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Naukrigulf, a leading jobsite in the Middle East market, has made its platform more user-friendly and comprehensive for job seekers with Microsoft AI and data powered language translation solutions. The AI translator deployed by Microsoft has made the website multilingual for global users, thereby helping employers and job-seekers to explore the platform with ease and seize greater opportunities.

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Naukrigulf attracts thousands of employers and job seekers interested to work in the Gulf region. With most of the users being fluent either in Arabic or English, the content on the portal needed to be available in the job seeker’s preferred language. The implementation of Microsoft’s Arabic language translator has eliminated the language barrier that existed amongst the job seekers and employers.

The AI and data powered translator has opened countless doors for job seekers to search for the right prospects. On the other hand, it has given companies access to a larger pool of talent that was earlier not visible to them. The deployment is providing a quick turnaround at a lesser cost, and leading to a substantially enhanced consumer base for Naukrigulf.

Sharad Sindhwani, Senior Vice President & Product Head for Naukrigulf said,

Naukrigulf.com has been a pioneer in adopting technology to offer improved experience to all the users.  We regularly evaluate the needs of our customers and work towards building solutions that optimize job search and recruitment processes. With Microsoft Translator Text API, the language gaps that existed amongst the forum and its users have been filled and the portal has more tangible approach now. With this technology we have cut down almost half of the cost and we are very happy with accuracy of the automated translation.

Rajesh Rege, Country GM & India Lead – Clouds, Solution & Customer Success, Microsoft India said

Microsoft is committed towards aiding businesses optimize their processes and enhance their customer experience. The AI powered translator will enable Microsoft and Naukrigulf.com to achieve their unified vision of empowering the end users by enabling them to seamlessly connect, browse and exchange data. By leveraging this technology, we aim towards dissolving any form of language barriers that might exist amongst the job seekers and employers.

Microsoft is relentlessly working towards making technology accessible and productive for all, irrespective of the language they may speak or read. This is one of the examples of Microsoft’s efforts on local language computing and using the power of AI to improve the lives of people around the world.

Info Edge India Ltd., the parent company of Naukrigulf.com, Naukri.com, 99acres, & jeevansaathi, has dynamically leveraged data and AI solutions from Microsoft to streamline their workload and bring in superior quality services for its customers across the globe.

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The Times of India, India’s most read daily announced the launch of a new weekly page called Times Techies.  As the name suggests, it is a page for and by technologists. The page will focus on emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence [AI], Machine Learning, Internet-of-Things [IoT], Blockchain, Cloud, and Robotic Process Automation [RPA], which collectively and dramatically are changing our world in ways that are sometimes difficult to foresee.

The page is for techies to understand how these technologies could improve their companies’ operations and customer engagement, and create new revenue streams. It is also for students and youngsters in the engineering and technology fields to understand how they could build their capabilities in these areas. One section will also highlight the phenomenal, globally impactful work tech centres in India are doing,

The inaugural issue brings to you an article by Amazon’s CTO Werner Vogels on how AI has become affordable and easy-to-use even for small firms. It advises young engineers on how to go about a career in AI. It also features the story of Mercedes-Benz’s engineers in India who have developed gesture controls for the 2019 model cars.

Entrepreneurs Rohan Narayana Murty and Arjun Narayan write on technology that they would like to see in the near future. Sunil Agarwal and Ian Baker have created a brilliant cartoon. The Times of India will have most of these columns every week, and new columns as we hear from you. Readers can share their feedback online with #TimesTechies.

IGiven that technology is thriving the most in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, it is being launched in these two cities first.

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Corporate India is going through a defining time, with emerging technologies taking over many areas of business. Human resource is one such critical area, which is core to any business and has been going through rounds of revolution and transformation, both in terms of processes and technology.

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AI happens to be the newest kid in the block, which is taking the recruitment processes by storm, as it is getting re-engineered every day, with more and more intelligent and repetitive work being replaced by AI. Let’s look at some of the key areas where AI is being used to empower workforce:

Removing bias – Unconscious bias is a huge challenge that all corporates are trying to fight. Corporate India is no exception. When it’s a conscious bias, it’s easier to tackle but unconscious bias creeps in the most unexpected way. It can not only influence the choice of a candidate at the time of interview, but also the job description itself, making it a far more pervasive problem. AI can easily be used to remove this unconscious bias.

