I believe that ‘technology/ AI’ does not have intrinsic value; its value lies in its application. I always say that I may create the best of algorithms with a great accuracy but it is only as useful as the problem it is solving. When applied critically to certain social problems, technology can help to facilitate significant, positive social change.
“AI for social good”. We have been seeing large organisations like Google, Microsoft and Facebook talk about this.
“Applying AI to some of the world’s biggest challenges. Through research, engineering, and initiatives to build the AI ecosystem, we’re working to use AI to address societal challenges.”-Google
“AI for Good. Providing technology, resources, and expertise to empower those working to solve humanitarian issues and create a more sustainable and accessible world.” -Microsoft
“Facebook has launched a host of initiatives to deliver social and inclusive growth by harnessing the power of emerging technologies led by artificial intelligence (AI)”.-Facebook
I attended a couple of virtual conferences, one was RAISE 2020 (Responsible AI for Social Empowerment) organized of Government of Indian in collaboration of Ministry of Electronics and information technology, NITI Aayog and Digital India. The other was NASSCOM Xperience AI summit 2020
The priority areas identified were Healthcare, Agriculture and Education. It was wonderful to see necessary push and support coming from the government, the strong participation from the private sector and the enthusiasm and passion shown by the start-ups. It takes this 360 degree involvement for products and applications to reach and benefit the common man.
The ideas ranged from personalisation in education and precision medicine to predictive applications that help take proactive measures that help mitigate negative outcomes.
What aids this in India, is our plummeting data prices. According to a 2019 BBC report, we have the cheapest mobile broadband prices in the world. In addition, given our population, India has a tremendous potential for technological advancements.
By 2025, just in another 5 years, AI technology will become so consumer centric, will have percolated across social strata, will be accessible common man, will provide inputs and guide in the most personalised level in the 3 most crucial areas of health, education and agriculture. This will be true realisation and translation of the phrase “AI for social good”
