Tech wrap: Sundar Pichai’s take on artificial intelligence, fake Kimbho apps thrive

The week past belonged to artificial intelligence, in India and the US. While India came out with a discussion paper on the subject, Google’s CEO said the company won’t use the technology for unethical purposes.

The 155-page long NITI Aayog paper was released on Tuesday and it evoked a mixed reactions from civil society, academia and industry.

The paper takes on from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s announcement in the Budget, where he said under NITI Aayog, efforts will be directed in the area of AI, including research and development of its applications.

The paper on Tuesday details the various applications, challenges and opportunities in AI, taking a comprehensive look at the subject.

While experts called for a more detailed implementation roadmap, the government backing for the technology area could give a fillip to AI and associated job roles.

Also Read: Niti Aayog paper to spur growth in AI jobs in India, say experts

NITI Aayog paper on AI a good start, but lacks implementation roadmap: Experts

Google’s India-born CEO Sundar Pichai in a blog this week, articulated seven principles that Google will follow in its work in AI.

Notable among these is Google’s decision to not Google will use AI software in weapons or unreasonable surveillance.

As the nascent field develops, and machines learn more than ever to think and adapt like humans, the issue of ethics and “conscience” of the machines has become a cause for much discussion in the technology community.

The tech giant IBM also announced the availability of its super powerful Power9 processors in India on Friday.

Also Read: IBM announces Power9 processor for artificial intelligence systems

Meanwhile, Patanjali’s competitor to Whatsapp, Kimbho continued to remain off the app stores, but there are fake apps available which might pose a great risk to users in terms of spreading malicious software or taking control of devices.

Also Read: Kimbho saga: Fake apps continue to thrive, pose threat

Patanjali however, plans to make a better and improved version of Kimbho and launch it some time soon, promising to fix the errors in the initial release and make the final launch version safe and secure.