India Ranks at No. 9 in "Number of AI Specialists" while U.S, China Top the List

In its annual report on people working in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) field, Canadian startup Element AI found that there were 22,400 people worldwide it regarded as top talent in AI. Of which, 50% are in the U.S with 10,295 talents. China was second with 2,525, followed by the U.K. with 1,475, Germany with 935 and Canada with 815.

India with 555 AI specialists stands at number 9. However, when it comes to AI experts returning back to domestic companies after studying overseas, India has high percentage of same with 25% experts returned to domestic companies after studying overseas. Singapore is at top with 40% followed by China and South Korea both at 30%.

The figures were derived from surveying the number of authors who published papers at international conferences in 2018, analyzing their careers and breaking down the distribution by location.

[caption id="attachment_130861" align="aligncenter" width="1240"] Image - asia.nikkei.com[/caption]

AI research and development is a cutting-edge field led by experts in universities and corporations, while the business side is supported by administrative talent with specialized knowledge. The growing prevalence of "internet of things" technology -- where devices and systems are linked and able to share information -- and big data increasingly make AI expertise crucial in developing products and finding new business opportunities. A dwindling of talent at the top of this field could result in stagnant adoption of AI by companies, deteriorating corporate and national competitiveness in turn.

In 2017, China launched a plan to develop AI and has set up AI departments in schools country-wide. The U.S. , on other side, had already released a plan a decade ago to revitalize science, technology, engineering and math education that resulted in increasing the number of staff in colleges and high schools devoted to those fields and widening their scope.

In the U.S., many educational institutions offers AI programs including top institutes like Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which attract prominent researchers and students from around the world.

India, on other hand, started off very late when compared to the U.S and close neighbor China or even Singapore. It was only last year when Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), a national level board of education of India, decided to include Artificial Intelligence (AI) as an elective subject in classes 8, 9 and 10. In March this year, CBSE finally approved inclusion of AI as an optional sixth subject for class 9 students from the academic session which started in April 2019.

In January, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad launched a full-fledged Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) programme in Artificial Intelligence (AI) current Academic Year (2019-2020) and become the first Indian Educational Institution to offer such a full-fledged B.Tech. programme in AI and likely the third institute globally - after Carnegie Mellon University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), both of which are in the U.S.

This month, Hyderabad-based International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT-Hyderabad) rolled out its popular executive programs on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) as well as Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies across India and it was prevously available only in Hyderabad and Bangaluru.

It was only in February 2018 when India’s IT ministry constituted four committees to thoroughly study on various aspects of Artificial Intelligence for citizen use.

Last, government of India's policy maker, NITI Aayog, moved a cabinet note to provide ~ $ 1.68 Billion for the establishment of AIRAWAT (Artificial Intelligence Research, Analytics and knoWledge Assimilation plaTform), a cloud computing platform along with research institutes.

Source - Nikkie Asia

India To Release National Policy on Artificial Intelligence

India's policy think tank Niti Aayog will release a landmark national policy on artificial intelligence (AI), outlining the scope of research and for the adoption and commercialization of the technology, reported Economic Times.

The upcoming national strategy which is said to be released in order to counter China's fast adaptation of new age technologies like AI, the NITI Aayog will lay out short, medium and long term goals to be achieved by 2022, 2026 and 2030, respectively. Commercial rollout of AI in sectors such as agriculture, health, education, banking, retail and transportation, may also be proposed.

To recall, in last September Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had formed a policy group to study AI and recommend a framework for its adoption. Prior to which the then Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had set up task force to explore possibilities to leverage the opportunities that AI has to offer for development across various fields.

Additionally, the upcoming policy may also suggest incentives for startups and venture capital funds that undertake research and adoption of AI. These guidelines would be based on half a dozen pilots the Aayog has undertaken on AI in areas of agriculture, health, education and creation of other social infrastructure.

Also, the government was considering to set up another high-level committee which would be responsible for the implementation and monitoring of AI.

Besides, the national policy on AI would also emphasize on the need for hiring experts in AI domain.

Recently, India’s IT ministry has also constituted four committees to thoroughly study on various aspects of Artificial Intelligence for citizen use.

Since start of this year a lot of launch activities were seen in Artificial Intelligence space, as last month PM Modi launched India's first AI research centre for social good followed by announcement made by tech giant Adobe to establish an AI Lab in Hyderabad. In the same month Maharashtra govt. has also announced to bring India’s first artificial intelligence center in alliance with Canadian government. In September 2017, Karnataka state government had too announced that Bengaluru will soon have India’s first multi-faceted artificial intelligence and robotics centre to established in IIIT-Bengaluru campus.

Notably, in this year's financial budget, the finance minister had asked the Niti Aayog to initiate a national programme to direct government's efforts in the area of AI. In the budget 2018, the Digital India fund has been doubled To Rs. 3073 crore, which include AI and Robotics, and establishment of centres of excellence for research, training and skilling in robotics, artificial intelligence, digital manufacturing, big data analysis, quantum communication and internet of things (IoT).

Coming onto India's strategy to counter China in AI, with China making rapid progress in AI-based research, it is imperative that India view AI as a critical element of its national security strategy, recommends an August 2016 report titled India and the Artificial Intelligence Revolution. Authored by Shashi Shekhar Vempati of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the report advocates spurring AI-based innovation and establishing AI-ready infrastructure as prerequisites for preparing India’s jobs and skills markets for an AI-based future

In order to counter China, India has recently joined hands with Japan to launch robotics and artificial intelligence in the defense segment. Moreover, Malcolm Frank, head of strategy of Cognizant, a world-leading professional services firm, said in an interview that India along with United States and China are way ahead of everyone else in the AI game and are currently the top three contenders for the numero uno throne.

Additionally, in February 2017, the then Indian defense minister had announced that the government is planning to set up a Defence Innovation Fund to encourage new entrants in the aviation sector, especially startups.