pressing.

Who is affected: Citizens of Telangana who may one day use the service; the state's IT department; TensorGo and other Indian AI start-ups seeking government work; and policymakers working on rules for AI in public services.

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