Kerala off to another good start, again

Kerala has always been quick off the block when it comes to the technology race. The establishment of Technopark in 1990 as India’s first software export zone, was a move that set Kerala apart from other states.

The state has done it again by hosting a Generative AI Conclave with the support of IBM.

While Kerala’s ability to initiate groundbreaking projects is commendable, the challenge has always been sustaining momentum and staying ahead in the race. Often, other states that join the race later overtake Kerala, as Technopark history shows us.

The new initiative aims to establish Kerala as a hub for generative artificial intelligence, and the state government has unveiled a series of policy initiatives like financial incentives, support, and partnerships.

Minister for Industries, Law, and Coir, P Rajeeve announced that the government will unveil a dedicated AI policy to create an ecosystem to nurture the sector.

Among the things promised is a cluster-based industrial park on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) basis that will provide common infrastructure like graphic processing centres, global capability centres, and other facilities. Additionally, plug-and-play and incubation facilities are to be set up in collaboration with anchor investors.

Matching the government's tune, IBM announced the launch of its GenAI Innovation Centre in Cochin. This centre will allow enterprises, startups, and partners to explore, experience, and build generative AI technology.

The GenAI Innovation Centre will provide organisations with access to IBM experts and technologies designed to help them build and scale AI solutions. The centre is built on InstructLab, a technology developed by IBM and Red Hat to enhance Large Language Models (LLMs) with client-specific data.

IBM, nicknamed Big Blue, is a heavyweight in the tech industry, although the recent AI wave is more dominated by companies like OpenAI, Google, and Meta, with promising new players springing up almost every day. IBM, which is not exactly known for its agility, has been focusing on AI-infused enterprise solutions for decades and boasts some big names on its client roster.

Its generative AI platform, Watsonx, named after IBM founder Thomas J Watson, is tailored for companies, allowing users to customise it according to their needs and train it with their own data. Unlike other tech giants, Big Blue also promises not to use client data to train its models.

In that aspect, the values of the Kerala government and IBM converge as both put emphasis on privacy protection and open-source initiatives. The other side of that coin is that both the Kerala government and IBM may be found wanting when it comes to speed, as some of the projects of the Kerala government get hamstrung by bureaucratic and legal hurdles.

One prime example is the space tech park that was announced by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in December 2022. According to latest reports, it will take another three years for the park structures to be completed.

Such an approach in the AI sector will not work as the changes and developments are taking place at a breathtaking speed. The release of ChatGPT took even companies like Google and Meta by surprise, prompting them to scramble all their resources to stay relevant.

But with a bureaucracy that considers procedures as sacrosanct and a political system that is held hostage by interest groups, it will be interesting to see how Kerala plans to accommodate disruptive AI developments.

The educational sector, especially technical courses, is widely acknowledged as a critical area in dire need of substantial disruption and innovation. The changes happening in tech areas are so fundamental that unless we embrace change quickly, the state will be left behind with our students ill-equipped for jobs of the future.

Transforming our current faculty into enablers of that change will be one of the toughest challenges. Any mention of resistance by some stakeholders can bring brickbats quickly, as Vice Chairman of the State Higher Education Council Dr Rajan Gurukkal found out recently.

Another promise made during the conclave was the adoption of AI to strengthen governance. It was declared that AI will be integrated into various schemes and initiatives of government departments and agencies, to increase efficiency and productivity. It will be interesting to see how such changes will be accepted by the existing machinery that is rooted in mechanisms of the last century.

For example, Trivandrum-based startup Genrobotics has won universal acclaim for their robotic scavenger but we still deploy humans to do the job. This leads to catastrophic results as the recent death of a worker in Trivandrum showed.

One department that has already started using AI is the police, who have placed cameras on selected roads to detect traffic violations. While that has resulted in fines for millions of people, the possibility of using data from the same cameras to ensure smoother traffic flow has not been explored.

