Fremont, CA: The American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin (ASEI) convened an AI Summit on April 24 with researchers, authors, speakers and experts covering Artificial Intelligence from multiple perspectives: Augmented Intelligence with Data, AI/ML Solutions for social benefit and Artificial Intelligence Applications for the enterprise & AI Ethics.
Summit Chair Piyush Malik, Senior Vice President at SpringML, a Google partner startup in Silicon Valley, gave a bird’s eye view of the AI landscape, the real life and enterprise application opportunities as well as set the stage for the plenary segment where the theme was AI for Society. He recognized the contributions
Vilas Dhar, President and Trustee of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation (PJMF), gave a message of support from PJMF to ASEI “as we work towards our shared vision for AI – powered yet human-centric ethical endeavor for the benefit of society as we explore the future of meaningful work through youth empowerment.” PJMF is a philanthropy advancing AI and data solutions to create a thriving, equitable, and sustainable future for all.
AI Fellow at World Economic Forum, Dr V. Sundar gave a broader view of the policy impact AI is having at the world stage including on Covid and inspired ASEI members to join hands in making the world a better place through fair use of AI rather than fearing from it.
Dr Valiappa (Lak) Lakshmanan, seen in action via his Coursera lessons and courses, is very passionate about AI for social good and shared real world proof points and examples in the field of flood control, agriculture and healthcare.
Dr Raj Ramesh, a TEDx speaker with a doctorate in AI, advised how to co-exist with machines by sharing how to think, thrive, and transform in an AI driven future. He said, “AI will present a lot of opportunities in the future. Sure, some jobs will be replaced, but each of us can leverage our knowledge, passion, and experience to position ourselves at the forefront of this cognitive revolution.”
Final section of the AI Summit was the “Women in Data & AI” segment facilitated by Vatsala Upadhya and featured a lively “Ethics in AI” discussion between Dr Sindhu Joseph, CEO of Cognicor with 6 patents in AI, and Bala Sahejpal, SVP at DataRobot with Piyanka Jain, President and CEO of Aryng moderating.
Issues of bias, reproducibility, transparency and equity and inclusion in data and AI from people of color perspective were discussed as well as the importance of governance and building checks and balances in the development and testing of AI systems was deliberated. This session underscored the need for diversity in organizations and in startups developing AI algorithms and attention and investment in branches of AI that have the potential to bring about fairness.
The American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin (ASEI) is a not-for-profit organization that provides a platform for networking, career advancement,
community service, mentoring and technology exchange for professionals, students and businesses in the United States and abroad.
Contact: www.aseiusa.org
