BENGALURU: As India plans to roll out a nationwide facial recognition system this year, Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan believes that the country must develop its own databases for efficient implementation of breakthrough technologies that use artificial intelligence and machine learning. A facial recognition system is a technology capable of identifying or verifying a person by analysing patterns based on the person's facial textures and shape. Gopalakrishnan noted that India should carry out its own trials before implementing the facial recognition systems, as currently the algorithms used to train these mostly employ data of white men belonging to the Anglo-Saxon community, and it is unclear whether it will work properly in the country. "We also need to look at biases. One of the reasons why I believe India must do research in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) particularly is because most of the databases that are used to train these systems which we use today are being trained with data which is not from India," he told PTI in an interview on the sidelines of the Infosys Prize ceremony here.

With new technologies disrupting businesses and changing the rules of engagement, India faces a daunting task to reskill its huge workforce for Artificial Intelligence (AI), Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan says. "India has a major challenge of transitioning its young workforce to the fourth industrial revolution called AI after the eras of agriculture, manufacturing and services," Gopalakrishnan said in an interview. Gopalakrishnan, 63, well-known as'Kris', is one of the seven co-founders of the iconic IT firm, who became its chief executive after fellow co-founder Nandan Nilekani quit in mid-2009 to set up the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for issuing Aadhaar cards to over a billion citizens. "As the large workforce is engaged in diverse occupations such as agriculture, manufacturing and white-collar jobs in the services sector, it needs to be re-skilled to sustain the jobs, as AI will replace traditional jobs," said Gopalakrishnan. Originating in the mid-1950s as an academic discipline, AI involves machines emulating human intelligence.

Artificial intelligence could be used to check circulation of false information and fake videos about "child-lifters" on social media that lead to incidents of …