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Indian Express
13 hours ago
- Business
- Indian Express
India doesn't need more linguistic nationalism — it needs scalable AI-powered classrooms
Sridhar Vembu, co-founder of Zoho, has been calling for Indians to work in native languages, claiming India's talent, including in tech, is held back by linguistic barriers. '95 per cent of Indians are not fluent in English,' he states. The case for linguistic confidence has merit, but Vembu's myopic argument stems from nationalistic sentiment rather than the path to opportunity. An innovator is gate-keeping AI's capacity to immediately and affordably overcome all language challenges. When leaders with the means to effect on-ground change tell students they don't need to learn English or gain foreign degrees, they omit to mention that both are what got them a seat at the negotiating table of the $4.9 trillion global tech industry. It is not that our students have an inherent inability to learn, but that our techno-educational pipeline cannot teach them. They have not been provided with credible, available, and meritorious learning opportunities. In the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (which tests & ranks global education systems), India ranked 72nd out of 73. By boycotting subsequent assessments, we abdicated accountability that undermines showy calls for AI-driven reform. Claiming students don't need the positioning resurrects feudal structures that keep the oppressed reliant on those who do have the currency and negotiability of a global lingua franca. India faces a staggering teacher shortage of approximately 1.5 million educators, leading to overcrowded classrooms; 1.2 lakh schools operate with a single teacher, 89 per cent located in rural areas. Tech leaders citing China's linguistic nationalism forget it has a single script with idiomatic dialect variations. Government-funded scholarships enable their students to conduct research overseas and repatriate their learnings. India has 780 languages and 68 scripts. China has over $1 billion invested in AI education, with 99 per cent of Chinese university faculty and students now using AI tools, 60 per cent frequently. Through the USA's robust public library system, internet access, laptops, sometimes even MacBooks, are made accessible. Instead of enabling such innovations, our techbros are caught in nationalistic debates rich with excuses. Today, what matters more than anything is how we leverage AI immediately. India's Sarvam AI models process code-mixed content in 10 languages with 97 per cent accuracy, including the open-source Shuka v1 audio model. Its content can reflect real-world Indian language usage, handle complex educational terminology, and run efficiently on edge devices, including smartphones. Sarvam is already tasked with building India's sovereign foundational model under the IndiaAI Mission. Organisations like Rocket Learning are already using AI in childhood education, with 75 per cent of children becoming school-ready, while the AICTE's 'Anuvadini' tool supports 22 regional languages. Such progress removes needless linguistic divisiveness. Integrating multiple emergent open-access agentic technologies can transform our education systems overnight with political will and industry focus. There is no longer any excuse for not implementing widespread education reform. From public information messaging to highly specialised technical education, it is possible to customise lessons, automate recursive testing, standardise grading and disseminate it widely. All any village in India needs is electricity, wifi and a smartphone. Regionality is a cocoon of caste and class divisions. AI disrupts this. Real-time translation capabilities offer learners multilingual capacity, and the artificial scarcity of access disappears. Just as English historically offered a neutral modality, thousands of Indians took to the binary coding language precisely because it enabled them to adopt a vocabulary that was mathematically impersonal and logically freeing. Such neutrality is what enables unprecedented social mobility. India needs hypermobility, not hyperregionality. We need to eliminate the false choice between cultural authenticity and educational advancement. AI-powered Intelligent Interactive Teaching Systems (IITS) can personalise learning, generate educational content, and eliminate knowledge gaps dynamically. UNICEF India's research confirms that AI-powered tools can adapt to each child's pace regardless of linguistic background. Unlike human teachers, AI systems can also work 24/7 and reach remote villages with a consistent quality for India's 1.5 million schools. While 60 per cent of school children in India cannot access online learning, mobile penetration is fast-paced: 58 per cent of higher-class students have smartphone access. This creates the opportunity for leapfrogging traditional educational infrastructure. The National Education Policy 2020 explicitly calls for AI integration at all educational levels. What we lack is the urgency to deploy at scale, and what we are getting are excuses galore. India can chuck the outdated Government-school model and switch to a digital library model. Equipped with internet and wifi, students of all ages can teach themselves with pre-loaded modules. An 80-year-old housewife, a 40-year-old farmer or a 20-year-old mechanic can go back to 'school' at any time of day and grab opportunities they never had. AI can provide feedback in real-time, freeing limited human teachers to mentor. India's youth don't need to be told what they don't need to learn or be advised to stay in their villages by those who had the choices to learn, leave, grow, and return. The power brokers who gained influence through access to knowledge don't get to construct barriers to prevent others from following suit. Critics cite infrastructure, data privacy, and implementation challenges. These are the problems to solve while deploying, not reasons to delay deployment. The question is no longer whether AI will transform Indian education, but whether we will act swiftly enough to push enough of our populace through on the momentum of this age, before they get left behind. Das is a Mysuru-based author, therapist, independent AI researcher & co-founder of Project Shunyata, a group that examines AI through the lens of Buddhist Philosophy
Time of India
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Elon Musk to make 'BabyGrok' kid-friendly AI chatbot, but is AI-powered learning safe for kids?
