The Tamil Nadu government will soon establish a Centre of Excellence (CoE) featuring an Artificial Intelligence (AI) lab to support startups, academic institutions, and small businesses, Kumar Jayanth, Additional Chief Secretary of the Department of Information Technology and Digital Services, confirmed during The Hindu AI Summit 2024 in Chennai. The AI lab, available at a reduced fee, will help encourage AI research and development in the state, aiming to boost innovation in various sectors. The state also plans to integrate AI into higher education through collaboration with the ICT Academy, a not-for-profit Government of India initiative that trains educators and students in emerging technologies.
Tamil Nadu has already implemented AI in multiple sectors, such as healthcare, agriculture and governance. Mr. Jayanth highlighted the use of AI for improving service delivery, such as in healthcare for faster diagnostics and in administrative functions like facial recognition for attendance monitoring. Despite the benefits, he acknowledged challenges in AI’s application, particularly concerning bias in AI algorithms and training datasets. These issues, he noted, need to be addressed as AI continues to evolve.
During the summit, experts discussed the broader impact of AI on governance and society. Suresh Raman of Tata Consultancy Services emphasized the need for proper AI infrastructure, citing the high costs of AI hardware as a significant challenge. L.V. Navaneeth, CEO of The Hindu Group, highlighted the importance of regulations to mitigate AI-related risks, including cybersecurity and data protection. Panelists also stressed the need for global consensus on AI governance and recommended India to focus on both adopting and creating AI technologies suited to its unique context, ensuring the data protection.
