Tanuj Bhojwani is a full-fledged tech entrepreneur who has greatly contributed to the AI landscape in India. After a failed drone startup, he ventured into uncharted territory with Nandan Nilekani’s inspiring vision, moving on to DPI. It was at this time that Bhojwani joined the EkStep Foundation, becoming the first head of People+ai.
People+ai is a nonprofit organization providing access to AI for all in India. The mission is to find, build, and scale AI capabilities for more than a billion people. The strategy focuses on creating population-scale AI solutions by fostering partnerships, building infrastructure, and creating supportive communities.
Key Objectives Of People+ai
The objectives of the non-profit organization include:
- Finding Population-Scale Use Cases: Real-life application of AI to address specific issues in India.
- Building Infrastructure: Developing necessary infrastructure, like data centers and cloud platforms, to support AI applications.
- Building Communities: Bringing together AI researchers, developers, and policymakers.
- Cheerleading And storytelling: Public awareness and education about AI’s potential.
Projects And Initiatives
Here are some of the projects and initiatives by the NGO:
- Jan Ki Baat: It is an AI chatbot that is designed to engage citizens in efforts to aggregate citizens’ feedback on schemes and services provided by the government from all cities and town centers.
- Open Cloud Compute (OCC): A platform to offer cloud computing resources that are cheap and accessible, along with microdata centers.
- Green Building Certifications: AI automated the whole process of green building certifications.
- Mental Health Support: An AI-based solution for providing mental health care.
The Role Of Micro Data Centers
People+ai now supports the creation of microdata centers, bringing AI closer to the user, which is generally in remote places. The microdata centers are so small and power-efficient that they can be driven by renewable sources, bringing on-demand computing for AI applications.
Jarvis Labs: Another company that has effectively used a microdata center is Jarvis Labs. Jarvis Labs offers cloud-based GPU computing services. This cloud-based service has brought the power of strong AI tools to researchers, developers, and businesses. Jarvis Labs has been very important in making AI infrastructure affordable and accessible.
People+ai plays a huge role in designing India’s AI future by putting forth population-scale solutions with collaboration. They make many endeavors through initiatives, such as Jan Ki Baat, Sthaan, and OCC, which engage people with AI and offer benefits to all. When India attains the AI transformation level, organizations like People+ai will play a crucial role in balancing India’s AI across the country.
