Govt plans to harness power of AI, says it offers more opportunities

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the intelligence shown by machines by learning different algorithms, reasoning them for the accurate outcome, and self-correcting themselves to continually give the desired results. The government has now said that AI offers a lot more opportunities than traditional technology. They say that it can also be used in various sectors like, pharma, surgeries, security surveillance and sports.

"AI would not replace people but create new opportunities in various fields. It works on data, and if we could train our machines, it could do wonders for us in milliseconds by automating processes. It can be used for diagnostic purposes for various diseases, including Covid-19, and could prove very effective in remote areas where adequate health facilities are not available. The key to success in using AI for various problems is to reach out to maximum people," said Prof Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology (DST), at an online event 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Discourse Series New India@75' on Monday.

He spoke about how science and technolgy has progressed over the years, and how it has helped in coming out of challenges with innovation and faster speed. “The emergence of disruptive and impactful technologies poses new challenges and simultaneously greater opportunities. DST is a nursery to help, nurture and grow young talents for the progress and development of the country,” he added.

Anna Roy, Senior Advisor, NITI Aayog, said, “India has a number of challenges, but at the same time, we also have the advantage of being a data-rich country that has a lot of IT professionals, educationalists, and a demographic dividend. All this could prove a boon for us if we could use these for the progress and development of the country."

She said that and NITI Aayog is playing an important role in identifying the problems of the country and acting as a think tank to come out with creating innovative poilicies for widening the ecosystem for science and technology, so that country can make progress and development simultaneously. 

Artificial intelligence, though its ability to perform complex calculations and data crunching and provide insights into operations of various companies, can help in eliminating redundancies, thereby increasing speed, efficiency and accuracy. It can help industries to gain an advantage over others.