Gone are the days when technology was considered a male-dominated area. Today the scenario has changed, and it is wonderful to see more women's involvement in STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and related disciplines. While in AI, the scenario is even more delightful. On women's day, we felt elated seeing the 21 women in AI who are changing the way one looks at core technical streams today.

In another news, a recent report published by Stanford University, Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2021, India was ranked 6th in The Global Vibrancy Ranking 2020. Parameters like inclusivity, diversity, skilling, and ethics were included in the study to provide unbiased, rigorously vetted, and globally sourced data for policymakers, researchers, executives, journalists, and the general public to develop intuitions about the complex field of AI. 

According to the same report, India tops the list in terms of Relative AI skills penetration rate by Gender 2015-20. In the list, India is followed by the United States and South Korea, securing rank 2nd and 3rd rank, respectively. Relative AI skills penetration rate, a measure that reflects the prevalence of AI skills across occupations or the intensity with which people in certain occupations use AI skills. This data suggests that across the majority of select countries, the AI skills penetration rate for women is lower than it is for men.

Out of the 12 countries that were examined, India, South Korea, Singapore, and Australia are the closest to reaching equity in terms of the AI skills penetration rate of females and males. This definitely is a proud moment to see Indian women beating the stereotypes and topping the charts in the last decade.

The report also exhibits the effects of COVID-19 on AI development from multiple perspectives. Interestingly the report also shows how PostEra, an AI startup, used machine-learning-based techniques to accelerate COVID-related drug discovery during the pandemic. ML has promising roles in healthcare and biology, with scientists using ML models to learn representations of chemical molecules for more effective chemical synthesis planning.

India also holds a position in the top few countries, including Brazil, Canada, Singapore, and South Africa, for having the highest growth in AI hiring from 2016 to 2020. Despite the pandemic, the AI hiring continued to grow across sample countries in 2020.

Researchers and civil society view AI ethics as more critical than industrial organizations. Though the scenario is progressive in India, AI globally still lacks benchmarks that can be used to measure or assess the relationship between broader societal discussions about technology development and the development of the technology itself.

The progress in India seems to have picked up the pace, which is evident in global reports. However, areas like RnD and AI education (specialized AI academic offerings) need close attention. They will set the foundation for days to come and produce more quality work and a skilled workforce to attain a self-reliant status.