Leading voices from research, academia, and industry have echoed the need for a relook at AI and emerging technology to ensure inclusivity and diversity. This insight session on “Inclusivity and Diversity in AI and Emerging Technologies” was facilitated by Taylor and Francis Group in partnership with Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (RBCDSAI) at IIT Madras and INDIAai (The National AI Portal of India), the session highlighted the importance of representation of people from different backgrounds in AI, biases that exist in AI systems and initiatives taken to make data more accurate, transparent, and accessible.
Aimed at fostering a comprehensive conversation on building knowledge and capacity within the AI research ecosystem in India, the speakers at the session included Jibu Elias, Content and Research Lead at INDIAai; Malika Malik, AI Practitioner; Dr Himanshu Sinha, Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Madras; Dr Sriparna Saha, Associate Professor at Indian Institute of Technology, Patna; and Amith Vijayakumar, Manager, Insights & Analytics, Taylor & Francis Group.
“Taylor and Francis Group is pleased to have facilitated this discussion on the importance of an inclusive and diverse ecosystem for Artificial Intelligence in academia and industry. This is part of our mission to support and connect the work of researchers and diverse knowledge makers to maximize their contributions and the impact of their work. We are grateful to our partners, Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, IIT Madras, INDIAai and other eminent experts who are building awareness and addressing researcher concerns in AI,” said Nitasha Devasar, Managing Director, Taylor and Francis India and Vice President and Commercial Lead, India, South Asia and Africa.
“IIT Madras is committed to inclusivity and diversity. The Institute has been selected as a pilot institute for “Gender Advancement through Transforming Institutions (GATI)”, an initiative that aims to establish a Gender Equality framework. At Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (RBCDSAI) we are promoting training programs which specially encourage women to work in data science and AI. We also collaborate with SuperBloom Studios to increase representation of women in STEMM in social media and Wikipedia,” added Dr Himanshu Sinha, Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Madras.