IIT-Madras gets $1 million to study AI

Grant expected to bring together people from various disciplines to find solutions concerns while using AI

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras has received a grant of $1 million to set up a new multidisciplinary centre for research and development on responsible artificial intelligence.

The Centre for Responsible AI is under the aegis of the Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (RBC-DSAI). Head of the centre B. Ravindran said the grant would help to bring in people from various disciplines to find solutions to ethical and technological concerns while using AI.

With the government proposing to use AI for its services there are concerns that must be addressed before it can be implemented. The concerns range from ethical and fair use of AI, framing policies and ensuring that the technology is fool-proof.

“This centre is a first of its kind initiative in India that aims to bring together technologists, sociologists, policy and legal experts from academia, industry and the government to study all aspects of this domain called Responsible AI,” he said.

“It is essential to establish responsible guidelines to ensure fair, ethical and safe usage of AI-based solutions. There is a need to develop technology that is understandable to the end users, providing strong safety and performance guarantees, and to raise awareness of the impact of the technology on society,” he said, thanking Google for its partnership.