President Droupadi Murmu said India is not only an important part of the 4th Industrial Revolution but is also emerging as a global hub of new technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, Internet of Things and blockchain.

“Our economy, which was at 11th position a decade ago, is today the 5th largest economy and is on its way to becoming the 3rd largest economy by the year 2030. India is a progressive and democratic nation and our dream is that India should become a developed country by the year 2047,” she said.

Addressing the 2nd convocation of Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) here on Tuesday, the President said change is the law of nature. We are witnessing the beginning of the 4th Industrial Revolution. Artificial Intelligence is proving to be an important tool to make human life easier and increase productivity. With its wide applications, AI and Machine Learning are touching almost all aspects of our lives. In all areas like healthcare, education, agriculture, smart cities, infrastructure, smart mobility and transportation, etc., AI and Machine Learning are presenting many opportunities to improve our efficiency and working capacity on a large scale.

She said today India has 5 Ds – Demand, Demography, Democracy, Desire and Dream. This 5Ds will be very beneficial in our journey of development. She stressed that it is responsibility of all students of the IIIT Lucknow to not only become a partner in this vision but also to give their best to fulfill it.

President Murmu said AI and other contemporary technological developments offer unlimited and unprecedented developmental and transformative possibilities. But it is necessary that the ethical dilemmas arising with AI use be resolved first. Be it the employment problem arising from automation, or the widening gap of economic inequality or the human bias that results from AI, we have to find creative solutions to every problem.

She said we also have to ensure that we give importance to ‘Emotional Intelligence’ along with ‘Artificial Intelligence’. We have to remember that AI should not be an end but a means whose purpose is to enhance the quality of human life.

She emphasised that every decision we take should benefit the person at the lowest rung.

The President was happy to note that IIIT Lucknow has been granted the status of Institute of National Importance. She said this status is an indicator of this institution’s ability, capability, and efficiency. She highlighted that with this status, the country and the society expect from them that they will not only live up to the highest standards in the field of education but will also establish such dimensions of excellence which will be benchmarks in themselves.

She said the idea of acquiring knowledge in regional languages is a positive step. This step will prove to be a big step in removing the obstacles in knowledge enhancement due to linguistic limitations. The establishment of Incubation Center C.R.E.A.T.E. is a commendable step to make research and development accessible to the society by giving it an operational and tangible form.