Chennai, November 27, 2024: IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation has unveiled the ‘Centre for Human-Centric Artificial Intelligence’ (CHAI), a pioneering initiative aimed at leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to amplify human potential. Launched on November 14, 2024, at IIT Madras Research Park, this center seeks to position India as a global leader in responsible and innovative AI development.
Focus on Safe and Responsible AI
The CHAI initiative is designed to address the dual challenges of promoting innovation while ensuring AI safety—a growing concern for policymakers worldwide. The Centre will explore ways to mitigate risks associated with AI technologies to inform future regulations. It aims to strike a balance between fostering innovation and ensuring safety, particularly within the Indian context.
Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras, highlighted the vision behind CHAI, stating, “Human-centric AI systems seem to be the most convincing ones for end-users to adopt. Developments in CHAI will look at various aspects of deploying AI systems, specifically from explainability and responsibility points of view.”
Lt. Gen. K.S. Brar, AVSM, GoC Dakshin Bharat, who attended the launch event, emphasized the Centre’s potential to create an AI-driven future that enhances lives and fosters societal well-being.
Broad Scope and Collaboration
The Centre’s scope will focus on three dimensions:
- Enhancing Human Potential: Applications in education, healthcare, financial services, and transportation.
- Protecting Citizens: Solutions for cybersecurity, cyber-fraud, and disinformation security.
- Amplifying Societal Values: Preserving and promoting India’s cultural and heritage diversity.
The CHAI initiative plans to collaborate with government agencies, industry partners, start-ups, and academic researchers to develop solutions that amplify human capabilities. These solutions and insights may also find applications on a global scale.
Aligning with Industry 5.0
Prof. Gaurav Raina, the Chief Scientist at CHAI, explained that the Centre aligns with the principles of Industry 5.0, which emphasize human-centricity and sustainability. He added, “Our focus will be on translational research that leads to impactful solutions, including datasets, AI models, tools, and applications aligned with the Centre’s scope.”
Key areas of research include:
- Development of smaller, domain-specific language models.
- Focusing on Indian and other non-English languages.
- Ensuring responsible and ethical AI by addressing privacy, biases, and ethical considerations.
Capacity Building and Talent Development
CHAI also aims to build AI talent in India through internships for students nationwide. IIT Madras students will have opportunities to engage in undergraduate, master’s, and PhD research projects with the Centre’s guidance.
IIT-M Pravartak Technologies, which hosts CHAI, is a Section 8 company under the Department of Science and Technology’s National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems. It has a track record of working on projects of national importance, including collaborations with the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the Indian Parliament, and the Indian Army.
