Old customs and superstitions still prevail in India and continue to hold back the world’s second most populous nation from enjoying the full fruits of modernization. Disha Ganguli believes the government can rid the country of these old beliefs if it utilizes artificial intelligence to introduce a scientific temper.

There has been a rapid rise in technological developments over the past decade, especially in the domain of artificial intelligence, with the healthcare industry in particular one of several industries basking in its boons. Disha Ganguli discusses AI advancement in relation to rising cancer rates and the loopholes still to be filled.

Kolkata still lags behind the developed world in having a strong AI integrated healthcare infrastructure, even though high-end technologies such as neurobots have demonstrated promising potentials countering complex diseases, such as cancer. The West Bengal government need to go further and integrate technology in its healthcare institutions to close infrastructure gaps, irrespective of the socio-economic statuses of its patients.

Residents of India’s notorious red-light districts are home to some of the most marginalized sections of society, deprived of basic healthcare and hygiene. Yet help is at hand. The recent development of nanobots and AI-powered gadgets like Bluetooth beacons has helped sex workers diagnose AIDS/HIV and STDs and alert them to dangers outside of their red-light zones.

India’s lack of a crowd control management system has given way to incredible fatalities from stampedes to the spread of COVID-19. But using AI can counter all of these adversities. Deploying AI-powered Bluetooth beacons and wireless mobiles as sensors to detect human stampedes and overcrowding in hospitals and social areas is one way forward.