MAKING "AI" (ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE) UNDERSTANDABLE

AI or Artificial Intelligence is a relatively new tech term in India. Not many are clear about it or how it differs from other tech terms in the same domain - Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Analytics and so on. We will be increasingly seeing and using AI powered machines/gadgets in India in the near future. For example, Google Maps, an app so widely used by us, uses AI. Robotics is another field that is AI intensive.  Home robots are becoming more robust, trustworthy and affordable and as a result are entering more homes. This trend is true of India too. Sure, Indian  robots have limited intelligence at this time but they are getting smarter and more capable by the day. At ₹20,000/= (1667 per month) Indian robots capable of sweeping and mopping floors are already threatening to overtake the maid-servant dominated sweeping and swabbing job field at home. 

So let's learn what this term really means - and, what it doesn't!

AI refers to the ability of a machine to automatically and continuously learn about/ from its environment based on the amount of  "intelligence" pre-programmed into it. And based on its accumulated "knowledge" at any point in time, to perform tasks that are useful to its owner. 

Let me explain with the help of a sufficiently intelligent AI device - say, a robot that's designed to talk to us, learn about us and perform assistant tasks based on our preferences. Let's say his name MyNao. We buy him from some store and bring him home. He is powered-on and fully 'alive'. When MyNao 'sees' you for the first time, you are a stranger. So, he might take your photo and store it in his internal memory. With some data inside, MyNao is curious to learn more about you, so he might ask 'Who are you?'. If you reply 'I'm Amit', he will assign the name 'Amit' to your pic. Now, MyNao has captured a photo and the name of its owner viz. 'Amit', so the next time it 'sees' you, he might say 'Hi, Amit!' (because he can 'recognize' you now). MyNao has been pre-programmed to interact with human beings and 'knows' that you are one. So the next time through he might ask (assuming that he cannot make out male from female by sight) 'What is your sex? Male or Female?'. You tell him 'Male'.  He will add this detail to the data he has about you. Then referring to his in-built knowledge about men, he'll get ready to ask you tens and hundreds of questions about men viz.  'What do you do for a living?', 'What is your ethnicity?', 'Are you married?', 'What's your wife's name?', 'Do you have any kids?' and so on. Note that when he finds something new about you, he adds that to his self-learned 'knowledge' (about you) and gets ready to ask a whole new set of questions in his next learning cycle. This he does continuously ad infinitum. 

The above is one of the most important capabilities of AI i.e. a self-learning "engine" that learns more and more about the objects it is designed to interact with over time. 

Another important capability of AI is to select intelligently from a set of alternatives and perform the one that is of greatest value to its owner. So, if MyNao had been residing in Amit's house for sufficiently long, like an expert,  he would know everything about Amit. What time he wakes up, how long it takes for him to get ready and have breakfast, when he leaves for work, names of his family members, pets, what job he does, when he returns home, his moods, how he likes to be entertained and so on. Being so knowledgeable about Amit, on a day when he returns home late, tired and harassed, knowing his entertainment preferences he might ask 'Tired, Amit? Can I play an AR Rahman hit for you? Or some of Kishore Kumar's top favourites?'. 

So that's AI in a nutshell - a self-learning machine that builds up knowledge about its environment over time and performs useful tasks intelligently based on that knowledge.

Bangalore Baptist Hospital - A Bangalore Hospital with a difference

Bangalore Baptist Hospital (BBH in short) is a hospital with certain unique character traits that sets it apart from other hospitals in Bangalore. Don't get me wrong, I'm not, by any chance trying to say that it as a flawless, model hospital for other hospitals to follow. Admittedly it has it's share of faults and recently I personally gave them a bit of the stick as a Local Guide for Google Maps in Bangalore after discovering some. You can view the lashing given in my review in Maps here -> my BBH review . However, if fault-tolerant pursuit of perfection (in which one is continuously learning from and correcting one's faults) is an admirable practical goal, then you may like to read on and know more about BBH.

