Building AI platforms that can interact in local languages is key to growing the technology in India and bridging the digital divide

artificial intelligence, languages, vernacular languages

Business Standard

Predictions that artificial intelligence could lead to catastrophic outcomes are overstated, and a global pause in AI development is unlikely, Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu said on Wednesday, while urging India to keep its strategic options open and invest heavily in foundational R&D across sectors.
Vembu said India should pursue an independent approach to AI, building on partnerships without becoming locked into the emerging technology rivalry between the United States and China.
"We must be friends with everybody, enemies with nobody and keep our options open," Vembu, Chief Scientist and Co-founder, Zoho, said in an interview with PTI.
Vembu argued that any big tech company genuinely wanting to slow AI development is free to do so on its own; nothing stops one player from pacing itself without demanding the whole industry follow, he pointed out.
Vembu was skeptical of calls by AI labs for an industry-wide pause, which, as per him, appeared to be less about safety and more a bid .

Sridhar Vembu Zoho

Vembu was skeptical of calls by AI labs for an industry-wide pause, which, as per him, appeared to be less about safety and more a bid by some players to slow down rivals

Press Trust of India

AI agents can browse, shop and make calls for users, but changing websites, unexpected human responses and real-world uncertainty mean human intervention remains part of the process

AI agent requiring human intervention to complete real-world tasks

AI agents and human intervention

The AI interface brings information, context and workflows into one conversational platform as Zoho expands into seven industry-specific applications

Sridhar Vembu

Homegrown software company Zoho on Wednesday launched Zia Chat, a unified AI interface for businesses, and announced its entry into vertical SaaS with seven industry-specific applications spanning retail, automotive, BFSI, healthcare, education, real estate and restaurants.
Zia Chat is built natively into Zoho's ecosystem and gives users a single conversational interface to find information, generate leads, resolve support issues and analyse data across sales, marketing, support, HR and finance functions, the company said.
"Our goal is to commoditise intelligence so customers can get work done, without incurring high costs on tokens," Sridhar Vembu, Chief Scientist and Co-founder, Zoho, said at a briefing.  Zia Chat will reduce token consumption for users, and will be available for early access in a month, initially in English.
"There is an interface crisis, and people spend too much time searching for the right context and data. We strip away the UIs (user interfaces) of different 

ZOHO

Zia Chat is built natively into Zoho's ecosystem and gives users a single conversational interface to find information, generate leads, resolve support issues and analyse data across various sectors

Anthropic and OpenAI have launched cheaper AI models, Opus 5.5, and GPT-6 Sol and Luna, as the US firms face growing price pressure from Chinese rivals and demand for lower-cost AI rises

Anthropic, Open AI

Jev is designed to make structured AI decisions for software, focusing on classification, scoring, routing and verification rather than generating conversational responses like conventional LLMs

TypeSafe AI has introduced Jev, an AI model designed to make fast, structured decisions for software. Here is what Jev does, how it differs from traditional LLMs and why the company built it.

Amazon Pay India CEO Vikas Bansal says the company will focus on expanding its smart wallet and digital credit offerings for consumers and small businesses.

amazon

Meta is expected to show off artificial intelligence-powered smart glasses at its Connect developer conference Wednesday as CEO Mark Zuckerberg continues to evangelise the glasses as the next step in human-computer interactions.
Last year's Meta Connect was far less metaverse and far more AI. Expect this year's event to be virtually dominated by AI, specifically AI glasses and superintelligence, said Forrester research director Mike Proulx. While Meta has the head start on AI glasses, competition is chomping at the bit with new entrants.
The Menlo Park, California-based company teased a prototype for Orion, which Zuckerberg called the most advanced glasses the world has ever seen, last year  but these holographic augmented reality glasses are still years away from being on the market.
Instead, analysts expect Meta to show off new smart glasses, likely with a small display controlled by a wristband the user wears.
While more of an experimentation platform, they should enable consume

AI agents

Nothing's CMF is combining Indian ownership, manufacturing and R&D with Optiemus as it seeks to move beyond assembly and build deeper product-engineering capabilities in India. But to what end?

CMF Phone 2 Pro

Frontier AI models are rapidly improving vulnerability detection but also giving threat actors greater scale, making contextual intelligence and faster action critical, warns Trellix's Ganesh Iyer

Mr. Ganesh Iyer, Managing Director, Trellix, India & SAARC

Apple is reportedly exploring a screenless health tracker similar to Whoop as it looks to expand beyond the Apple Watch and respond to growing demand for dedicated health and fitness wearables

Apple watches, Apple

Beats has launched the Beats 360 over-ear headphones with interchangeable ear and headband cushions, Active Noise Cancelling, Personalised Spatial Audio and IPX4 rating

Beats 360 over-ear headphones with interchangeable cushions

Apple absorbs part of the impact of taxes, import duties and retail margins on the iPhone 17 as it looks to expand its presence in the fast-growing Indian market

iPhone 17, iphone

Samsung Galaxy S26 FE is priced at Rs 79,999 in India and will go on sale from September 18, with a 6.7-inch AMOLED display, Exynos 2500 chip and triple rear cameras

Samsung Galaxy S26 FE with its triple rear camera setup and One UI 9.

Apple's latest wearables bring new health and fitness tracking, longer battery life and AI-powered features, while AirPods 5 add open-ear ANC, Siri AI and Live Translation

Apple has launched Watch Series 12, Apple Watch Ultra 4 and AirPods 5 alongside its latest iPhone lineup

The CMF Buds Neo brings ANC, 12.4mm drivers, Bluetooth 6.0 and long battery life to the Rs 1,999 segment. But do these features add up to a genuinely good everyday listening experience?

CMF Buds Neo

Sony 1000X The Collexion offers premium materials, detailed sound and strong noise cancellation, but battery life, portability and call quality leave room for improvement

Sony WH-1000XX

With a vibrant OLED display, lightweight design and seamless PC connectivity through GlideX software, the ASUS Pad makes a strong case as both an entertainment screen and a useful work companion

ASUS Pad tablet with its large OLED display showing content

Asus Pad with OLED display

Google isn't trying to out-spec competition here, it's betting that a smartwatch should explain your health rather than just display it, and mostly, that bet pays off

Google Pixel Watch 5 review showing the smartwatch on a wrist

Google Pixel Watch 5

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