IIM Lucknow Introduces Executive Programme in AI for Business

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August 8, 2023

An executive programme in AI for Business has been launched in partnership between the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow and Imarticus Learning. It seeks to provide graduates with at least five years of relevant work experience with the knowledge and skill sets required for AI and machine learning.

Classes for this executive curriculum will be offered on weekends, either Sunday or Saturday, and will last for six months. It will be entirely online. The training will conclude with a three-day campus immersion.

The start date for the course is October 1. The course fee is Rs. 2.35 lakh + GST (Including the registration price of Rs. 47,000 + GST). There are 50 seats for students in total.

The goal of this programme is to give ambitious professionals a solid foundation in AI. The programme offers a pedagogy that mixes project-based learning with the case-based methodology used by the IIM and focuses on real-world business outcomes.

This will aid in developing abilities including teamwork, critical thinking, and problem solving. The curriculum also provides a chance to network with influential businesspeople and subject matter experts. There are eight modules in the curriculum.

Candidates must have earned a bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, engineering, mathematics, statistics, economics, or another related field with a minimum of 50% on their final exam to be eligible for the programme.

An offer letter will be given to shortlisted candidates. Candidates will obtain a certificate from IIM Lucknow once the course is finished. Candidates who meet the requirements can apply here.

Zoom’s Updated Terms Say It can now use Customer Data to Train AI

By

Sahil Pawar

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August 8, 2023

Zoom’s updated terms can now use customer data train AI — Image Credits: Zoom

The most recent revisions to the terms of service state that Zoom intends to use some of customer data to train its artificial intelligence models. If you read through the conditions on software licensing, beta services, and compliance in the most recent revision to the video platform’s terms of service, the small print appears to indicate a significant choice Zoom made regarding its AI strategy.

The modification, which became effective on July 27, gives Zoom the ability to use specific consumer data for developing and fine-tuning its AI or machine learning models. Customer information on product usage, telemetry and diagnostic data, and other comparable material or data gathered by the company are all examples of the “service-generated data” Zoom may now employ to train its AI.

In accordance with the terms of Zoom, “You consent to Zoom’s access, use, collection, creation, modification, distribution, processing, sharing, maintenance, and storage of Service Generated Data for any purpose, to the extent and in the manner permitted by applicable Law, including for the purpose of machine learning or artificial intelligence (including for the purpose of training and tuning of algorithms and models).”

Messages, files, and documents from customers do not appear to fall under this category. The company Zoom stated in a subsequent blog post that “for AI, we do not use audio, video, or chat content for training our models without customer consent.”
The upgrade comes amid a heated public discussion over how much personal data, no matter how aggregated or anonymized, should be used to train AI systems. A large portion of online text or photos are used to train chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, and Microsoft’s Bing as well as image-generation programmes like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion. Recent months have seen a rise in legal actions brought by authors or creatives who claim to see their own work reflected in the results of generative AI tools.

Alibaba Open Sources Two LLM Models

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Suchitra Shenoy

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August 8, 2023

Alibaba Cloud open sources its LLM Models

Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology backbone of the Chinese tech giant, Alibaba Group Holding, has open-sourced two of its large language models (LLMs). With this move, Alibaba intends to expand its influence in the generative AI field.

The two open-source models, Qwen-7B and Qwen-7B-Chat, are smaller versions of Tongyi Qianwen, which is Alibaba’s largest language model. Roughly translated to “seeking truth by asking a thousand questions,” Tongyi Qianwen is the LLM launched by Alibaba’s cloud computing service unit in April.

Both open-source models have each been trained on 7 billion parameters. Qwen-7B-Chat is a fine-tuned version of Qwen-7B and can conduct human-like conversations.

As per the company’s statement, the models’ internal mechanisms, including the codes and documentation, will be made freely accessible to scholars, researchers, and commercial institutions worldwide. They can access it through Alibaba Cloud’s AI model repository ModelScope, and the US collaborative AI platform Hugging Face.