Signboard displaying milestones crossed during 45 years of BBH

Modern F&B Cafeteria

Age Well Clinic (for seniors)

BBH is a Christian missionary hospital that has recently completed 45 years of existence. Being a hospital that seeks to showcase God at work in healing & healthcare, it has a unique atmosphere when compared to other hospitals in the city that are "for profit". Needless to say, under constant pressure from managements to use all possible methods to generate profits, doctors in the majority of "for profit" hospitals are guilty of subjecting patients to several unnecessary tests and investigations, merely to inflate bills. Sadly, the tacit profit motive makes quite a number of these doctors neglect true patient-care issues, particularly if they are not well-to-do, resulting in poor healthcare and in quite some cases avoidable health complications and even death. I also believe that over time, aligning with the profit motive makes doctors work less harder and makes them greedy for higher pay and benefits. 

Charitable/ mission hospitals, on the other hand, by freeing doctors of such money-linked evils help them truly focus on serious patient-care. You have doctors/ medical staff who are continuously learning, working hard, keen on professional excellence, healing and cure and happy overall. It also makes a world of difference from a patient's point of view i.e. care and satisfaction that results from transparency about the treatment being given, no waste of time and money on useless investigations and finally, the lowest bills for a given level of quality of medical care. That's exactly the uniqueness of BBH (and other mission hospitals in Bangalore) that I'm talking about.

Quality of Medical care at BBH is usually above average and in quite some cases, very good to excellent. However, I had some serious complaints when I lived in the hospital as an in-patient's attender recently (8-11 Feb, 2018). For example, basic amenities in wards/ beds that are not considered expensive (i.e. costing not more than ₹5000/= per day) were miserably inadequate (till 11-Feb-2018) at least - no convenient storage space, no wall mirrors, no clothes hooks on walls etc. Quality/ accuracy of medical care provided by one Department (Orthopaedics) was just above average. Ward security was lax. Coordination between medical and non-medical Departments was poor and so on. 

When I confronted the hospital's senior management with the above complaints, I expected the usual stiff resistance, denials, insincere explanations & promises. Consequently, I was amazed when I was received positively! The management did not deny their just shortcomings but agreed to investigate sincerely and correct themselves suitably.

The honest, sporting attitude of the management completely reversed my feelings of animosity! It bowled me over because it was the kind of response that I was least expecting that I actually got !! And that too, from the kind of medical big-wigs that head BBH's senior management !!!

Just as it is true in real life that you simply can't help loving a sporting co-worker whom you accuse often yet responds positively, not getting hostile when you accuse but responding in a fair&responsible manner, I have started becoming friendly with BBH again. Although I yet need to see what corrective measures have been put in place in response to my complaints, I have deep appreciation and praise for the kind of understanding and immediate responsiveness I got from BBH's management.

To conclude, I would highly recommend BBH to you for medical care in Bangalore(*). It is unique in that: 

• You get quality medical care at the lowest (comparable) cost in Bangalore. 
• BBH is both NABH & NABL accredited. 
• They have all medical departments. 
• All the latest high-tech medical gadgets. 
• Doctors in general are excellent and not being burdened with having to produce profits for paychecks, genuinely give you the kind of care you deserve. 
• Medical staff who genuinely care for you
• Being partly an academic institution for doctors, nurses and other medical staff, it can be expected to be at par on the healthcare learning curve, so that one can expect to receive the very latest in medical treatment available in India at any point of time.
• You won't have to waste time and money on useless investigations and tests - that means the shortest stay at the hospital and and a low, honest bill. 
• If you feel strongly about anything (like I did) you can complain to a mature, responsive management and expect to get your complaint redressed!

HICU (High Intensity Care Unit)

Main Hospital Pharmacy

ELS & Utility Shops

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(*) - As there are several other mission hospitals in the city (notably Chinmaya Mission Hospital, Vydehi Hospital etc.), surely, I would have been able to write a better review after evaluating a representative sample of all mission hospitals in the city and making an unbiased comparison. If I have time and opportunity, I will do so sometime in future. As on date (23-Feb-2018), apart from BBH, I have only used Vydehi Hospital, Whitefield and the exposure I have is too little to use for purposes of an evaluation, so a comprehensive review (BBH & other mission hospitals) won't be possible until sometime later.