Evaluate profiles and first level interviews – Today sourcers and recruiters are spending a considerable amount of time in scanning, evaluating and shortlisting profiles and doing the first level interviews and the outcome of it is often very subjective, based on the emotional state of the recruiters. AI can easily take over these repetitive jobs, bring more objectivity to it and complete it much faster. There are quite a few AI-based platforms in the market today. According to a report by Forrester, by 2020, candidates applying to jobs at 20% of large global enterprises will interact with chatbots before recruiters.

Improved employee on-boarding experience – Employee on-boarding is the employee’s first experience with an organization and it’s the organization’s best opportunity to create an excellent first impression. Today, due to a resource crunch and subjectivity associated with people, on-boarding experience tends to be random and unstandardized. Using AI effectively can help new employees navigate their way into an organization more seamlessly, giving them an excellent on-boarding experience.

Identifying the customised training requirement for employees – Mostly, people become redundant within an organization because they lack relevant skills, but if we can train the employees in a timely fashion, then organizations can utilize its existing staff, without having to retrench and hire new employees. AI can be used very effectively to match existing talent with the required ones and identify the gaps in skillset and also to do a fitment of who is best trained on which of the required skills.

Resource Management function – People intensive businesses have a huge challenge of finding the right skilled people internally at the right time and often end up hiring people at a higher cost, when an equally skilled person is available within the company. AI can help with this function and in a very time effective manner, thus reducing the cost of hiring, training and keeping a skilled resource on the bench.

Identifying people who are looking out – Losing trained and experienced employees to competition is a huge loss to any organization. AI can easily track the employees keystroke patterns, idle time & internet checking patterns and predict whether the person is looking out for newer opportunities.

Smarter and better people analytics – AI-enabled employee analytics provide the necessary insight to ensure better employee experience. It ensures meaningful employee engagement, creating happier employees and increased employee retention.

And these are only a few of the core functions that AI can do immediately. However, there still exists a degree of apprehension amongst the human resource fraternity to totally embrace AI, for reasons unfounded. AI today is not just efficient, it is also inexpensive. Just one word of caution, it is imperative that the recruitment processes are reviewed and re-engineered to remove age old practices and made well suited for reaping maximum benefit out of AI.

Research from PWC shows that 63 percent of companies are rethinking the whole role of their human resources department in light of the impact AI will have on the business. Thanks to AI and RPA, human resource experts will be now able to focus on the core areas, which cannot be done by any technology. AI can help build a high-performance human resource team and as a result a high-performance workforce.

About the Author

Mohua Sengupta is the EVP & Global Head at Services at 3i Infotech Ltd. More details about her can be found here

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Furthering their shared commitment to democratize access to AI, NITI Aayog and Microsoft India announced an agreement to leverage the benefits of AI for the growth of the nation. As part of the agreement, Microsoft India will support NITI Aayog by combining the cloud, AI, research and its vertical expertise for new initiatives and solutions across several core areas including agriculture and healthcare and the environment. Microsoft will also accelerate the use of AI for the development and adoption of local language computing, in addition to building capacity for AI among the workforce through education.

Announcing the agreement, Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO – NITI Aayog said

For our country, the power of Artificial Intelligence needs to be brought to bear in sectors like healthcare, education, environment and agriculture, which are important for the inclusive development of India. Simultaneously, we should utilize the power of AI to build understanding of the different regional languages prevalent in India under the Hon’ble PM’s call of “Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat”. This partnership will help us move beyond pilots and understand how to scale AI implementation in sectors characterized by a preponderance of public goods.

Speaking on the association, Anant Maheshwari, President – Microsoft India said

We are very proud to support NITI Aayog in driving the next leg of India’s transformational journey. AI holds the power to reinvent how we solve societal challenges for socio-economic advancement and support the country’s growth. Microsoft is constantly pushing the boundaries of what technology can do for people and for the world. This collaboration reiterates our efforts to empower every person and organization to do more through technology.

Anna Roy, Adviser, Niti Aayog; Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO – NITI Aayog; Anant Maheshwari, President – Microsoft India

Under the agreement, Microsoft will provide NITI Aayog the following advanced AI-based solutions to address challenges in agriculture and healthcare

  • Farm advisory services – The company will develop farm advisory services to help increase crop yield, pest detection and pest incident predictions as part of projects across locations identified by NITI Aayog. This will involve applying data science, remote sensing and image processing apps to crop maps, yield data and weather data collected over five years. The pest risk detection model will provide information five days in advance of expected attacks.
  • Healthcare screening models at Primary Health Centers – Microsoft will build AI assisted models for Diabetic Retinopathy screening models to support early risk detection, risk assessment and timely medical intervention. These models will be deployed as Proof of Concept [POCs] across Primary Health Centers identified by NITI Aayog. Microsoft will also support NITI Aayog in preparing a blueprint for AI-led Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Programs, which the Central and State Governments can incorporate into their relevant health screening & programs.

