NR Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys, spoke at TiECon Mumbai on Wednesday, attempting to temper the overhyped buzz surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) in India. He pointed out that many systems marketed as AI were simply traditional programming. “I think somehow it has become a fashion in India to talk of AI for everything. I have seen several normal, ordinary programs touted as AI,” Murthy commented during the annual entrepreneurial conference.
How Narayana Murthy defines AI
In a discussion with Harish Mehta, founding president of TiE Mumbai, Murthy clarified that genuine AI rests on two key pillars: Machine learning, which facilitates extensive correlation for predictions, and Deep Learning, which emulates human brain function through unsupervised algorithms.
“Frankly, most of what passes for AI these days is trivial and outdated coding,” Murthy asserted. “It’s the unsupervised algorithms leveraging deep learning and neural networks that hold far greater promise for increasingly human-like capabilities.”
Murthy went on to add that deep learning will be able to solve, and handle what are called “unsupervised algorithms”. While machine learning by and large handles supervised algorithms because you have to give a lot of data into that, deep learning uses the data to create new branches of programs or new conditions. And then it will be able to take decisions.
Narayana Murthy agrees AI will lead to job losses, but …
While recognizing that AI will displace some jobs, he emphasized its potential to boost economic growth. “Every technology eliminates certain roles, but when applied supportively, it can expand the economy.”
Murthy also urged entrepreneurs to generate employment. “I’m confident each of you will spawn hundreds of thousands of jobs—that’s how you tackle poverty. Handouts have never lifted any nation out of poverty,” he concluded.
