AIDef Symposium and Exhibition: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh recently inaugurated the first ever “Artificial Intelligence in Defence (AIDef) symposium and exhibition” of AI-enabled solutions.

About AIDef symposium and exhibition:

• The AIDef symposium and exhibition was organized by Department of Defence Production under Ministry of Defence, as a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• It sought to promote “Aatmanirbharta” in Defence sector.
• The event featured an exhibition to showcase the cutting-edge AI-enabled solutions developed by the Armed Forces, research organisations, start-ups, and innovators.
• All these products belong to the fields of automation or unmanned or robotics systems, cyber security, logistics & supply chain management, human behaviour analysis, intelligent monitoring system, speech/voice analysis and C4ISR (Command, Control, Communication, Computer & Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance) systems.
• Among the AI-enabled products launched by the Minister were autonomous weapon systems, surveillance and reconnaissance systems, robotic products, human behavioural analysis software and a range of simulators and testing equipment.
• The products are in the domains of automation, robotics systems, cyber security, human behaviour analysis, intelligent monitoring system, logistics and supply chain management, Computer and Intelligence and Operational Data Analytics.
• Some products like AI-enabled voice transcription software, driver fatigue monitoring system and evaluation of welding defects are expected to have applications in the civil world as well.

India is taking steps to harness the huge potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in developing futuristic weapon systems as well as in other sectors.

Panel Discussions during the event:

• Panel discussions on "GenNext AI solutions," "Deploying AI in Defense," and "AI in Defence - Industry Perspective" took place during the Artificial Intelligence in Defence (AIDef) conference and expo event.
• Academia, industry and research organisations, services and students  actively took part in the discussions.

GenNext AI Solutions Competition:

• A competition called GenNext AI Solutions was also held to hear kids' bright, creative suggestions for cutting-edge AI solutions.
• The top three ideas will be commended by experts. An expo of AI-related products was also organized for the occasion.

AI task force on Defence:

• AI task force on Defence was created in 2018 by the Government.
• It was established to provide a road map for the promotion of AI in defence.
• Defence AI council is leading the efforts on the recommendations of the task force.

Note: Defence AI Council is headed by defence minister.