The collaboration will also cover the following areas

  • Building capacity for AI through education – Recognizing the fact that proliferation of AI in India would require a focused approach towards capacity building within the ecosystem, the agreement will aim at building capacity among youth. Microsoft will leverage content from the Microsoft India AI Professional Certificate program for developers, academic institutions and students across the country to help skill/re-skill them in the areas of AI and data sciences.

Additionally, Microsoft will promote STEM education in the areas of AI studies and Data sciences for young women in institutes identified by NITI Aayog. This will include a fellowship for select women candidates pursuing post-graduate courses in data sciences and AI, as well as a foundation level AI and data sciences course for young women graduates.

  • Societal Impact Projects – Microsoft Research India [MSRI] will set up a Microsoft – NITI Aayog Problem to Solution Incubation Test Bed within its premises in Bengaluru to develop AI driven solutions for societal problems mutually identified with NITI Aayog.
  • Environment – Microsoft will collaborate with NITI Aayog to identify potential projects on environmental challenges that could be eligible for grants under its worldwide AI for Earth program. If selected, these projects would be eligible for benefits including access to Microsoft Azure and AI computing resources; in-depth education and technology training on these tools and additional support as the projects grow and mature.
  • Natural Language Processing – In keeping with its commitment to lower language barriers to technology, Microsoft will mentor relevant stakeholders to use Natural Language Processing tools in Indic languages in a commercially viable manner.

AI and Microsoft

Microsoft’s goal is to make AI accessible and valuable to every individual and organization, amplifying human ingenuity with intelligent technology. Microsoft is infusing intelligence across all its products and services to extend individuals’ and organizations’ capabilities and make them more productive; providing a powerful platform of AI services and tools that makes innovation by developers and partners faster and more accessible; and helping transform business by enabling breakthroughs to current approaches and entirely new scenarios that leverage the power of intelligent technology.

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Microsoft India and SRL Diagnostics announced their partnership to expand the AI Network for Healthcare to pathology. This collaboration will help improve the quality of digital pathology for population screening by bringing together Microsoft’s Azure and AI innovations along with SRL’s world-class expertise in the study of cells and tissues [histology]. With this addition, Microsoft’s AI Network for Healthcare has now expanded to include pathology along with eye-care and cardiology, thus representing the continued efforts made by the organization to democratize healthcare.

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Growing prevalence of chronic diseases such as cancer is one of the key factors for the need for pathology to transform. Digital pathology is increasingly being preferred as it has helped bring improvement in service delivery, patient safety and communications while reducing errors and lowering costs. Histopathology is a specialized form of pathology for analyzing tissue biopsies [mounted on glass slides] and is used for detecting numerous diseases. Histopathologists require highly efficient tools to assist in diagnosis, thus augmenting the demand for automated and innovative implementation of cloud and AI.

Commenting on the partnership Anil Bhansali, Managing Director, Microsoft India [R&D] Private Limited, said,

Microsoft is committed to empower both the healthcare industry and patients by using AI to democratize healthcare for all. Our partnership with SRL Diagnostics will assist pathologists by equipping them with technology that will augment their capability. This is the third area where we have expanded our AI Network for Healthcare after eye-care and cardiology. We will continue to look for other areas where we can deploy technology to make healthcare more accessible.

Commenting on the partnership Arindam Haldar, Chief Executive Officer, SRL Diagnostics said

In line with SRL’s vision to help people on their path to better health, we are delighted to be partnering with Microsoft to co-create solutions and generate both social and business value. Diagnosis is the first step to disease management, as without accurate identification of the cause there is no possibility of a precise treatment.

With the growing number of samples of cancer, as well as of other diseases, there’s a need to quickly and accurately analyze the samples to help doctors arrive at a diagnosis faster. The AI platform that Microsoft will build in collaboration with SRL is expected to create a software environment infused with millions of data points and knowledge gained from SRL’s expert laboratory professionals.

Microsoft AI Network for Healthcare aims to maximize the ability of AI and cloud computing to accelerate innovation in the healthcare industry and improve the lives of people around the world. By working side-by-side with the healthcare industry’s pioneering players, Microsoft is bringing its capabilities and applying AI to devices for early detection of diabetic retinopathy to prevent blindness. Microsoft has also recently launched an AI-powered Cardiovascular Disease Risk Score API for Indian population.

