The first day of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) summit commenced with the discussion of Applications of AI in the Priority Sectors, which marks a significant milestone in our country’s exploration of AI in this rapidly transforming world. AI’s emergence can be counted as a significant turning point in the evolution of technology. It also represents a remarkable shift, redefining how key sectors crucial for global economic growth and societal health operate, innovate and interact with society.

The session aimed to address the challenges and opportunities in sectors like healthcare, education, finance and security. The session explored the widespread impact of AI in these priority economic sectors. Its goal was ultimately to develop a comprehensive understanding of the far-reaching consequences of AI and the ways it can be leveraged seamlessly into the given areas. A bunch of industry leaders, experts, and decision-makers in the session uncovered the limitless possibilities of AI and brainstormed how to leverage AI responsibly for enhancing societal growth and economic welfare.

The panellists comprise Nivruti Rai, CEO&MD, Invest India; Vijay Shekhar Sharma, CEO, Paytm; Laila Cremona, Founder and CEO, MediBay, Samir Shah, Co-founder and Executive Vice Chair, Dvara Holdings, Narayanan Vaidyanathan, Head of Policy Development, ACCA, Aakrit Vaish, CEO of Haptik, Dr. Shailesh Kumar, Chief Data Scientist, Centre of Excellence in AI/ML, Reliance Jio, Raghu Dharmaraju, CEO, ARTPARK, IISc, David Weller, Senior Director, Google, Kazim Rizvi, Founding Director, The Dialogue.

AI in Healthcare

One major domain that AI helps democratise is the healthcare sector. Nivruti Rai explored how AI acts as a technology that can be leveraged in a democratic, responsible, ethical manner with privacy, control, security, reliability and, ultimately, accessibility for all. While mentioning the role AI plays in healthcare, Rai addressed the significance of AI-based programs like AlphaFold, which predicts the protein structure in the human body. The ability of an AI to analyse a cancer scan and spot where the cancer cell exists shows the importance of Data Analysis in the healthcare sector. The AI-based analysis can drive a lot of diagnostics and truly democratise such kinds of identifications. AI has the potential to democratise healthcare with efficiency, accuracy and scalability. According to Rai, “I don’t want our world to have somebody die of a disease which could have been solved”.

AI in Education

The panelists explored how AI can make education available to everyone. AI can also be used for the betterment of everybody, irrespective of their status. Since the pandemic, the education sector has undergone a major shift with the introduction of online learning. But if we use AI in immersive education, we will be able to reach people who have never been able to access education previously and are able to educate in a minimal cost-effective and accurate way. According to Laila Cremona, “AI is like a child for which we should teach the good things and thereby regulate what we are teaching a child”. The panellists discussed that the AI chatbots, which are built in India, are one of the phenomenal leads in the field of education. 

AI in policymaking

Sharing and creating data as a public good with a systematic policy-first approach is significant. Still, there needs to be more support in the public sector to share data, which is expected to be minimised in the future. The panellists opine that a much more proactive approach is needed to break such barriers.

AI in agriculture

Concerning the use of technology like AI in helping farmers with AI-based solutions, Samir Shah, one of the panellists, introduced Surabhi. This innovative platform connects every aspect of the cattle farming value chain. By leveraging advanced AI and Machine Learning, Surabhi offers a unique, proprietary muzzle-based cattle identification solution.

Conclusion

AI is generating a significant amount of buzz and engagement around the world. While AI models and solutions are invented rapidly, the application must find its way across the deeper sections of all industries. Our country's success in utilising AI will significantly depend upon the application it can bring to every deeper sector of the industry.