The digital transformation has changed the way the business leaders look
at company’s operations. With data being a strong back-bone of every decision
made in corporate board-rooms, companies are striving towards achieving AI-powered
data models to achieve the coveted strategic direction. Artificial Intelligence
(AI), being a strong disruptive force in digital revolution, is a combination
of technologies which are aimed to mimic highest level of human intelligence. A study conducted by McKinsey showed that
highest incorporation of AI was towards increasing revenues by optimizing
inventory-management, pricing, promotions, demand forecasting and
customer-service analytics. As a concept, artificial intelligence is not a
modern-day concept. Greek, Chinese and Egyptians contemplated on inanimate
objects coming to life as intelligent beings. However, the term ‘artificial
intelligence’ was officially coined in 1956 during a conference at Dartmouth
College in United States. The scientist John McCarthy opined that in future,
human thinking abilities can be simulated by computer algorithms which like,
human beings can learn based on their own experiences. This led to a
revolutionary disruption as many technology companies and academic institutions
across the globe invested their resources in building strong AI-powered
programs. Eventually, AI started to feature in gaming, medical and research
domains. Globally, there are several strides in field of AI with countries like
China and United States channeling billions of dollars to fund research to
sharpen their technological prowess.
To join this bandwagon, India’s think tank ‘NITI Aayog’ drafted a
National AI strategy in 2018 to focus on unlocking opportunities in economy’s
key focus areas. The panel has identified healthcare, agriculture, education and
smart mobility to be key economic engines to remodel using latest AI tools. Having
said that, implementation of AI programs can reach far beyond these sectors. With
that, I will run through some sectors to highlight some potential opportunities
for AI and developments achieved so far
Healthcare:
Healthcare in India is complex especially in
rural and neglected corners of the country where the basic wellness facilities
are denied due to a host of issues. India’s Ayushman Bharat initiative promises
a healthcare insurance for secondary and tertiary hospitalization across wider
coverage. There is strong opportunity to implement technology solutions to increase
the healthcare coverage, by introducing digital medical records to be accessed
remotely. Deep machine learning algorithms
can help in clear diagnosis and identify future outcome of diseases, leading to
further prevention. Artificial intelligence, being what it is, can learn from
the millions of patient case studies and sharpen its diagnostic abilities over
time. In 2018, Microsoft and Apollo Hospitals had entered into a collaboration
wherein Microsoft would provide the appropriate technological models to derive
insights from Apollo’s patient data. As mentioned earlier, there is a strong
shortage of medical professionals in rural areas and leveraging digital solutions
can help in a robust disease management.
Agriculture:
Despite our strong efforts to move away from
agri-based economy towards other industries, 60% of Indian population is involved
in agriculture and allied activities. With this, every year, agricultural
domain faces multiple issues including land degradation, deteriorating water
tables, soil infertility and pest resistance. Hence, it is imperative to relook
at this segment as a potential opportunity to bring in artificial intelligence
and machine learning solutions. Furthermore,
startups are recommending robotics and drone-based solutions to analyze soil
types and weather in order to run in under AI-ML models to derive actionable
insights for the farmers. Use of technology can enable farmers better access to
new farming techniques, insights, markets, appropriate credit and insurance. In
2019-20, Indian agri-based startups raised more than USD 1 billion through a
total of 133 deals. An adequate support from the government can help more
startups emerge within the ecosystem.
Education:
I have to admit that education is one of my personal favourites where I would love to see ground-breaking digital solutions for enhanced learning experience. Like major segments, majority of issues faced by India’s education landscape are focussed in rural areas. With an unavailability of adequate infrastructure, teachers are majorly faced with a heterogeneous group of students having variations in age and learning abilities. To add to this, Indian education system is heavily leaning on rote rather than on application. It is common knowledge that many students drop out due to unavailability of funds, poor educational infrastructure and unwillingness to learn. E-learning solutions have been an emerging trend in India but its reach in rural corners is questionable. AI may not completely replace teachers but it can be an enabler to manage a heterogenous group. The e-learning solutions equipped with strong statistical algorithms can help customize the learning and help student learn at their own comfortable pace. Statistics coupled with AI can also help predict outcomes for student drop-out rates, helping the e-learning solutions draft an alternative learning plan for students to follow. The AI-ML technology can also be used to create an interactive gamification experience for students to learn conceptually.
Smart Mobility:
Nowadays, India’s urban population needs smart
mobility solutions to enable a convenient and faster transport mechanism.
Transport is spine for India’s urban economic development and India needs
strong solutions for an enhanced connectivity. Autonomous vehicles are
something India is not ready for immediately. However, automotive companies can
invest significantly in developing suite of autonomous technologies as a
potential alternative for the future. These technologies, even though not
implemented on immediate basis, can prove to be of an economic advantage to the
country. Such technologies can act as a stage for further international
partnerships with industry and academia. AI technology can also address the
impending issues of traffic congestions and road fatalities by employing algorithms
to divert the traffic in areas of heavy bottlenecking. Shared mobility being
the new trend today can be an initiative for startups to come up with AI
platforms which aid ride sharing and travelling in faster and cheaper manner
With the threat of coronavirus pandemic looming over businesses, it is
essential for corporate and government to relook, remodel and restructure its digitalization
initiatives. The Government has partnered with National e-Governance Division,
Ministry of Electronics & IT and Intel India to roll-out a program for
youth to act as a guiding force to develop an innovative tech mindset. The Union
Ministry of Communication and Information Technology set the stage for young
growth companies to showcase their AI-based platforms to the world. The
challenge was termed as AI Solution Challenge, aimed for increasing the out-of-box
thinking catering to key growth sectors of the economy. In October 2020,
Telangana government locked synergies with International Institute of
Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-H), the Public Health Foundation of
India (PHFI) and Intel India to launch Applied AI research center to develop
AI-based use cases to solve population-scale issues. These are handful of
initiatives which the government has brought to table to foster growth and collaboration
in field of AI.
However, despite the throttle, there are several obstacles on the journey to a holistic AI implementation across target segments. Currently, there are handful of institutes which are specialist in developing AI platform. The Government needs to identify the potential academic institutions and energize them with appropriate funding, partnerships and degrees of freedom to experiment on AI algorithms. Also, for a successful deployment of AI across sectors, we need a robust database of raw data. Currently, data collection mechanism in our country is extremely poor and the Government needs to take proper steps to enable robust aggregation of live data. That said, even if we have to assume a smooth implementation, the fear of unknown is expected to persist with AI expected to take over several employment opportunities. Eventually, this will definitely demand the employees to upgrade their skillsets and capabilities.
Ultimately, it’s
just the question of are we ready yet?
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