As the largest diagnostic laboratory in the country, SRL Diagnostics has a repository of more than a million histopathology slides which would be used for training an AI algorithm. By increasing efficiency in the initial steps in a biopsy tissue analysis through artificial neural networks, it will be possible for a histopathology laboratory to cut down on inadvertent manual errors and process more samples in a day with higher level of accuracy.

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Microsoft announced grants to seven recipients from India under AI for Earth, its worldwide program aimed at empowering people and organizations to solve global environmental challenges through the power of AI. These grantees will receive access to Microsoft Azure and AI computing resources; in-depth education and technology trainings on these tools and additional support as the projects grow and mature. India now has the third largest concentration of AI for Earth grantees, following the United States and Canada – with the aim of accelerating innovation and building sustainable game changing solutions built on AI technologies and cloud computing.

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Commenting on the program, Lucas Joppa, Chief Environmental Officer, Microsoft Corporation and Lead for Microsoft AI for Earth, said

In every country around the world, we are facing unprecedented environmental challenges, impacting the ability to access water, grow healthy crops and protect biodiversity. At Microsoft, we’ve found that one thing was accelerating as quickly as the degradation of our planet’s natural resources, and that is technology. Through AI for Earth, we’re making sure that innovative environmental researchers, like the seven here in India, are empowered with Microsoft’s AI in the pursuit of creating a more sustainable future for us all.

The grantees from India, chosen based on their efforts to conserve, protect and rebuild the environment with AI, are

Agriculture

India Institute of Technology – together with the Technical University of Munich,the India Institute of Technology is designing a low-cost tool for monitoring plant health in resource-limited regions. Used directly in the field by farmers, the device will automate the process of disease diagnosis through image analysis on the Azure platform.

International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics [ICRISAT], Hyderabad – ICRISAT is using AI, cognitive services, and cloud computing to enhance pest forecasting and prediction models and farm advisory services to enable sustainable agriculture production in developing parts of the world.

Biodiversity

Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment [ATREE], Bengaluru – ATREE is developing an AI-enabled tool to document and quantitatively assess the abundant habitats and rich biological resources of North-East India.

Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi – is working on an intelligent tool for identifying and locating monkeys in human habitats, helping researchers implement more effective population control.

Climate Change

Symbiosis Institute of Technology [Smart Meter Data Analytics], Pune – is using both smart meter and socio-economic data to develop an AI-enabled prototype for smart meter data analytics—helping improve energy management for utilities and consumers.

Water

India Institute of Science, Bangalore – is developing a scalable solution using data analytics and machine learning under its Eqwater project to ensure equitable water distribution in India’s large cities.

Symbiosis Institute of Technology, Pune – is developing Smart Environment Information and Management System [SEIMANS] to monitor and predict water, air and soil conditions for a variety of smart city applications, such as utilities and environmental monitoring.

According to Keshav Dhakad, Group Head and Assistant General Counsel – CELA, Microsoft India

At Microsoft, we believe AI for Earth will be a force multiplier for groups and individuals like these who are creating solutions for a more sustainable future for us all. Today’s announcement represents an expansion of Microsoft’s commitment to and investment in democratizing AI and advancing sustainability in the country. We congratulate the recipients and are excited by the potential for advances in AI and sustainability that will benefit India and the world.

AI for Earth is a $50 million, 5-year commitment from Microsoft to put AI at work for the future of the planet. Launched in July 2017, its focus areas are climate change, agriculture, biodiversity and water. In just a year, AI for Earth has grown from 20 grantees to 147 from across more than 40 countries, with $1.1M of Azure credits awarded to date.

To find out more about Microsoft’s AI for Earth initiative and how you can be a part of it, visit Microsoft AI for Earth

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As part of Microsoft’s AI Network for Healthcare initiative, Microsoft India and Apollo Hospitals announced the launch of the first ever AI-powered Cardiovascular Disease Risk Score API, designed specifically to predict the risk of Cardiovascular Disease [CVD] in the Indian population. Doctors across the Apollo network of hospitals can now leverage this AI-powered API to predict risk of CVD and drive preventive cardiac care across the country.

According to the National Family Health survey by the Union Health Ministry, one in every eight Indians suffers from high blood pressure. Despite the enormous number of cases, doctors in India are unable to identify the probability of cardiovascular disease, while there are various CVD risk models available worldwide, these do not cater specifically for the Indian population. 

