Top experts warn against'malicious use' of AI Facebook trains artificial intelligence to spot suicidal signs Artificially intelligent algorithms to estimate Tawaf crowds at the Grand Mosque in Makkah Artificial intelligence: Leap to next development stage or job threat? SAN FRANCISCO: As debate swirls on whether artificial intelligence will be a boon or a curse for humanity, two Indian-American entrepreneur brothers are out to ensure the emerging technologies don't just benefit the richest in society. Romesh and Sunil Wadhwani this week launched what is billed as the world's first nonprofit institute dedicated to putting AI to work improving lives of poor farmers, rural health care workers or teachers in communities with scant resources. "AI will go where AI will go; it is difficult to predict where," Sunil Wadhwani said of the conflicting views on the emergence of computers more brilliant than their human creators. "Our focus is how many tens of millions of lives can we improve in the next five or 10 years. Where AI goes in 100 years, it will go."

Last month, Sudhakar Choudhari took the company bus as usual from his one-bedroom apartment to the suburban offices of Tech Mahindra, a major employer of workers in India that powers the global technology machine behind the scenes. Then a manager took him into a conference room and asked him to resign. "It was a terrible scene for me," said Mr. Choudhari, 41, who had been with the company for 11 years and most recently maintained software for a British client. As the manager spoke, he thought: "I have an 11-year-old child. My wife is not working. How to pay the home loans?"