A team of Indian Institute of Technology Madras researchers suggests improving AI helpers in bank and post office ATMs to boost financial inclusion among vulnerable people, notably migrant workers. 

According to them, this intervention is essential because the country's internal migrant workers, whose weaknesses were exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, comprise 3% of the population.

A study was conducted by Pavan Ravishankar, Prof B Ravindran, and Prof P Sudarsan from the Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and AI (RBCDSAI), IIT Madras, to comprehend the issue of digital financial inclusion among migrant workers and investigate the potential of AI in addressing this problem. According to Prof Ravindran, the leader of RBCDSAI, an AI-powered interface for digital money transactions has numerous advantages. "Individuals lacking smartphone connectivity can utilize AI-enhanced ATMs to conduct financial transactions," he stated. Integrating AI into public institutions helps foster confidence in digital transactions. Implementing voice biometrics and passwords can guarantee security, empowering marginalized populations.

Their proposal suggests integrating an AI assistant into the ATMs in banks and post offices to promote financial participation among marginalized communities. "Conversational AI that communicates in the common language can simplify operational tasks for workers." According to the source, the AI assistant can inquire about the desired transfer amount, recipient information, and other relevant details in the user's native language to facilitate the money transfer procedure.

The results of this study have been published in the scholarly and peer-reviewed 'Journal of Information Technology Case and Application Research'.

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News source: https://www.iitm.ac.in/happenings/press-releases-and-coverages/ai-can-empower-poor-iit-madras-researchers#:~:text=Researchers%20at%20the%20Indian%20Institute,deprived%20communities%2C%20especially%20migrant%20workers.