Artificial Intelligence impacts businesses, governments, and individuals in every sphere of life. However, it is not yet clear what is needed to cross hurdles and stay ahead of the AI curve. AI’s impact is not territorial but more on a global and societal level. Machine learning and AI are likely to influence the way societies function, governments interact, and business takes place shortly.
The race of AI supremacy is about anticipation, having the right resources, adopting the right mindset, ability to execute and futuristic orientation along with establishing a position in the market for technological proficiency and innovative applications. While some countries have achieved the right combination to stay at the top of the AI supremacy game, others have failed to lead.
Can those not in the race, get on board and catch up? Or, those already in the race can catch up with the ones leading? What position is India at? Should we embrace our success or fear the AI superpowers? This article answers these questions.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Comparison
- Baby Steps
- The Road ahead
- Conclusion
Artificial Intelligence is the most flourishing field today and promises to be bigger than anything in the future. This has made Artificial Intelligence Certification an essential career prerequisite.
Introduction
As of June 2018, out of 22,000 Ph.D. scholars worldwide, only 386 are in India researching Artificial Intelligence. The serious developments are concentrated in institutes like IITs, IISc, and IIITs, making it to less than 50 researchers. In premier institutes also, the process is an uphill climb leading to scarcity of competent AI researchers. The top alma meters have courses in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, optimization, natural language processing, data science, and computer vision. The enrolment ratio is low. This raises questions on the preparedness of the country to hop on the AI-bandwagon.
The statistics point out that India is in a completely different direction than that of AI supremacy. India is a data source for countries that are developing Artificial Intelligence. The data ranges from personal and social to behavioral and medical. There isn’t much clarity on the control of financial data like payment, income, and expenses. This is not good for a country. Facebook, Google, Alibaba, etc. are already analyzing the data, but is India doing the same? Let’s compare it with one of our neighbors.
Comparison
India’s inclination towards startup culture is bleak. There is a need for a push from the government, industry, and academic institutions to emerge as a promising sector in India. Big businesses should invest in AI, and this is only possible by government incentivization. This approach can change industry dynamics, and academia will naturally follow. Some cues can be taken from China’s plan of becoming a world leader by 2030. The primary focus is to be aligned with all of AI’s diverse applications. Next is to enter the cutting edge breakthroughs market. This would be possible because of the government’s infinite war chest and support.
China’s government is leaving no stone unturned to swim with the AI wave and leap ahead of the USA. AI chips and facial recognition are two of its dominant technologies. To regulate social behavior, a video mass surveillance program equipped with facial recognition aims to cover 55 Chinese cities. China is already leading offline to online connections with IoT, sensors, and other modes of automation. The data is continuously being picked and given to build algorithms and improve AI. Thus, the first step for India should be to collect massive data and use it for training. Government support is essential to push barriers and get on board.
China has the most significant cluster of Artificial Intelligence developers. Their AI program is well placed and highly structured. In India, AI needs to be viewed as a peer-reviewed, open community with an easy exchange of ideas. Along with Artificial Intelligence training, Ai-based startups need investment and access policies. In 2019, the baby steps had been taken in the form of a national center for Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Baby steps
Even though AI and AI developers are operative words today, small and medium-sized enterprises still haven’t explored their options with this new age technology even though it promises to give them an edge in the market. There are concerns regarding data-driven decision making and what intelligence is required for their applications. One of the primary reasons for this is the lack of accurate data. For SMEs to imbibe AI, there is a need for AI solution providers to work closely with them. Some conflicting views rise because of the risks of AI in jobs. The economic condition isn’t excellent, and bringing in AI means less need for human workers. Technology with AI is the final frontier that the country should tread slowly too, and the last call lies with the sector.
The Road Ahead
India will take the time to enter the race and catch up with global peers. The AI expert in India isn’t given much credit because of the slow progress of the field. However, times are changing in terms of respect and results. The modern AI revolution was powered by deep learning models using neural networks for large datasets. Though the AI adoption rate is low, an efficient, robust, and sustainable ecosystem will help achieve scale. The online training platforms offering Artificial Intelligence Certification and increased investment in innovation can make AI work in India. For AI to flourish, a more sustainable startup ecosystem is the prime need. Apparent democratization of AI technology needs to be driven by the government. A healthy ecosystem and open data warehouses would be the game changer.
Conclusion
To accelerate the adoption of AI, a lot more efforts are needed than what are already there. It needs to be driven by people in every domain of control. India is not on the AI supremacy bus but in the queue. It is the time for a revolution, and if you wish to be a part of it, sign up for AI Certification today!