Hitech meet calls for upfront strategies to leverage AI biz potential

NASSCOM FAYA:80 engages global experts, state agencies at Technopark meet

Trivandrum / June 6, 2024

Thiruvananthapuram, June 6: Noting that big opportunities await Indian IT companies and startups in the artificial intelligence (AI) domain, experts participating in a technology conclave at Technopark have called for evolving upfront strategies to leverage the huge potential generated by the paradigm shift by revamping academic curriculum.

They were speaking at ‘Transcend India 2024’ conclave, organised by NASSCOM FAYA:80, the largest technology think-tank in Kerala, for IT industry stakeholders. The meet marked the first in a series of conclaves to be held in Technopark to engage IT industry and state agencies in absorbing conversations and help them reconfigure their AI strategies.

Experts from multinational companies and representatives of government agencies took part in the conclave, organised in association with Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) and Group of Technology Companies (GTech), at Technopark here.

Speaking at the panel discussion on ‘Transcending Change: Essential Skills for the AI Era,’ Mr Anoop Ambika, CEO, KSUM, said a large number of jobs and skills are going to be around using the AI models that have been developed by big corporates which will open up a lot of new opportunities.

On the impact of AI, Mr Anoop said users of Large Language Model (LLM) will transform the careers and generation of data and retraining of models will make it better for a particular context that you are in.

“Refining and retraining the model and collecting data set will become a skill set in the advent of AI. Contributing to the data in terms of original content is also going to be a new skill,” he added.

Approaching the  topic with an academic perspective, Dr Saji Gopinath, Vice Chancellor, Digital University of Kerala, said introducing a flexible curriculum is vital and the varsity is trying to create curriculums that address everybody’s needs.  

Dr Gopinath said a good teacher can actually excel his/her skills substantially with the help of AI.

Mr Jibu Elias, Mozilla Responsible Computing Fellow, said it is critical to ensure that the next generation of students are not just cheap tech labourers but equipped with abundant skills combined with imagination and talent. 

Mr Sunny Gupta, Senior Director, Viacom 18 & JioCinema, pointed out the need for having strong projects for techies to prove their mettle. 

Dr Jayasankar Prasad, Director, DCSMAT, was the moderator of the session.

While speaking on the ‘Intersection of AI and Open Networks: Opportunity for India,’ Mr Ravi Prakash, CTO, Beckn, and Head of Architecture and Technology ecosystem at FIDE, said each industry today depends on the collective output of several other industries.

Noting that AI provides vast opportunities for Indian IT companies and startups, Mr Prakash said AI can be leveraged in fields like smart automotive infotainment systems, smart refrigerators, AI-enabled healthcare and career consulting.   

He said AI has a great role in customer support and grievance redressal where lots of cost are involved. 

Mr Prakash also explained the potential of AI in areas like natural language translation, orchestration engines, dispute resolution and policy validation.

Mr Prasanth Nair, IAS, Special Secretary, Agriculture, Government of Kerala; Mr Anubhav Singh, Google Developer Expert; Mr Rahul Ramesh, CTO of Entri; Mr Jijo Sunny, CEO of Buy Me a Coffee; Mr Nikhil Chandran, CEO of Tiltlabs, and Mr Jofin Joseph, Partner of Pienza VC, Seattle, shared their insights in various sessions of the event.  

Mr Deepu S Nath, Managing Director of FAYA, a Technopark-based US-headquartered company, was the chief curator of the event.

NASSCOM FAYA:80 is an initiative by Technopark-based FAYA and NASSCOM. Founded in 2013, NASSCOM FAYA:80 has been at the forefront of fostering innovation and collaboration within the technology sector in Kerala. Over the past 11 years, it has created a vibrant tech ecosystem by bringing together industry leaders, startups, academia, and government officials to discuss the latest trends and challenges in technology through its seminar being held on the first Wednesday of every month.

Ends