Artificial Intelligence Research at IITs

• January 21, 2022
• By Editor
• Academic

What is Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions, such as learning from examples and experience, recognizing objects, understanding and responding to language, making decisions, solving problems etc. Some of the examples of artificial intelligence that we come across on a daily basis are Google or Apple maps for navigating and ride-hailing applications, face detection and recognition, text editors or autocorrect, social media feeds, music and media streaming services, video games, smart home devices and many more.

How Artificial Intelligence Works

AI is an umbrella term that includes multiple technologies, such as machine learning, deep learning, computer vision, natural language processing (NLP), machine reasoning, and strong AI.

Machine learning (ML) is about extracting knowledge from the data.ML is a branch of AI focused on building applications that learn from data and improve their accuracy over time without being programmed to do so. Machine learning is the process that powers many of the services we use today. Some practical applications of ML include Recommendation systems like those on Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, and Spotify; search engines like Google and Baidu; social media feeds like Facebook and Twitter, etc. Deep Learning is an approach to Machine Learning which involves Artificial Neural Networks to work with the data. Image processing is a perfect example of how Deep Learning is being used in the real world. Natural language processing (NLP) is a branch of artificial intelligence that helps computers understand, interpret and manipulate human language. Some famous examples of NLP in action are virtual assistants like Google Assist, Siri, and Alexa.

Using these technologies, computers can be trained to accomplish specific tasks by processing large amounts of data and recognizing patterns in the data.

Applications of AI

AI is a technology that is transforming every walk of life. This technology is applied to many different sectors and industries:

Health Care: AI is used in healthcare to build sophisticated machines that can detect diseases and identify cancer cells. AI can help analyze chronic conditions with lab and other medical data to ensure early diagnosis.

Robotics: Robotics is another field where artificial intelligence applications are commonly used. Robots powered by AI use real-time updates to sense obstacles in their path and pre-plan their journey instantly.

Retail: AI provides virtual shopping capabilities that offer personalized recommendations and discuss purchase options with the consumer.

Banking: In financial institutions, AI techniques can be used to identify which transactions are likely to be fraudulent, adopt fast and accurate credit scoring, and automate manually intense data management tasks.

Automobiles: Artificial Intelligence is used to build self-driving vehicles. AI can be used along with the vehicle’s camera, cloud services, GPS, and control signals to operate the vehicle.

Chatbots: These days, virtual assistants have become a widespread technology. Almost every household has a virtual assistant that controls the appliances at home.

In addition, AI is also used for Agriculture, Gaming, National security, Criminal justice, transportation, Manufacturing, Navigation, Human resources, etc.

AI at IITs

India is emerging as a world leader in AI owing to its vast knowledge base and research capabilities. The Government of India has initiated widespread discussion on how India should strive to be among the top nations in the world in the AI ecosystem. India is ranked 5th in the world in both the number of AI companies and AI jobs. Indian Institutes of Technology are globally recognized as premier institutions for engineering education and research in terms of quality and standards. In the era of digital transformation, where every industry is in demand of skilled Artificial Intelligence (AI) talents, these institutes have come up with many initiatives in the form of insightful courses for the students who wish to pursue a career in AI. Some of the top IITs for AI research are:

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

IIT Delhi is already a leader in the country and Asia for research and educational activity in AI. As per CSRankings.org, IIT Delhi is No.1 in India based on the number of high-quality publications in the area of AI in the last ten years. The institute has established an independent “School of Artificial Intelligence (ScAI)” on its campus in September 2020, and the admissions to its Ph.D. program will begin from the January 2021 cycle. IIT Delhi currently offers AI and ML courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

IIT Bombay is well-known for its research in AI and data science. The CSE department offers various AI courses under the BTech, MTech, and Ph.D. programs. Center for Indian Language Technology (CFILT) at IIT Bombay is a leader in research and development in Natural Language Processing and AI. The institute collaborated with IBM in 2018 to advance and accelerate the application of AI, machine learning, natural language processing, and related technologies to business and industry. The Centre for Machine Intelligence and Data Science (C-MInDS) and Technocraft Centre for Applied Artificial Intelligence (TCA2I)at IIT Bombay have been set up to contribute towards the growing significance of the role of Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, and related areas in different application domains.

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

The Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (RBC-DSAI) was founded in 2017 at IIT Madras with a vision to expand and further the research, education, and outreach activities in data science and artificial intelligence. The RBC-DSAI undertakes foundational research in several areas of AI and data science – deep learning, reinforcement learning, network analytics, interpretable machine learning, and domain-aware AI. The Centre has the largest Deep Reinforcement Learning group in India and one of the largest in academia in the world.

Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad

The Department of Artificial Intelligence, IIT Hyderabadis offering BTech, MTech, and Ph.D. programs in AI and plans to offer various Minor Programs in AI. The primary aim of the department of AI is to create a complete ecosystem for Artificial Intelligence Academics and Research at IIT Hyderabad. Moreover, the R&D will be strongly entwined with academics.

Indian Institutes of Technology have been pioneers of AI research in the country. Given its multi-disciplinary nature, there are several faculty members across different areas of AI research. IITs are setting up new schools and research centers in applied artificial intelligence and data sciences to cater to the rising demand for qualified human resources in the area. This will cement the IITs leadership position in India and position itself among leaders on the global AI map.