Built on Microsoft Azure, this API aims to determine a more accurate CVD risk score for the Indian population. It has been developed using a combination of applied AI and clinical expertise on a large sample of retrospective data on health checks and coronary events. The scoring considers risk contributors including lifestyle attributes such as diet, tobacco & smoking preferences and physical activity as well as psychological stress & anxiety as reflected via rate of respiration, hypertension and systolic & diastolic blood pressure. The score categorizes risk into high, moderate and minimal and also provides insights on the top modifiable risk contributors, thereby assisting physicians to consult patients in a more holistic way, while providing insights to patients for lifestyle modification and timely interventions.

Commenting on the initiative, Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals said

This partnership is part of our continuing endeavour to design new tools and equip our doctors in the fight against non-communicable diseases. The amalgamation of artificial intelligence and machine learning with the global expertise of our doctors will help prevent heart disease, save lives and ensure those with heart disease can make informed choices on their health. We are confident that the combined power of Apollo and Microsoft can make a meaningful impact to stem the rise of heart disease in India.

Anil Bhansali, Managing Director, Microsoft India (R&D) Private Limited, said

We believe in the impact technology can have, specifically how Microsoft AI, Azure and collaboration with our partners like Apollo, can come together and transform the healthcare sector. This heart risk score for Indian populace is a true example of how precision healthcare can accelerate prevention of cardio vascular disease and reduce disease burden.

The risk score model continues to be validated across multiple private and public health systems. Apollo and Microsoft are also engaging global consortium partners to calibrate and scale this intelligent system for other population groups. 

Microsoft AI Network for Healthcare aims to maximize the ability of artificial intelligence and cloud computing to accelerate innovation in the healthcare industry and improve the lives of people around the world. Introduction of this intelligent system in partnership with Apollo Hospitals is a huge step in this journey.

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The Economist Intelligence Unit [EIU] has published the results of a Microsoft-sponsored study entitled, Intelligent Economies: AI’s Transformation of Industries and Society. The study draws on a survey of more than 400 senior executives working in various industries, including financial services, healthcare and life sciences, manufacturing, retail and the public sector.

The survey was conducted in eight markets: France, Germany, Mexico, Poland, South Africa, Thailand, the UK and the US. Essentially, the study explores the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence [AI] on markets and societies across the developed and developing worlds.

As AI becomes increasingly embedded in the society, it will not only change the businesses that adopt it but will also have significant economic, social and civic effects on citizens and consumers. National and regional economies will become more effective in the way they produce and distribute goods and services. But such transformations will also introduce new challenges such as ethical or security concerns as well as cost and execution risk. This study is aimed at helping senior business and public-sector leaders understand the significant social potential of AI across industries and countries, with special attention devoted to the differences between advanced and emerging markets. In particular, Intelligent economies explores to what extent corporate and government decision-makers believe AI will help meet their toughest challenges, including growth, productivity, innovation and job creation.

Overall, AI is on course to transform the global economy – and organizations around the world have high hopes for its potential. As per the report, in 2017 the global economy recorded its best performance in six years and looks set for sustained growth in 2018. The Economist Intelligence Unit expects global growth of 3.8%, surpassing 2017’s growth rate of 3.7% and well above 2016’s 3.2%.

Key findings of the ‘Intelligent Economies – AI’s Transformation of Industries and Society‘ study

  • Businesses expect AI to have a positive impact on growth [90%], productivity [86%], innovation [84%] and job creation [69%] in their country and industry
  • Nine out of ten executives from around the world [94%] describe AI as important to solving their organizations’ strategic challenges
  • More than one in four [27%] say their organizations have already incorporated AI into key processes and services, while another 46% have one or more AI pilot projects under way
  • Despite often-expressed concerns about job displacement, respondents were broadly optimistic that AI will create new roles. Overall, nearly six out of ten [59%] believe that AI will increase wages and 56% actually see a boost to the employment rate in their country or industry
  • Surprisingly, developing economies are significantly more bullish about the positive effects of AI, with 83% of them expecting an increase, compared with just six out of ten respondents in advanced economies
  • Financial services respondents report particularly high levels of virtual assistant adoption [48%], but they’re also using predictive analytics [38%] and machine learning [36%]. The public sector, meanwhile, has particularly high levels of machine learning adoption [34%].

For more information, please refer to the link here.