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Communication DEALL: A CENTER FOR CHILDREN SUFFERING FROM AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS (ASD)

Is your child 18 months (or older) and still not speaking? Irritable, throwing tantrums all around? Or is he/she already diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD) like Pervasive Developmental Disorder(PDD), Specific Language Impairment (SLI) or Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia (DVD) etc. and being refused admission in your nearby school? Then you surely need help and quite happily, if you live in Bangalore, its available and at a place not too far from where you live.

So, here's introducing Communication DEALL, Bangalore (or comDEALL in brief).

Map of commDEALL Trust, Bangalore

commDEALL Trust is located in HRBR Layout, Kalyan Nagar, Bangalore 560043 (use the map above to get directions to the Center). The Center consists of a clinic, a school that teaches Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affected children using comDEALL & an administrative office.

Although you might have felt grieved when your local school turned down your kid's admission and didn't give you adequate reasons for acting that way, a hard fact we have to accept is that children suffering from Autism Spectrum Disorders are simply unable to learn like normal kids - the methodology used in normal schools is unsuitable to them.  If admitted, they would soon lag behind their peers. His/ her inability to keep abreast with peers may also give your kid a kind of "inadequacy complex" that may hurt and cause him/ her to withdraw into a world of his/ her own. If you persist,  even despite your extra coaching at home, there's little chance that you will see success! Consequently  your child is likely to become a "problem kid" to your school after a while. Ordinary schools apparently don't know the underlying facts but since they know that things won't work, they politely say "sorry" and end up hurting you in the process.

comDEALL  (short for Communication Developmental Eclectic Approach to Language Learning) is exactly what your autistic kid needs to enter school. Developed by world renown Indian Speech-Language Pathologist Dr.Pratibha Karanth, it is a specialized intervention program, used to help children suffering from Autism Spectrum Disorders to learn languages. Dr. Pratibha is Bangalore based and has over 40 years experience in the field of speech & hearing impairment intervention/ care. 

comDEALL was launched in 2000 and has been highly successful in language learning of thousands of autistic children in India. Due to its great success, it is now available in Gujrat, UP, Puducherry, Delhi, Jharkhand, Assam, Mizoram, West Bengal and many other Indian states also. 

At the present time, comDEALL wants YOU to participate in its nationwide expansion plans. So if you represent a school or are a teacher interested in teaching autistic kids, please contact the comDEALL Trust that invites affiliations from teachers & educational institutions in India. 

The Bangalore clinic works Monday thru Friday, from 9am to 5:30pm and you can call 94803-34809 to take an appointment.

So don't delay, reach out to comDEALL today and take the help that's available, TODAY!

HEY THERE! I'M ON GOOGLE MAPS ...

I'm on Google Maps as a 'Local Guide' from Bangalore, India. Please help yourself to my rather modest contributions on Maps -> Click here to view my contributions to date. 

Thanks.

 

ELECTRONIC WASTE : THE BIGGEST CURSE OF THE HI-TECH AGE - PART 3 (IN-DEPTH)

This Post is for those who want to go in-depth into e-waste. It is the third and final in a three part series on e-waste. 

What is a detailed list of electrical/ electronic gadgets found in e-waste? How much is plastic? How much is metal ? What are the costly metals found in e-waste? What are the hazardous components? etc. I am deeply indebted to Swiss State for Economic Affairs (SECO) and Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) for the data presented. 

Why is the rate of growth of e-waste explosive?

e-waste is growing rapidly all over the world. Even in India, which lags behind developed countries, the current rate is around 2,00,000 Metric Tonnes (MT) per year. Why is this so? 