This development comes after Meta released its open-source LLM—Llama 2—with Microsoft on July 16.

While companies with fewer than 100 million monthly active users can deploy the open-source models for commercial use free of charge, those with more users will have to request a license from Alibaba Cloud. This is similar to Meta’s Llama 2, which requires a license from companies with more than 700 million users.

Set to be spun off from its parent company next year to become a publicly listed company, Alibaba Cloud has been doubling down on generative AI development and commercialization amid the global frenzy around ChatGPT.

Zhou Jingren, chief technology officer of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, said, “We aim to promote inclusive technologies and enable more developers and small and medium-sized enterprises to reap the benefits of generative AI.”

IIT Kharagpur Introduces a 3-Month Certification Course on AI in Partnership with TCS iON through AI4ICPS

By

Tejaswini Kasture

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August 8, 2023

IIT Kharagpur Introduced AI Course in Partnership with TCS iON — Image Source: anmnewsenglish

In celebration of the third anniversary of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), the AI for Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems (AI4ICPS), a national AI Hub, established by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur under the guidance of the Indian Government’s Department of Science and Technology (DST), has unveiled the initiation of the “Hands-on AI for the real-world applications (HAAI)” program.

IIT Kharagpur’s director VK Tewari inaugurated the course in the presence of dignitaries, including Venguswamy Ramaswamy, global head of TCS iON, as well as Amit Patra, deputy director, and Pabitra Mitra, project director of AI4ICPS.

The certification course is scheduled to begin on September 2 and conclude on December 2, with a course fee of ₹ 4,998. The program will comprise 80% practical learning, emphasizing hands-on experiential learning, along with 20% theoretical learning through live lectures.

This three months duration program consists of weekend sessions. It is conducted online and led by faculty members from IIT Kharagpur’s department of electronics, mathematics, computer science, and Electrical, as well as scientist from TCS.

The program also features real-world applications presented by industry experts and IIT Kharagpur’s researchers, offering hands-on practical learning, as mentioned by the Institute.

With the aim of educating 1,00,000 individuals and contributing to national development, this certification program seeks to democratize AI education for the skill development of both youth and professionals.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy Says Every Single Team Working on Generative AI

By

Sahil Pawar

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August 7, 2023

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says every single team working generative AI — Image Credits: Bloomberg

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy underscored the company’s large investment in artificial intelligence during the company’s Q2 2023 earnings call on Thursday. Jassy disclosed that many generative AI projects are now being worked on by “every single one” of Amazon’s divisions.

He emphasized the crucial significance of AI throughout the entire organization while talking about the AWS infrastructure and services that can enable AI applications.

Jassy addressed generative artificial intelligence applications on the call, and he went on to explain that the firm provides infrastructure and services via AWS that can support many of these applications. However, he also emphasized how crucial AI is to the company as a whole.

Jassy also made a suggestion on possible AI-based upgrades for Alexa that might be shown during the forthcoming Amazon products event on September 20. Jassy discussed the creation of a better large language model (LLM) expressly for Alexa on a recent earnings call.

AWS notably highlighted in its official blog how it has been working to increase everyone’s access to and understanding of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Amazon is paying millions of dollars to build the technology because it believes that it can have a large positive impact on both people and businesses.

AWS has made investments over the years to democratize access to and understanding of generative AI, machine learning, and AI in general. Amazon Web Services (AWS) has been at the forefront of advancing knowledge about the role that these innovations can play in the lives of both people and organizations through announcement about the establishment of a $100 million Generative AI Innovation Centre programme.

Research Discovers Acoustic Attack that Steals Data from Keystrokes with 95% Accuracy

By

Sahil Pawar

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August 7, 2023

acoustic attack steals data from keystrokes 95% accuracy — Image Credits: depositphotos

By listening to what you type on the keyboard, a deep learning model can collect private information including usernames, passwords, and messages. According to the paper, The sound-recognition system can catch and analyze keystrokes captured from a microphone with 95% accuracy after being trained by a group of academics from British universities.

