Merging of AI, life sciences vital for progress: Expert
Convergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and life sciences has become an imperative necessity as these are poised to become the harbingers of future engineering disciplines that will profoundly impact human life in general and academic disciplines in particular, says an internationally acclaimed expert in super -computing.
“Engineering and life sciences must merge together and we may come out with new entities that are going to create a huge impact in life,” said Padma Bhushan Dr Vijay Bhatkar, while delivering the keynote address at the three-day 16th Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) Scientific Advisory Council (SAC) meeting at Kollam on Thursday.
Offering his insights on the topic ‘Use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Healthcare’, Dr Bhatkar, who is Chancellor of Nalanda University, said the progress of RGCB is not possible without getting exposed to the new emerging disciplines of AI and Machine Learning (ML).
“While learning it, you are not only getting exposed to this, you are actually driving the engineering discipline in many ways. Today, there is no discipline that is not touched by AI. It has emerged so profoundly that it has made a deep impact on all academic disciplines,” stressed Dr Bhatkar, who enjoys the reputation of being the architect of India’s initiative in supercomputing.
Noting that after Class 12, the artificial separation across all disciplines is a serious shortcoming in the existing education system, Dr Bhatkar said the new National Education Policy argues for liberal education, which is akin to the education system that prevailed in the ancient Nalanda University.
“Several disciplines were taught in a liberal manner in Nalanda by teachers and seers. That education system was admired and acclaimed by many. We will have liberal education in all our universities. Still, I don’t know how it is going to be implemented, but it is our responsibility to do that,” he said.
Dr Bhatkar, a renowned computer scientist, IT leader, and educationist, said the distinct choice between engineering and life sciences/medical sciences completely separates one’s exposure to biology. Similarly, the biology and life sciences graduates are not exposed to engineering in a serious way.
The Padma awardee added that RGCB must also look into the emerging disciplines like emotional intelligence and its impact.
In his welcome address, RGCB Director Prof Chandrabhas Narayana said the institution has a method of strengthening its SAC by inviting experts who would be able to contribute extensively to its scientific endeavours.
Several eminent scientists attended the programme both online and offline
