India could emerge as a leader in AI: ASSOCHAM-PwC

According to a report by Assocham-PwC, conditions are ripe for India to emerge as a leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI). It says that India is already on the path of a digital revolution and the next step is utilising the big data generated to take intelligent decisions.

This would require close collaboration between academia, the private sector and public sector in order to understand problems holistically and solve them, the ASSOCHAM-PwC joint study on 'Artificial Intelligence and Robotics - 2017' noted.

Th report said that, AI augmented manufacturing operations can employ more reliable demand forecasting, a flexible and responsive supply chain, quicker changes in operations, and more accurate scheduling and inventory optimisation. Other benefits involve creation of smarter, quicker and environmentally sound processes. This can lead to increased productivity and quality, lower costs and a more robust health and safety framework.

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AI shows remarkable potential in aiding control and remedial actions in the aftermath of environmental and man-made disasters. It can assist in optimising mobile networks and smart bandwidth allocation to ensure network service continuity in the midst of catastrophic events that are usually followed by a spike in communication and jammed networks, it said.

Opportunities for AI intervention also reside in processing social media feeds to gauge location-specific urgency and send targeted alerts to minimise loss of life and property, pointed the study. Automated/robotic systems can make transportation less susceptible to disruptions caused by weather, traffic and unnatural events along with reduced cost of repairs and reconstruction and real-time route information, thereby reducing energy usage and emissions.

The application of AI in the field of defence and security includes protection of infrastructure such as airports, power plants and economic sectors that are vulnerable to attacks, detecting anomalous behaviour in individuals, and using distributed sensors and pattern recognition to predict infrastructure disruptions through natural/man-made causes, adds the study.

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AI can also help in the banking and financial services sector include early detection of financial risk and systemic failures, amidst its assistance in other segments.