Wadhwani AI showcases Solutions for Social Good at the Gates Foundation’s LAD Fest

The Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence (Wadhwani AI), was selected to participate in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s (BMGF) Learning Agenda on Digital (LAD) Fest held in Seattle on February 15-16, 2023. A few selected non-profit organizations from across the world were invited to showcase the feasibility of their digital solutions with real-world applications. The event aimed to inspire collaboration around digital topics, through both learning sessions and interactive workshops.

 

Wadhwani AI addressed the broad theme of the fest of applying technological innovation to overcome the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable. This aligned with the LAD Fest’s concept of ‘Building Bridges’, designed to foster key learnings to elevate digital acumen, supported by discussion topics such as ‘Enabling Transformation with Digital Public Goods’, ‘Digital and the Human Experience’, and ‘Unlocking and Unbiasing Data’.

 

During the event, Wadhwani AI participated in the Digital Demo Showcase, displaying their solutions in the agriculture and healthcare domains, that address the needs of underserved communities through scalable AI-led technologies. The Institute’s innovative AI-based solutions such as CottonAce, Newborn Anthropometry, and Cough Against TB were exhibited to highlight India’s ability to harness the power of AI to meet social and economic development objectives.

 

Wadhwani AI’s CottonAce solution, which has been successfully deployed in multiple cotton-growing states in India within the past two years, helps farmers combat pest attacks in cotton crops, providing early pest detection and management recommendations. The Institute’s Newborn Anthropometry solution is targeted towards improving the health and wellness of newborns, by providing healthcare workers with accurate and fast measurements of newborns’ weight and other measurements, identifying potential health issues early on, and their Cough Against TB solution will aid in the mass community screening of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) through machine learning models that analyze audio recordings of coughs, helping to quickly and accurately detect TB.

 

“It was an honor to participate and present our work at the LAD Fest. This was a great opportunity to showcase how our solutions are aimed at driving significant positive impact towards real-world issues with scalable AI technologies. As an institute, Wadhwani AI is committed to leveraging the potential of AI as a means to empower underserved communities and bring about long-term social impact. The work we are doing is directly aligned with the Indian Government’s initiatives of making AI in India, for India,” said Shekar Sivasubramanian, CEO, Wadhwani AI.

 

About Wadhwani AI

Wadhwani AI is a cross-domain AI impact institute based in India, developing and deploying AI solutions with a mission to create impact at scale and improve lives and livelihoods across the global south. We work closely with governments and global partners to solve complex problems affecting developing countries, where AI could play a transformative role.

 

Learn more about our work and approach at wadhwaniai.org.