India’s wealthy cultural heritage faces an uphill battle towards the forces of time and neglect, and the by-products of human exercise. This displays not simply in our artwork types and constructions that are quick diminishing, but in addition the alarming fee of environmental degradation, which threatens India’s distinctive biodiversity and the fragile steadiness of its pure ecosystems.

The Mint All About AI | Tech4Good Awards 2024, sponsored by Salesforce, celebrated the impactful contributions made by Apicon Options and JK77 as they had been honoured with the Gold and Silver class awards respectively within the ‘Greatest Use of AI in Arts and Tradition’. Watch the webcast of the awards occasion beneath,

Leveraging AI to protect our Arts and Tradition

For a heritage-rich nation like ours, AI can revolutionise the humanities and tradition sector by streamlining processes and opening up room for innovation. As an illustration, AI can automate duties like grant administration for artisan clusters, releasing up assets for artistic endeavours.

The ‘Greatest Use of AI in Arts and Tradition’ class recognises some pathbreaking AI-led options which have simplified grant administration and helped protect the wealthy biodiversity of natural world that India is dwelling to.

Winner of the Gold class: Apicon Options

India provides a wealthy choice of conventional artwork types, that are gaining reputation not simply throughout the nation however abroad too. However, the artisan sector is very unorganised and

underdeveloped. So as to promote our arts and tradition, the federal government provides grants to the tune of ₹2-5 crore to construct artisan clusters below its SFURTI scheme. The outdated system requires guide knowledge entries, which might result in delays, inefficiencies, and restricted oversight.

This guide course of hindered efficient fund disbursement, making it difficult to handle funds for over 20,000 artisans who had been unfold throughout 55 clusters. Delays in assist and restricted capacity to successfully information artisans had been important challenges. To handle these points, a scalable resolution was urgently wanted to streamline operations and allow real-time reporting.

Figuring out this as an issue, Apicon Options automates grant administration for artisan clusters with an AI-powered platform, streamlining utility processes and fund disbursement.

“AI provided an environment friendly, scalable technique to automate the complicated, data-intensive processes of grant administration, reporting, and communication with 20,000+ artisans. By leveraging Pure Language Processing (NLP) and analytics, we may guarantee authorities officers have instantaneous, clear insights into every artisan cluster’s standing, bettering the responsiveness and decision-making. AI-driven automation additionally addressed guide errors, diminished declare processing from weeks to minutes, and launched transparency and accountability, making certain equitable and well timed assist for artisans,” mentioned Durgesh Satyam, Founder and Chief Govt Officer (CEO), Apicon Options Personal Restricted.

The AI-driven platform uniquely integrates finance administration, Pure Language Analytics, and grant processing automation right into a single system tailor-made to the handloom and handicraft sector. “Scalable throughout varied artisan clusters and adaptable to different cultural sectors, this resolution minimises human intervention, enhances knowledge accuracy, and empowers officers with instantaneous insights. This innovation transforms conventional grant administration, setting a benchmark for utilizing AI in government-backed cultural initiatives, and may broaden to profit different artisan sectors and non-profit initiatives globally,” he additional mentioned.

Winner of the Silver class: JK77

This award class noticed a singular entry from JK77, a student-led organisation, which makes use of AI to reinforce environmental conservation via a system that forestalls people from exploring nature at the price of the pure ecosystem of the area. Their resolution is focussed on the Lakshadweep Islands, which stand at a excessive threat attributable to international warming, going through extreme coastal erosion and land loss.

“Bigger islands like Minicoy and Kavaratti may lose as much as 60 per cent of their coastal areas. Conservationists warn that elevated tourism could additional hurt these already susceptible ecosystems, inflicting locals to bear the implications. Rising ocean temperatures, turbulent seas, and erosion have already led to the submergence of Parali 1. With out intervention, human interference may endanger the islands’ distinctive reefs, lagoons, seashores, and sand dunes,” mentioned Janisha Hota, Co-owner of JK77.

The organisation has created a digital illustration of the Lakshadweep Islands utilizing AI. This has minimised the environmental affect whereas selling consciousness and appreciation of the area.

“By utilizing AI-driven modelling and immersive VR, we may simulate the islands’ landscapes, reefs, and biodiversity with excessive realism, providing a sustainable different to bodily tourism. This strategy not solely prevents ecological hurt but in addition educates customers about conservation, permitting them to expertise Lakshadweep’s magnificence responsibly. AI enabled us to mix expertise with cultural preservation, advancing ecotourism via a digital platform,” he added.

The AI resolution uniquely combines high-resolution VR with real-time ecological knowledge, permitting customers to discover a hyper-realistic mannequin of Lakshadweep that evolves with environmental adjustments, corresponding to rising sea ranges or coral well being updates. “Scalable throughout various ecosystems, this AI-driven strategy can lengthen to different delicate places, providing immersive, low-impact tourism options. By demonstrating AI’s potential for conservation-focused tourism, our venture units a brand new customary in ecotourism, inspiring the trade to undertake expertise that balances exploration with preservation,” mentioned Hota.

Concerning the Salesforce All About AI | Tech4Good2024 Awards

TheMint All About AI | Tech4Good Awards 2024, sponsored by Salesforce,has set a benchmark for recognising how AI might be harnessed as a pressure for good, from combating local weather change to democratising entry to schooling and healthcare. This initiative aligns with the rising want for accountable and moral AI options prioritising societal well-being.

The awards showcased the transformative energy of synthetic intelligence in addressing a few of society’s most urgent challenges. With over 100 aggressive entriesvying for recognition, the occasion highlighted the breadth of revolutionary AI purposes throughout varied sectors.

The awards night time was attended by a prestigious gathering of 160 trade leaders, technologists, and alter makers on the Jio World Centre in Mumbai. Moreover, the occasion’s affect prolonged globally, with 12000 contributors becoming a member of through livestream, demonstrating the widespread curiosity in AI-driven options for societal good.

This unimaginable turnout underscores the relevance of AI in driving sustainable progress and the eagerness of audiences worldwide to rejoice and study from these groundbreaking efforts.