The answer is clearly the blazing growth of technology. Whenever Intel Corp. (the world's No.1 computer chip-maker) releases a new processor OR Microsoft Corp. (the leader in PC manufacture) comes out with a new version of Windows, users quickly get rid of their computers (desktops, laptops & handhelds) and switch to the latest offerings for a number of reasons - availability of apps that run only on the latest products, enhanced performance/ speed, entirely new features/ capabilities, peer pressure (especially among young people) to own the latest and coolest gadgets and so on. Often times, the computers trashed are still good for use for some more time but they fail to attract customers who are looking to use them as personal gadgets on a permanent basis.

This is now turning true of mobile phones also.

GLOSSARY

ABS	Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene
CRT	Cathode Ray Tube. CRTs are found in old TVs and computer monitors
EMPA	Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology
PCB	Printed Circuit Board
RoHS	Restrictions of Hazardous Substances. RoHS is the regulatory framework governing e-waste disposal in the European Union (EU). It is also known as 'Lead-Free'.
SteP	"Solving the e-waste Problem" - an initiative of UNEP & UNU to solve the global e-waste problem.
UNEP	United Nations Environment Programme. Website: http://unep.org/.
UNU	United Nations University. Website: http://unu.edu/.
WEEE	Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. This term is a synonym for e-waste and is used primarily in the European Union (EU) instead of the term 'e-waste'.

Typical weights of electronic gadgets found in e-waste are displayed in Charts 1 & 2 below.

Chart 1

 

Chart 2

  

What will you get if you tear down your desktop PC and then analyze each part in detail? Look at the charts below to find out! The average weight of a desktop is 9.9 Kg. If we round it up to 10 Kg, it's easy to do the math and find out - 2.5 Kg of Silica (Si), 2.3 Kg of Plastics, 2 Kg of Iron(Fe), 1.4 Kg of Aluminum (Al), 0.7 Kg of Copper (Cu), 0.6 Kg of Lead (Pb), 0.2 Kg  of Zinc (Zn) ... and 30 more.  

Chart 3

                                                   Chart 4

The e-waste world map

So far we had focused on the e-waste problem in India only. e-waste is first a global problem. India is following developed nations, who have been faced with the problem earlier. To view the statistics/ info of the e-waste problem at any given world location, click on the globe below. You will be taken to SteP's world map page in a new (window/ tab). Click the country on the world map that you wish to get e-waste info about and you are done!

Credit: VectorTemplates.com 

What does recycling of e-waste offer?

The component analyses of e-waste (see pie charts above) can be regrouped by source into three main categories:


1.  Metals
2. Glass &
3. Plastics

Metals

This group is further sub-divided into the groups: Ferrous (e.g. Iron & Steel) and non-Ferrous (Copper, Tin, Mercury etc.). Another classification that goes by money value divides metals in e-waste to Base Metals(Lead, Tin etc.) & Precious Metals(e.g. Gold, Silver, Platinum). Yet another classification groups metals into the relative quantity present. This classification divides metals in e-waste into Large (i.e. present in large quantities), Small & Trace. 

Metals are 100% recyclable and once recycled, can be used for all usual purposes just like new metal on the market.

Glass

A significant proportion of glass in e-waste comes from old TV screens & computer Cathode-Ray-Tube (CRT) monitors. Lead in the CRTs bond strongly to the glass and cannot be easily separated. Hence the name 'Leaded glass' for glass in CRT monitors. Leaded glass can only be processed into other leaded glass products (e.g. light fixture lenses, industrial panel glass, auto glass, plate glass, solar cell glass etc.) or reused in ceramics. On the other hand, non-leaded glass can be 100% recycled and reused any number of times. Due the limited application for recycled leaded glass, it is estimated that only 99% of all glass in e-waste is recycled. 
 
Plastics

Those plastics that are polypropylene, polystyrene, polycarbonate based or ABS plastic can be fully recycled. Recycled plastic from e-waste is used in applications such as packaging and textiles.

Recycling of Polyvinyl Chloride(PVC) parts is not economically feasible. It is possible but not easy to recycle plastics present in printed circuit boards (PCBs). Fiber-glass is non-recyclable.

