Ministry of Electronics and Information technology ( MEITY) unveiled today RAISE 2020 – a Global Virtual Summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in a press conference organised in Electronics Niketan, New Delhi. The MEITY and NITI Aayog are organising the Mega Virtual Summit AI, RAISE 2020- ‘Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020,’ from October 5-9, 2020. The summit, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, will witness participation from global experts in the field.

The aim of the summit is to kick-start discussion on the creation of robust AI-powered public infrastructure that benefits all, not just in India but across the world. India, one of the founding members of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, aims to implement AI-based solutions not just domestically but in countries around the world so that these lead to widespread social empowerment and prosperity. #AIForAll is at the core of India’s AI strategy and the focus is to build responsible AI for social empowerment, transformation and inclusion.

Over the course of the five-day summit, several leading AI experts from across the world will deliberate over topics of vital importance like strategies for using AI for social benefit, the importance of creating reliable AI infrastructure and the transformative effect of AI in empowering communities.

Among the experts participating in the summit will be Professor Daniela Rus, Director of Computer Science and AI lab at MIT, USA, Dr. Milind Tambe, Director, AI for Social Good at Google Research India, Mr. Sandip Patel, MD, IBM India and South Asia, Dr. Jonathan Stuart Russel, Computer Scientist, UC Berkeley, and Ms. Arunima Sarkar, Lead, AI, World Economic Forum, among others.

Speaking at the press conference to unveil the summit, Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog said, “We firmly believe that AI can help transform lives. India is developing AI-based solutions for social empowerment across spheres like healthcare, education, finance, agriculture and governance. On the strength of its data and innovation prowess, India can become the AI laboratory of the world, delivering intuitive solutions to a wide range of societal issues.”

Shri Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT said, “India has the talent and the institutional capacity to build an AI-ready workforce that innovates and delivers solutions to solve societal issues. We are taking steps to promote the development and integration of AI into important spheres of life, in order to improve the ease of living and overall quality of life. RAISE 2020 will serve as a starting point for India to become a data-driven society that leverages AI for social good.”

So far, more than 38,700 stakeholders from academia, the research industry and government representatives from 125 countries have registered to participate in RAISE 2020. An AI innovation contest titled Atma Nirbhar Bharat: AI Challenge and Pitch Fest was organized in the run up to RAISE 2020. The contest, which started on September 14 and ended on September 25, invited solutions to issues in the areas like healthcare, education, agriculture, smart mobility and natural language processing. Fifteen top AI solutions were selected by a jury, and will be awarded INR 20 lakh each on October 9.

From agriculture to fin-tech and healthcare to infrastructure, India is at the cusp of rapid development in artificial intelligence. India can become the AI laboratory of the world and contribute to inclusive development and growth through empowerment. Details of RAISE 2020 Summit have been made live at http://raise2020.indiaai.gov.in/. The summit will serve as a platform for discussion and consensus building to help create a data-rich environment, which will aid in, eventually, transforming lives globally.

About RAISE 2020:

RAISE 2020 is a first-of-its-kind global meeting of minds on Artificial Intelligence to drive India's vision and roadmap for social transformation, inclusion and empowerment through responsible AI. Organized by Government of India along with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and NITI Aayog,the event will witness robust participation from global industry leaders, key opinion makers, Government representatives and academia.

Website:http://raise2020.indiaai.gov.in/

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