After introducing a new feature, 'Ani,' the gothic anime girl AI (artificial intelligence) chatbot Grok on X (formerly called Twitter) on Monday, July 14, tech billionaire Elon Musk is working on a kid-friendly version of its Grok chatbot, he said in a post on X. On Sunday, Musk took to his X and announced that they are going to make BabyGroke@xAI, an app dedicated to kid-friendly content. According to ET, this is going to be the new version, which is expected to launch as a separate application tailored for young users; however, further details are still awaited. On the other hand, Musk also hinted at a new capability that would enable Grok to create viral videos by expanding its other creative tools. Working on a new way to make creative viral videos fast called …✨ Imagine ✨ Grok's 4 anime companions raised concerns as it has an NSFW mode Meanwhile, the current new AI feature is exclusively available to the iOS app, and there are three companions available: a 2D goth anime girl with blonde pigtails named Ani and a 3D cartoon fox named Bad Rudy. This feature is likely powered by Grok 4 and a new one that is inspired by 50 Shades of Grey and the Twilight Saga. Amid the launch of 'Ani,' the girl anime companion that may include a not safe for work (NSFW) mode, allowing users to undress the characters and reveal them in lingerie. This led to major trolling and became a part of the online backlash. Following this, the question of whether there should be kid-friendly AI applications for children aged 5-15 in India is both timely and complex. Comparative performance of Grok AI The Artificial Intelligence Index, a benchmark suite that evaluates models across a variety of capacities, recently saw Grok 4 at the top: Multitask language comprehension (MMLU-Pro) and graduate-level problem solving (GPQA Diamond) The Final Examination of Humanity: Existential and General Thinking LiveCodeBench: Programming in real time SciCode: Modelling and computation for science Olympiad-level mathematical reasoning (AIME) Math-500: Complex problem-solving in mathematics. Educational benefits and potential According to research from India, which shows promising results, "A large-scale AI technology intervention across 5,000 government schools showed 20-40 per cent overall gains in learning outcomes, with teachers also reporting improved skills," reports ET. The study involved 1 million children and 15,000 teachers, indicating the substantial positive impact AI can have on educational achievement. A look at the positive impacts in the Indian context: Intelligent tutoring systems can help mitigate the teacher shortage in India by delivering virtual instruction and mentorship through interactive support and personalised feedback. While 65 per cent of Indians have used generative AI—over twice the global average of 31 per cent—notable disparities still persist. Educational tools powered by AI, such as Appu, developed by Rocket Learning with support from highlight how homegrown innovations can tackle challenges unique to India. 🇰🇷 South Korean AI Lab Upstage AI has just launched their first reasoning model - Solar Pro 2! The 31B parameter model demonstrates impressive performance for its size, with intelligence approaching Claude 4 Sonnet in 'Thinking' mode and is priced very competitivelyKey details:… Concerning the negative impact and risks The implementation of kid-friendly AI apps raises safety concerns that are particularly relevant in the Indian context. Screen time: In India, the average screen time of children under 5 is about 2.2 hours daily, double the expert-recommended limit. Excessive screen time is linked to: Delayed language development Reduced cognitive skills Poor social behaviour Increased obesity risk Sleep disturbances Cultural and social risks: AI cannot teach values, ethics, and emotional intelligence or offer a human experience that is essential for moral development. Content moderation: Content moderation often fails to account for India's linguistic diversity and sociocultural nuances. Age-appropriate design: Different interfaces and content for various age groups within the 5-15 range. Human oversight: AI interactions should complement, not replace, human guidance. Also Read: Elon Musk's Grok AI anime avatar 'Ani' goes viral for NSFW mode; sparks debate over flirtatious and adult responses
India Gazette
02-07-2025
- Business
- India Gazette
80% of India's top nonprofit unicorns grow faster with govt partnerships: Report
Gurugram (Haryana) [India], July 2 (ANI): Eighty per cent of India's most impactful nonprofits startups-- referred to as 'nonprofit unicorns' -- have achieved large-scale success by partnering with the government, according to a report by accelerator for nonprofits Change Engine. Nonprofit unicorns are organizations that have created meaningful impact for at least one million people or 5 per cent of their target population. According to the report, 41 per cent of these nonprofits secured their first government partnership within a year of initial outreach. Even more notably, 42 per cent were able to break through via cold outreach -- reaching out directly to government officials with prepared materials and proposals. Varun Aggarwal, Co-founder of Change Engine said, 'The government holds unparalleled power to scale interventions; a single policy reform, a new institution, or a significant budget allocation can move the needle non-incrementally on societal challenges. To become unicorns, nonprofits must proactively partner with the government to create population-level impact.' The study selected 33 nonprofits from a pool of 100 based on the depth and breadth of their impact. More than half of these organizations (55 per cent) now operate in five or more