IS THE IEEE FOR YOU?

What is the IEEE? And what is its relevance to you and me?

IEEE is an acronym for the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers . A global organization headquartered in New York, USA, it has (of the date of this Post) over 423,000 members in more than 160 countries and likes to call itself  "The world's largest technical professional organization for the advancement of technology".  More specifically,  it seeks to advance technology for the benefit of humans worldwide, starting with the most poor and under-served communities. 

If you look around a bit, you'll find that there's a bit of the IEEE already in each of our lives(*) .

 
IEEE is a global association of practicing engineers, technologists, researchers,  technology shapers, curators, teachers, students, prophets, visionaries, day-dreamers, hobbyists and so on in the domains of electrical and electronic engineering, telecommunications, computer science and allied disciplines (the collective name for all these fields is "electro-technology"). Put in one sentence, IEEE is a worldwide "manager" of electro-technology, whose borders keep expanding as electro-technology grows and its prevalence increases across the globe! 

By virtue of being "not-for-profit", IEEE has a distinctly academic flavour.  This means that it provides an atmosphere in which  an individual can network, collaborate,  learn and innovate freely with other electro-technology professionals worldwide without being  shackled by limitations of profit oriented organizations as well as geographical boundaries and distances. Another important outcome is that meeting deadlines is not governed by the fear of consequences, enabling one to contribute his/ her best and in more of a  self-paced manner.

Since there are no profit-imposed objectives, IEEE's activities are driven purely by the interests and of its members and society needs. As the best talent in electro-technology are IEEE members, quite naturally, the result is excellence!

IEEE has 39 "Societies". Each one specializes in a specific technology application domain. Examples are "Aerospace and Electronic Systems", "Computer", "Electron Devices", "Photonics", "Robotics and Automation", "Signal Processing" & "Vehicular Technology". The complete list is displayed below.
 

The 39 Societes of the IEEE

Can you spot your field(s) of interest in the list above?

One very popular misconception about the IEEE is that you need to become a paid member to participate/ benefit from it. ABSOLUTELY FALSE! All that you need to sign up, get involved, keep abreast, contribute, collaborate, use resources etc. is an EMAIL-ID, period!

Here are two IEEE entities that you can sign-up for FREE TODAY and enjoy a highly fruitful association with:

• IEEE Internet Initiative
• IEEE Collabratec

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(*) The proof is easy but I'll leave it to you to figure out. Almost certainly, you own a mobile phone or smart-phone, that offers Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) connectivity to the Internet. Wi-Fi protocols are governed by a well known family of standards code named 802.xxxx (where x = an alphabet or number e.g. 802.11). Look up the Internet and find who owns the 802.xxxx series of standards ... Without knowing it, there was a bit of the IEEE in your life all these years, isn't it?

ELECTRONIC WASTE : THE BIGGEST CURSE OF THE HI-TECH AGE - PART 2 (SOLUTIONS)

This Post is one of a three part series on the global e-waste problem. Part 1 is an introduction. It exposes the deadly, frightening,  poised-to-strike-at-any-moment face of e-waste and then moves on to describe the problem specifically with respect to India. Please get acquainted with the problem of e-waste by reading Part 1 if you haven't already done so. This part (Part 2) examines known solutions to e-waste and what we (i.e. you and me together!) can (and must do) to speed up safe disposal in India on a war footing. Part 3 is for academics and those who want to get into details of e-waste. It's informative, so the reader is invited view Part 3 also, before leaving this Blog.

The dangers of e-waste have been known to the world for quite some years now. There wasn't a feasible solution anywhere in the world till about a decade ago. As a consequence, futurists and environmental whistle-blowers despaired of a proven/ trustworthy solution to save the world from the dreaded effects of e-waste in time.

All these things have changed radically during the last decade and if someone were to ask today "Is there a solution to e-waste?", one is able to answer "Yes!", quite happily.  

