GenAI levels the playing field: Mercedes Soria of robotics security company Knightscope
artificial intelligence can enable Indians — even those who do not have a technical background — to solve the country’s most pressing problems, according to Mercedes Soria, executive vice-president and chief intelligence officer at US robotics security company Knightscope. “Now, all we have to worry about is, are we solving the right problem,” said Soria, who was on an India visit to share her expertise on machine learning and AI.
Soria is a speaker for the United States Department of State on technology and women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). “In the future, it’s not going to be so much that you have to be technical to have a startup and solve a problem. It’s going to be more of, do you identify the right problem to solve, and then the technology like Gen AI will help you,” she said.
Problems can be solved even by those who can’t write a single line of code, she added. This is a ‘massive opportunity’ for India with its large population and unique local issues. Young people in India, including high schoolers, are very familiar with and using tools like ChatGPT, whereas in the US this is seen more among those in university, Soria noted.
While countries can cooperate to advance AI skills and address the talent shortage, the technology can help tackle existing problems, as nocode platforms are emerging to enable this, Soria said. At the same time, learning is being driven by large companies themselves. “I know that a lot of Indian people aim to go to the US and study there and work there.
