AI Appreciation Day: Industry cheers algorithms shaping new revolution

From diagnosing diseases and discovering new treatments to entertaining with lifelike virtual characters in video games, artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms seamlessly infiltrated every facet of human lives. July 16 is globally celebrated as AI Appreciation Day. This year, however, the celebrations were special, as its popularity multiplied in 2023 with the rise of generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard.

Making machines think like human minds has always been an idea that fascinated researchers since the inception of computing. However, it was only in the early 2010s that the advances in deep learning brought in capabilities for AI to provide meaningful outcomes for certain applications.

After a decade, the industry is confident in the potential of transformers like large language models to bring sweeping changes to industries, and jobs, and add trillions of dollars to global GDP. It, therefore, celebrated July 16 as International AI appreciation day. Though the day has not been nominated by any credible body, major tech firms picked it as an occasion to acknowledge the positive achievements of AI.

“A day dedicated to recognising the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a day to be celebrated. On Artificial Intelligence Appreciation Day, we need to embrace the vast impact AI has on various industries and society, combined,” said Debdoot Mukherjee, Chief Data Scientist and Head of AI, Meesho.

“At Meesho, we uphold AI as a key catalyst for innovation, efficiency, and personalised experiences. Our firm conviction lies in utilising the full potential of AI to empower millions of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in India, thereby reshaping the future of e-commerce. We remain committed to leveraging AI comprehensively to enhance the e-commerce experience of millions of users in the country," he said.

Industry stakeholders also took July 16 as a day to engage in the conversation over regulating generative AI and its ethical deployment of it. Ashish Aggarwal, Vice President and Head of Public Policy at Nasscom told Business Standard that more and more companies were coming forward to understand its guidelines on generative AI.

Even as Indian IT services companies have been using AI for improving processes and products for a long time, generative AI has started a new race with companies aggressively building capabilities. IT major Infosys on Monday announced that its $2 billion deal win was led by automation and AI. Its peer Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) recently announced that it signed over 50 proofs-of-concept on GenAI in the last three months and 100 more offers were in the pipeline.

“The adoption rate of AI in India has been growing consistently, especially in sectors like healthcare, retail, BFSI, manufacturing, and e-commerce. AI has been simplifying crucial business processes and helping enterprises boost their analytics, strengthen the value chain, and make business processes cost-effective while improving customer experience. For any business with a digital-first approach, AI has become a key component of their growth roadmap,” said Manish Gupta, Vice President, Infrastructure Solutions Group, Dell Technologies India.

The Dell Technologies 2023 Innovation Index report shows 59 per cent of Indian businesses are currently investing or exploring the feasibility of investing in AI, Machine Learning, and advanced analytics to advance innovation for their growth. 62 per cent of organisations plan to further increase spending on AI, including people, processes, and technology.

“With the emergence of Generative AI, new business opportunities will be open for exploration to help with higher-level decision-making,” Gupta said.

“To unleash the full potential of AI, it will be essential for organisations to build a data pipeline or fabric that spans across on-premises, hosted data centre and hyperscaler cloud, with real-time visibility and manageability. This will let organisations harness all available information in real-time and ultimately, maximise business impact,” says Puneet Gupta, Vice President, and Managing Director at NetApp India/SAARC. “The future of AI is dazzling, with many more applications expected to emerge over the next year that we don’t yet envision today. Hold on tight for an exhilarating ride,” he added.