E-waste is a global issue and our country has only been following the world trend, led by world leader, USA.  Due to growing concern and pressure from many quarters about the dangers of e-waste,  the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) & United Nations University (UNU) had been working to find a solution for a long time through an initiative called SteP (an abbreviation for 'Solving the e-waste Problem'). In 2009, they were successful in developing a prototype recycling factory for e-waste.  Ever since, e-waste recycling factories (based on SteP guidelines) have sprung up all over the world and their numbers have been growing.

In India too, environmental watch-keepers, whistle-blowers, ICT organizations like ASSOCHAM, MAIT and a few groups of private individuals (who had become aware of the threats posed by e-waste earlier on), had been working in the unorganized sector to solve the e-waste problem. In 2009, for the first time, an association of e-waste recyclers was formed. Modest progress has been made by Indian recyclers till date. However, their efforts are highly laudable as they are the only ones who have done anything at all, to deal with the e-waste problem in India so far. As of November, 2014, there were 138 registered e-waste recyclers all over India with a combined capacity of 3,50,000 metric tonnes (MT) per year.

For details of the SteP solution, you can go here.

Is that all that we, concerned citizens of India can do? Surely NOT!

There are many ways to help and we urge you to help in ALL ways that you can! Here's a list of things that we (i.e. you and me) can do to help :

1. Spread awareness about e-waste

e-waste is a huge global and Indian problem at this time, of growing proportions. People all over the world hate it. It's potential to destroy is real. It's effects are severely dreaded. Everywhere, people need to stand together firmly and say "No!" to e-waste. This imperative message needs to be spread across the length and breadth of India quickly! In other words, it must reach every Indian house and citizen ASAP.

You can help by spreading the message among your family, friends, relatives and acquaintances whenever you speak to them, in your own regional language, which is likely to have the maximum effect. Ask each person whom you have enlightened, in turn, to speak to his/ her family & friends.

Some suggestions:  You can discuss e-waste at parties, social gatherings etc. You can insert a fancy one-liner in the signature of your email account like, say, "No e-waste in India! Clean it up!!" so that recipients of your email become aware. If you own a visiting card, you can do the same by printing that line on it. There are ever so many innovative ways to reach out to others based on your occupation and location, so I'll leave that out for you to do  yourself!

Finally, put pressure on the government (both central & state), your local civic body, MLAs and other government officials to take up the issue of e-waste disposal in India on a war footing. Tell them that whatever has been done for e-waste disposalin India in the past is grossly insufficient. e-waste is piling up by the day in huge quantities while the quantities recycled/ disposed are insignificant, in comparison. If even that isn't enough (to wake them up from their slumber), you can point out that we already have a backlog of over 18 lakh MT of e-waste in India (as of the date of this Post) and if we don't start immediately, we may never catch up!

2. Reduce, Reuse & Recycle

I think you are already familiar with the "3 R's", although in a different context.  If your house has a living room & two bedrooms, you 'Reduce' by opting to use only one TV  (probably in the living room) rather than three - one each for the living room & two bedrooms. You 'Reuse' by continuing to use (and salvage more life from) an electronic gadget/ accessory. A good example is a rechargeable cell. By recharging and using it, you effectively prolong the time after which it will have to be disposed off by several times. When you upgrade your PC, don't get rid of all its parts together. Consider buying only the new CPU-box and using your old monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers with it. You 'Recycle' when you ensure that you send your old electronic gadgets/ accessories to an approved e-waste recycler and not throw it into the trash can, toss it into a stream or river etc. This applies to even small accessories like batteries.

3. Contribute to future Govt funds/ taxes that support recycling activities

Soon, the Government may start working on e-waste seriously. New taxes may be imposed, fund-raising schemes initiated etc. to fund e-waste recycling Projects. Contribute willingly as this cause is one of the most befitting of the present time!

Be quick, stop the ongoing damage to India from e-waste, starting NOW! If you will believe me, there is not a second to lose!! Good luck.

Credit: http://gifgifs.com