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Wipro, IISc Partner for AI Education Program

As part of this collaboration, selected Wipro employees will have full access to IISc faculty members, online lectures, libraries and alumni networks….reports Asian Lite news

Amid the government’s call to bridge the skill gap in emerging technologies, IT major Wipro on Thursday announced a collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to offer eligible employees a higher education programme in artificial intelligence (AI).

The online Master’s in Technology (MTech) course will emphasise upon key areas such as AI, foundations of ML/AI, data science and business analytics, addressing the growing demand for skilled professionals in these domains, the company said in a statement.

“GenAI is evolving at a rapid pace, and we are confident that selected employees will gain immensely from the knowledge at IISc and develop capabilities for the opportunities ahead delivering strong business outcomes,” said Sanjeev Jain, SVP and Global Head, Business Operations, Wipro.

As part of this collaboration, selected Wipro employees will have full access to IISc faculty members, online lectures, libraries and alumni networks.

They will also benefit from mentorship by seasoned professionals from the data, analytics and AI practice at Wipro.

The acceptance of the programme will be subject to rigorous entrance tests and evaluations designed by IISc, said the company.

“The programme curriculum for working professionals has been designed with the same high standards as our full-time programmes, with our faculty members delivering content online to train students on foundational concepts and real-world applications,” said Professor Rajesh Sundaresan, Dean, Division of EECS, IISc.

Considering that more than 60 countries, including India, are entering election mode this year, it is vital that we remain vigilant on recent trends in the dynamic digital landscape, especially deepfakes, says Ivana Bartoletti, Global Chief Privacy and AI Governance Officer at Wipro.

With the widespread use of generative AI, we face a new and concerning threat: deepfakes.

“Deepfakes have become accessible to everyone, posing a significant risk as these manipulations allow the creation and dissemination of realistic audio and video content featuring individuals saying and doing things they never actually said or did,” emphasised Bartoletti, also the founder of the ‘Women Leading in AI Network’.

The consequences extend beyond the digital realm, as online disinformation and coordination can spill over into real-world violence.

In India, the government has issued an update to its AI advisory, saying that the big digital companies do not need the government’s permission anymore before launching any AI model in the country.

However, big tech companies are advised to label “under-tested and unreliable AI models to inform users of their potential fallibility or unreliability.”

“Under-tested/unreliable Artificial Intelligence foundational models)/ LLM/Generative Al, software(s) or algorithm(s) or further development on such models should be made available to users in India only after appropriately labelling the possible inherent fallibility or unreliability of the output generated,” according to the new MeitY advisory.

All intermediaries or platforms must ensure that the use of AI models /LLM/Generative AI, software or algorithms “does not permit its users to host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update or share any unlawful content as outlined in Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT Rules or violate any other provision of the IT Act.”

The digital platforms have been asked to comply with new AI guidelines with immediate effect.

According to Bartoletti, to ensure public safety, companies must take responsibility and implement measures to combat deepfakes and disinformation.

“This includes investing in advanced detection technologies to identify and flag deepfake content, as well as collaborating with experts to develop effective debunking methods,” she noted.

Additionally, promoting media literacy and critical thinking among the public is crucial.

“By taking proactive steps to address the risks of deepfakes, we can protect the integrity of elections and uphold the democratic process,” said Bartoletti.

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Wipro Chief Hails India’s Key Role in AI Ethics

Bartoletti, founder of the ‘Women Leading in AI Network,’ highlighted that India has established a distinct and robust digital data protection bill, differing from the European Union’s GDPR…reports Nishant Arora

As the global debate over artificial intelligence (AI) and user harm gains momentum – amid the week-long Open AI saga – India is going to play a crucial role in shaping responsible AI with the first-of-its-kind data privacy legislation and draft regulation over deepfakes, says Ivana Bartoletti, Global Privacy Officer, Wipro Limited.

In an interaction with IANS, Bartoletti who is also the founder of the ‘Women Leading in AI Network’, said that India has carved out a safe and robust digital data protection bill which is different from the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

“Deepfakes are not a new phenomenon. These existed before but the generative AI dimension has brought new factors to it because it now takes two seconds to create a fake image. However, we now have a global alignment to tackle these AI threats,” she told IANS.

“The UK AI Summit at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, earlier this month was a turning point where leaders, including Indian Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, vouched for robustness, safety and global governance around AI,” she said.

India, along with 27 other countries, including the US and the UK and the European Union, signed a declaration pledging to work on the assessment of risks linked with AI at the summit, hosted by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

After the successful AI Safety Summit in the UK, the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) in New Delhi next month will further deliberate upon the risks associated with artificial intelligence (AI) — in the presence of world leaders — before a global framework is reached in Korea next year, according to Chandrasekhar.

“We have been talking about openness, safety and trust and accountability. We have always argued that innovation must not get ahead of regulation. We have spoken about the need to have safe and trusted platforms,” he said.

The minister said that the future of tech ought to be architected by countries coming and working together on mitigating the potential risks associated with technologies like AI.

