IIT Madras Pravartak launches ‘Centre for Human-Centric AI’ To Increase Human Potential

IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation has launched a ‘Centre for Human-Centric Artificial Intelligence’ (CHAI) to harness AI to amplify human potential, which could be a critical opportunity for India.

The Centre’s activities will include technology development, aiding entrepreneurship development, human resource development, and international collaborations.

AI safety is a key and growing concern among policymakers and regulators. It is crucial to strike a balance between regulations and innovation. This newly-launched centre will help identify risks to inform future regulations, ensuring that India’s AI development is safe and responsible, especially in the Indian context while maximising innovation.

Read also: AIIMS New Delhi, IIT Delhi And UCL Announce Trilateral Partnership For MedTech Innovation

IIT-M Pravartak, the parent organisation of this centre, is already working on projects of National importance with the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, the Indian Parliament (via Sansad TV) and the Indian Army.

The centre was launched on 14th November 2024 at IIT Madras Research  Park in the presence of Lt.Gen. KS Brar, AVSM, GoC Dakshin Bharat, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, Dr. M.J. Shankar Raman, CEO, IIT-M Pravartak Technologies Foundation, Prof. Gaurav Raina, Chief Scientist, CHAI, students, researchers and other stakeholders.

Setting the expectations for this Centre, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “Human Centric AI Systems seem to be the most convincing ones for the end-users to adopt. Developments in CHAI will look at various aspects of deployment of AI systems, specifically from explainability and responsibility points of view”

Speaking on the occasion, Lt.Gen. KS Brar, AVSM, GoC Dakshin Bharat, said that the centre should focus on Empowering the future where AI serves humanity, enhancing lives and fostering a better world for all.

This new centre will collaborate with Central and State Government agencies, industry, start-ups and academic researchers to deliver solutions that enhance and amplify human potential in India. The solutions developed, and the lessons learned may also be applied in other countries.

The scope of the centre would be around three dimensions: enhancing human potential, protecting citizens and amplifying societal values which are embodied through culture and heritage.

Elaborating further, Prof. Gaurav Raina, the Chief Scientist at the Centre, who is also Faculty, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras, said, “The focus of this Centre also aligns with the broad principles of Industry 5.0, which emphasises human-centricity and sustainability. The focus will be on translational research that leads to impactful solutions in the form of data sets, AI models, tools and AI applications in the areas aligned with the scope of the centre”.

Read also: IIT Kanpur Transfers ‘Soil Nutrient Sensing Device’ to ScaNxt Scientific Technologies

Some of the critical areas for research and development include:

⮚ Language models: A key focus will be on small language models better suited to smaller, domain-specific, and contextualised data sets.

⮚ Languages: Especially in Indian languages, but more generally in non-English languages. This helps us to start locally but eventually be impactful globally.

⮚ Responsible and Safe AI: Our research and development will focus on addressing issues related to privacy, biases, and ethical considerations, among others. This emphasis on responsible AI will ensure that our solutions are innovative but also ethical and safe.

CAPACITY BUILDING IN AI

The Centre will provide an opportunity for internships for students across the country to develop their skills on cutting edge AI projects and solutions. Students within IIT Madras will be able to pursue their undergraduate, masters and Phd research projects and thesis with co-guidance from the Centre. This will aid in building capacity for AI talent in the country.

APPLICATION DOMAINS

To enhance human potential, the applications will include education, healthcare, financial services, transportation, and legal considerations, among others.

Read also: IIT Madras Sweeps Top Positions In NIRF Rankings: An Analysis

Under the umbrella of protecting citizens, the applications will include aspects like cyber-security, cyber-fraud, and disinformation security. Such applications will also be important for strengthening democracy.

For culture and heritage, we hope to preserve, revive, and widely share our very rich cultural diversity and heritage, aided with tools like AI.

IIT-M Pravartak Technologies is a Section 8 Company housing the Technology Innovation Hub on Sensors, Networking, Actuators and Control Systems. It is funded by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, under its National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems and hosted by IIT Madras.