When the model was evaluated with the well-known video conferencing services Zoom and Skype, the accuracy fell to 93% and 91.7%. The technique clarifies how deep learning might be used to create fresh forms of malware that can listen to keyboard input and steal data such as credit card numbers, messages, conversations, and other private information.

Sound-based attacks are more viable than other strategies, thanks to recent advances in machine learning and the availability of inexpensive, high-quality microphones on the market. Other strategies are frequently constrained by variables like data transfer speed and distance.

The researchers recorded the sound made by 36 keys on a MacBook Pro being pressed 25 times apiece to gather data for the sound-recognition system. Using an iPhone 13 mini, the audio was recorded when it was 17 centimeters from the PC.

Waveforms and spectrograms that identified each key were generated from the recordings. An image classifier dubbed “CoAtNet” was then trained using the distinctive sounds of each button to determine which key on the keyboard was pushed.

The method does not absolutely need access to the device microphone, though. Threat actors can also join a Zoom session as a participant to hear what users are typing by listening to the keystrokes. Users can protect themselves against such attacks, according to the research article, by altering their typing habits or employing complicated random passwords. The model can potentially be rendered less precise by using white noise or software that simulates keyboard sounds.

It is quite unlikely that upgrading to silent switches on a mechanical keyboard or fully moving to membrane keyboards will assist since the model was extremely accurate on keyboards used by Apple on laptops in the last two years, which are typically silent. Currently, implementing biometric identification methods like a fingerprint scanner, facial recognition, or an iris scanner is the best approach to counter such sound-based attackers.

Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2023 Tabled in Lok Sabha

By

Sahil Pawar

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August 4, 2023

The controversial Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2023 was introduced in the Lok Sabha yesterday by Minister of Communications, Electronics, and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw. The bill aims to control how digital personal data is processed while upholding people’s rights to privacy and the condition to use that data only for legal purposes.

The opposition, however, clapped back strongly against the bill’s introduction, expressing worries that it might violate people’s fundamental right to privacy. They argued that the bill should be submitted to the standing committee for thorough analysis in light of the government’s withdrawal of a related data privacy bill the previous year.

Minister Vaishnaw responded by stating that the bill is not a money bill and assuring the opposition that any concerns highlighted will be addressed during the bill’s debate. Recently, MoS IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the DPDP bill can’t be referred to any committee unless done by parliament, after claims from fellow member John Brittas.

What is the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill ?

➡️ #DPDPBill introduced in #Parliament is a very significant milestone in PM @narendramodi ji's vision of Global Standard Cyber Laws for India's $1T #DigitalEconomy & #IndiaTechade

➡️ @GoI_MeitY has developed this bill after… pic.twitter.com/a8tHXJl537
— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳 (@Rajeev_GoI) August 3, 2023

Through his official Twitter account, MoS IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar discussed the importance of digital personal data protection. According to him, the Bill is an important step towards realizing the goal of having international cyber regulations for India’s $1 trillion digital economy and India Techade.

Chandrasekhar claims that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology oversaw significant stakeholder consultations that led to the creation of the law. According to Chandrasekhar, if the bill is approved by Parliament, it will safeguard the rights of all people, promote economic innovation, and give the government legal authority to act in cases of pandemics, earthquakes, and other catastrophes.

He characterized the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill as an international standard that is modern, prepared for the future, yet straightforward and simple, securing India’s position at the forefront of the digital world.

Artificial Intelligence Software Flies Air Force XQ-58A Valkyrie Drone

By

Sahil Pawar

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August 4, 2023

The Air Force Research Laboratory said on August 2 that a drone, the XQ-58A Valkyrie, was successfully flown by artificial intelligence software.

On July 25, the US lab conducted the three-hour sortie with test units at the Florida Eglin Test and Training Complex. The autonomous fighter aircraft was created over the course of two years by a team from the lab and the Air Force Life Cycle Management Centre called Skyborg Vanguard.