Such use of modern technology remains alien to us even now. In fact, it is not uncommon to see even the automated traffic lights being switched off and policemen taking manual control of traffic direction during peak hours.

While government departments are setting their own pace, AI programs have already reached us through social media and chatbots. So, it is a laudable effort on the part of the government to initiate a free platform that will familiarise people with the ongoing AI revolution and help upskill them through Malayalam interaction.

The Saksharatha.ai programme includes modules on introduction to AI, generative AI tools, prompt engineering, the future of AI, and ethical considerations. Participants will gain foundational knowledge and practical skills to incorporate AI tools into their daily lives, says the government.

A glance at the site developed by a firm called Entri showed that it had three videos: one on a general outline of the programme and two episodes on the history of artificial intelligence. The rest of the videos will be uploaded in the coming days, it says.

This is understandable, as the CEO of Entri, Mohammed Hissam, had posted on LinkedIn that his team had to move with breakneck speed to turn this from just an idea into a full-fledged working product within a week.

The challenge now for Kerala is to foresee what is coming and keep up with a technology that is setting a blistering pace. This generative AI initiative serves as a crucial test for the government, to demonstrate whether their ability to launch new projects is matched by their capacity to sustain momentum over time.

Game makers push for new tag

The Indian e-game sector is urging New Delhi to make a clear distinction between video games and real-money games such as fantasy cricket. Seventy video game makers have sent a letter to the Prime Minister and are holding talks with officials to establish this distinction within their industries. This clarification is crucial as e-games and e-sports are billed as online games, and clubbed with real money games. With gaming technology being utilised across various industries and e-sports gaining Olympic recognition, industry insiders perceive numerous opportunities for Indian companies. However, the currently they are facing the same restrictions and taxes imposed on fantasy games.

The growth of e-sports stands to receive a further boost following the deal between International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Saudi Arabia, which will host an annual e-game Olympics in the country for 12 years starting from 2025. Riyadh will also host the Esports World Cup in July and August, where 2,500 gamers will compete for prize money totalling 60 million US dollars. While the specific titles for the e-sports Olympics have yet to be officially announced, the potential inclusion of games across diverse platforms is expected to stimulate growth in India’s gaming industry, reports Money Control.

Bring a lot of popcorn for this film

Filmmaker Gary Hustwit wanted to create a documentary about musician Brian Eno, but his challenge was that one documentary wouldn’t cover everything. To tackle this, Hustwit collaborated with digital artist and programmer Brendan Dawes to develop proprietary software that dynamically adjusts the length, structure, and content of the film each time it is screened. So, the movie differs with every viewing. With 30 hours of interviews with Eno and 500 hours of film from his personal archive, the project offers a staggering 52 quintillion (that is 52 followed by 18 zeroes) potential versions of the movie, says the New York Times. “Every time it plays, it’s a different movie,” Hustwitsaid in May. “I’m surprised every time I see it.”

Student scientist hits a new high

A rocket that lands vertically is a complex project and takes years of work by scientists to get it right. Now a teen student at Montgomery High School, New Jersey has achieved it after working on it for just three years. Aryan Kapoor tells Interesting Engineering that before coming into the project, he had never laid hands on a model rocket and had never coded before. “I knew that by undergoing this project. I would learn many of the necessary skills for pursuing engineering and other projects.” Kapoor has uploaded a video explaining his project and his earlier attempts.

A capitalist’s dream in China

This is probably a capitalist's dream, but it is happening in China. Phone maker Xiaomi has established a factory that has eliminated almost the entire workforce. The 860,000-square-foot facility has 11 production lines that will manufacture Xiaomi's upcoming foldable phones, producing them at a rate of about one every three seconds, 24/7, reports the New Atlas. Xiaomi Founder and CEO Lei Jun says 100 percent of the key processes are automated. The AI system that runs the factory can also identify and solve issues, while continuously improving the production process. Software of the world, unite!