states, either by improving government-run programs or by leveraging public infrastructure to deliver their own services. This wide reach demonstrates the government's role as a vital enabler for nonprofits aiming to create systemic change. Several nonprofits highlighted in the report provide powerful examples. The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy supported Ministry of Finance by drafting reforms to improve India's bankruptcy code and continues to assist the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in implementing new laws. The SaveLife Foundation cut road crash fatalities by 58 per cent on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and is now scaling its zero-fatality model to 100 highways with support from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Rocket Learning, which focuses on early childhood education, has reached 150 districts across nine states, equipping over 150,000 Anganwadi workers with digital tools. Their students now perform in the top 30 per cent of average classrooms. 'The message to nonprofit founders is clear. To build scale, they need to think EPIC: build on Evidence, create Public goods, and scale high impact Interventions for Change. And to scale direct intervention, nonprofits need to partner with the government, engage with communities, or unlock the power of markets,' added co-founder Shubham Bansal. (ANI)
Time of India
03-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
OpenAI awards $150k in grants to Indian non-profits
Bengaluru: OpenAI has expanded its AI for Impact Accelerator initiative in India, awarding $150,000 in grants to 11 non-profit organisations focused on developing AI solutions for healthcare, education, agriculture, and other underserved sectors. The majority of grants are being distributed as API credits. Operating under the newly created OpenAI Academy, the programme marks a year of collaboration with Indian non-profits leveraging AI for public good. Several participants have integrated OpenAI technology to enhance operational efficiency, improve user experience, and effect measurable change. Rocket Learning, for instance, utilises generative AI via WhatsApp to deliver early childhood content to parents and daycare workers, currently impacting four million children in 11 states. Noora Health, supporting families of patients in low-resource environments, has automated elements of its caregiver engagement, reducing nurses' message review workload and increasing the scale of families reached. Educate Girls employs AI to locate and reintegrate out-of-school girls in rural India. I-Stem has converted over 1.5 million web pages into accessible formats for visually impaired users. Pinky Promise, a reproductive health platform, enables a team of three doctors to manage care for 10,000 patients using its AI-powered chatbot, achieving a medication adherence rate of 92%.Further organisations in the cohort are working in agriculture, digital inclusion, public policy delivery, and skills development via AI-led personalisation. Philanthropic support comes from The Agency Fund, Tech4Dev, and OpenAI recently convened a workshop to help participants explore the latest model capabilities for population-scale to OpenAI, the initiative aligns with the objectives of the IndiaAI Mission, which seeks to democratise AI access and develop technology tailored to India's socio-economic context. Pragya Misra, who leads policy and partnerships for OpenAI in India, described the accelerator as part of the company's ongoing effort to root its technology in practical, real-world scenarios. She said the cohort is pushing forward inclusive innovation, tackling complex national issues through AI. OpenAI plans to admit additional India-based non-profits to the programme later this year and mentioned that new initiatives for the region are in progress.
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Business Standard
03-06-2025
- Health
- Business Standard
OpenAI to provide fresh API credits to 11 Indian non-profit organisations
OpenAI on Tuesday announced that it will provide a fresh round of API (application programming interface) credits to 11 non-profit organisations in India, including Rocket Learning, Noora Health, and Udhyam, among others, to help build artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for social good. 'Over the last year, the India cohort has developed and deployed AI-powered applications across sectors, including healthcare, education, agriculture, disability inclusion, and gender equity, creating a tangible and measurable impact in underserved communities,' the company said in a statement. The global program, which offers the selected participants hands-on technical support, cohort-based learning, and early access to OpenAI's tools, functions under the OpenAI Academy umbrella. In India, beneficiaries Rocket Learning uses WhatsApp and generative AI to deliver personalised early learning experiences for parents and daycare, and Noora Health improves patient recovery by disseminating life-saving information to patients' families and caretakers. Other beneficiaries include companies such as Udhyam, which is integrating AI into government education systems to nurture entrepreneurial mindsets in students, and Digital Green, which is scaling peer-to-peer agricultural learning by automating insights and crop recommendations. 'These organisations are solving some of the country's most complex challenges with ingenuity and empathy. The AI for Impact Accelerator — now part of OpenAI Academy — is our way of learning from them while ensuring frontier technology is being shaped by and in service of real communities,' said Pragya Misra, the policy and partnerships lead at OpenAI India.