“This sortie officially enables the ability to develop artificial intelligence agents that will execute modern air-to-air and air-to-surface skills that are immediately transferrable to the CCA programme,” said Colonel Tucker Hamilton, Air Force’s chief of AI test and operations.

According to the Air Force, the lab’s Autonomous Air Combat Operations team developed algorithms for the flight that accumulated millions of hours of development time through simulations, sorties with the X-62 VISTA experimental aircraft, work with the XQ-58A, and ground test operations.The Air Force’s efforts to conduct study on loyal wingmen have been aided by earlier flights of the XQ-58A Valkyrie.

The Air Force Research Lab is the organization’s main scientific research and development facility and is in charge of discovering, developing, and integrating low-cost warfighting technologies for the nation’s air, space, and cyberspace forces.

The head of the lab, Brig. Gen. Scott Cain, stated in the announcement, “AI will be a critical element to future warfighting and the speed at which we’re going to have to understand the operational picture and make decisions. We require the concerted efforts of our government, academic, and business partners to stay up with the exceptional rate of evolution of AI, autonomous operations, and human-machine teaming.”

AI Cameras Catch 19 MLAs, 10 MPs for Traffic Violations in Kerala

By

Sahil Pawar

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August 4, 2023

AI cameras catch 19 MLAs, 10 MPs for traffic violations in Kerala — Image Credits: ANI

After a review meeting on Thursday, Transport Minister Antony Raju of Kerala announced that the AI-enabled video surveillance system established to detect traffic violations has caught the vehicles of 19 MLAs and 10 MPs.

The Minister denied the claim that the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) gave VIPs special treatment, noting that one MP and MLA had six and seven traffic violations, respectively.

The traffic surveillance system has identified 328 government vehicles, including those driven by MLAs and MPs, as having violations of traffic laws. Raju refused to give any information, but said that the MLAs and MPs had been pulled over for offenses like speeding and driving without a seatbelt. All traffic violators received e-challans, he claimed.

Since the project’s launch on June 5, traffic offenses totaling 32.42 lakh have been found as of Wednesday. 15.83 lakh violations out of the total had been validated by the department. 5.89 lakh of these violations were uploaded to the Integrated Transport Monitoring System, which has already issued 3.82 lakh challans.

Despite having challans filed for a total of 25.81 crore, the department has only been able to collect 3.37 crore. The agency was considering a suggestion to not renew insurance for anyone who did not pay the fine. The Minister stated that the department would shortly have a conversation with insurance providers about this.

After the traffic surveillance system was put in place, there was a significant decrease in traffic accidents. 313 persons lost their lives in 3,316 traffic incidents in July 2022, but that number fell to 67 in 1,201 accidents in July 2023. In comparison to the 3,992 injured in July 2022, only 1,329 persons were hurt at this time, according to Mr. Raju.

Ministry of Skill Development Partners with AWS to Provide Free Courses in Emerging Technologies

By

Sahil Pawar

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August 3, 2023

Ministry of Skill Development partners with AWS provide free courses — Image Credits: GoI

In order to provide students with the fundamental knowledge of cutting-edge technologies, the Ministry for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) India. The pact aims to provide students enrolled in DGT institutions with valuable self-paced online learning programs at no cost.

Through the Bharat Skills Platform of the Directorate General of Training, the collaboration will provide free online courses in cloud computing, data annotation, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML).

Under the terms of the agreement, selected educational institutions will receive AWS’ cloud computing curriculum, enabling students to get ready for certification exams and positions that are relevant to cloud technology.

Students from Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) across India are the demographic that is being targeted for this programme, which intends to enhance their skill set.

The collaboration’s importance was highlighted by Atul Kumar Tiwari, Secretary of MSDE, who said that students would get practical knowledge and in-demand skills in cloud computing, data annotation, AI, and ML.

Amazon Web Services is still making investments in education and the growth of the digital workforce in India. The dedication to offering educational tools to youngsters and instructors was stressed by Sunil PP, Lead for Education, Space, Non-profits, Channels, and Alliances at AWS India, during the announcements.