CXOToday has engaged in an exclusive interview with Prof. Kaushik Gopalan, who is the faculty of Computer Science at FLAME University and also the Director of Centre for Interdisciplinary Artificial Intelligence at FLAME University.

1. How do you see India’s position as a global tech hub evolving with the advancements in AI and the Fourth Industrial Revolution? What role do you think AI will play in maintaining or enhancing this status?
   

   My hope is that new-age technological developments-including the rise of AI tools-will spur innovation and enhance India’s competitiveness, including in high-employing sectors such as agriculture and construction. We can also hope that the rapidly growing ease of data collection and data crunching will allow for more effective public policy and governance. Furthermore, these advancements could potentially bridge the urban-rural divide by improving access to education, healthcare, and financial services in remote areas. However, it will be crucial to ensure that the benefits of these technologies are distributed equitably and that appropriate measures are taken to address potential job displacement and privacy concerns.

2. With the rise of AI and automation, what changes do you foresee in the Indian job market? Which sectors are likely to see the most significant transformation?
   

   It is hard to predict the exact impact of AI on the job market, but I do see immense transformations in the two sectors that I am most familiar with—the education sector and the IT sector. I am fairly certain that there will be substantial job displacements in the IT sector, though we can hope that will be offset by the creation of other jobs with different AI-enabled roles. In the education sector, I believe that AI will enable larger student-to-teacher ratios without sacrificing the effectiveness of instruction. Given the vast demand for quality education in the country, this should be a welcome development.

3. In light of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, how should India’s educational system evolve to prepare students for the future? What changes would you recommend at the curriculum level? How do we ensure that ethical considerations are addressed?
   

   At the college level, more flexibility in course offerings would be beneficial. Students should be allowed and encouraged to take a mix of STEM, humanities, and social science courses in order to have a wider perspective on the world. This should help them use technology more creatively and have a greater impact. This approach has already been promoted by the NEP and should be well-suited in this age of rapid technological development.

4. India has been increasingly collaborating with global tech giants and other nations in AI research and development. How important are these collaborations for India’s growth as a technology leader?
   

   These partnerships provide access to cutting-edge technologies, global expertise, and best practices, accelerating India’s AI capabilities. These partnerships also help in developing AI standards and ethical frameworks on a global scale. For example, Google, Microsoft, and other major internationals are part of Core-AI, an organization that aims to create public trust in AI through voluntary industry guidelines. These kinds of initiatives position India as an integral part of the global AI ecosystem.

5. What are some of the current challenges faced by AI researchers in India? Conversely, what unique opportunities does India have in contributing to global AI advancements?
   

   The main challenges stem from a disadvantage in resources relative to the global north. There is a global crunch in hardware resources-particularly GPUs-and researchers from the global south are disproportionately affected by this. The main opportunity that I see in this space in India is our deep and varied linguistic heritage. We have dozens of widely spoken languages that are not particularly well served by global AI models. AI research on applications in Indian languages is somewhat of a gap area that is a big opportunity for Indian researchers.

6. How can AI be leveraged to address some of India’s pressing social challenges, such as healthcare access, education quality, and rural development? What are the potential risks?
   

   I’m not sure about the other two, but as I mentioned previously, I think AI has tremendous potential to help address the large-scale demand for high-quality education in India. AI-based tools can help teachers cater more effectively to a larger cohort of students. AI can help in personalizing learning experiences in large classrooms and in identifying areas where students need additional support.

7. How do you envision the future of academic research and teaching in an AI-driven world? What are some trends that universities in India should be preparing for now?
   

   I think we’re in a state of flux at the moment. We know that our teaching methods and techniques will change, but it’s not particularly clear how. One important thing to look out for is for society and market forces to determine what exactly education should focus on; the kinds of skills that are considered valuable will definitely change as these technological changes become more widespread. Academia needs to keep tracking these trends and adapting the curriculum according to them.

In conversation with CXOToday: Prof. Kaushik Gopalan, Faculty of Computer Science, FLAME University.