At the UK summit, “we have proposed, and this will certainly be a theme at the GPAI and the India AI summit, that technology should not be demonised to a point that we regulate it out of existence and innovation,” the minister noted.

According to Bartoletti, there is an alignment to an extent globally that we’ve got to use AI in a responsible manner.

“We’re trying to achieve a global agreement around what we’re going to use AI for, but in particular, what we are not going to use AI for. We’re not governing AI or regulating it. We are governing the behaviour of people around AI. So the way that humans develop and deploy AI is really important,” Bartoletti told IANS.

According to her, responsible AI is to understand the risks, train people so that they know how to code and develop and use AI and then being able to govern the AI via a more process-based approach and embed new controls into the existing governance construct of it.

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Wipro acquires Pune-based Linecraft.ai

Linecraft.ai harnesses the power of both automation domain expertise and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to empower manufacturers to get more productivity…reports Asian Lite News

The industrial automation business of Wipro Infrastructure Engineering, a Wipro Enterprises entity, on Thursday announced it is acquiring Linecraft.ai, a Pune-based AI-enabled company, for an undisclosed sum.

Linecraft.ai harnesses the power of both automation domain expertise and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to empower manufacturers to get more productivity and quality improving operational efficiency on a real time basis.

“This acquisition will further help us expand our digital capabilities and offer turnkey automation solutions with a bolt-on digital layer which provides deep insights and analytics to customers,” said Pratik Kumar, CEO, Wipro Infrastructure Engineering (WIN).

The Linecraft.ai software is built by a team of AI and ML experts and engineers with a patented algorithm.

Wipro Infrastructure Engineering said that after the acquisition of leading Industrial Automation player PARI, this acquisition represents an important step in the strategic development of the group in digitisation arena.

“Linecraft.ai software helps our customers to identify bottleneck operations in a complex manufacturing environment,a said G Sundararaman, Co-CEO, Wipro PARI.

According to Kumar, the patented technology collects and analyses large amounts of data from industrial machines and recommends ways to optimise productivity using AI, ML, thereby significantly enhancing the customer value proposition.

The industrial automation vertical under the Wipro PARI entity has deployed over 1,500 automated systems worldwide across more than 75 global customers.

Wipro PARI has state-of-the-art facilities in Pune and Detroit (the US).

Meanwhile, Wipro 3D, a part of Wipro’s strategic initiative into the future of manufacturing, on Friday launched its first indigenously-developed, industrial grade 3D printer.

The 3D printer is designed to cater to educational institutes, industries, engineering and R&D centres, the company said in a statement.

“In the last 10 years, Wipro 3D has enabled customer success through expertise in metal additive manufacturing and are now foraying in the Industrial grade Polymer 3D printing through our newly launched line of printers,” said Pratik Kumar, CEO, Wipro Infrastructure Engineering (WIN).

The ‘Wipro 3D F300-2’ has features like automatic platform levelling, magnetic print bed, self-cleaning nozzle and dual filtration to ensure user safety and high-quality 3D prints.

It is IoT-enabled and allows remote monitoring and control capabilities over the internet through any computer or any smartphone, according to the company.

The humidity monitored warm filament storage bay in the 3D printer ensures that the filament quality does not deteriorate. The printer also has the ability to print a wide range of materials as per the needs of the user.

“We are happy to share that all of our 3D printers will be designed and ‘Made in India,” said Kumar.

The 3D printer has the capability of printing multiple industrial-grade materials.

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Business

Wipro launches 100 cr manufacturing facility under PLI scheme

It is equipped with automated testers to assess performance of the medical devices…reports Asian Lite News

Wipro GE Healthcare on Thursday announced the launch of its new manufacturing facility here under the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme with an investment of over Rs 100 crore.

The new 35,000 sq ft plant, called Wipro GE Medical Device Manufacturing factory (MDM), will further boost local manufacturing of medical devices in India.

“Wipro GE Healthcare’s new factory, with support from the government’s PLI scheme, will aid the health ecosystem in India to realise its true potential in addressing local and global challenges for healthcare providers,” said Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro GE Healthcare and Chairman, Wipro Enterprises.

The facility is set up for 24/7 operations for manufacturing CT machines, cathlab equipment, ultrasound scanners, patient monitoring solutions, ECG machines and ventilators.

It is equipped with automated testers to assess performance of the medical devices.

The new greenfield facility, one of the 15 medical device manufacturers approved under the government’s PLI scheme, promotes the Electronics System Development and Maintenance (ESDM) sector.

“Through our Karnataka Digital Economy Mission, we will provide continued support to the company’s efforts towards augmenting the ESDM sector and providing fillip to the region’s digital economy,” said C.N. Ashwath Narayan, State Minister of IT-Biotechnology, Higher Education and Science and Technology.

The facility currently has 35 employees in its shop-floor, which is expected to increase to 100 in the next two to three years, the company said in a statement.

“The new draft of the National Medical Devices Policy 2022 provides further impetus towards empowering India’s healthcare ecosystem, and we at Wipro GE Healthcare are very optimistic about the future of medtech in India,” said Dr Shravan Subramanyam, Managing Director, Wipro GE Healthcare.

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