Indian IT services companies are witnessing early signs of metaverse adoption, both internally and with clients. Some of the services companies are first developing internal use cases for the metaverse that can be later expanded to serve client needs. At a later stage, they are also identifying replicable demand across verticals and investing in targeted offerings and driving proof-of-concepts (POCs) with clients.

IT providers are identifying themes for metaverse adoption in their internal business operations, both in employee and customer-centric use cases, according to a Nasscom report titled “Metaverse – Prepare to Win”. Employee use cases can be for recruitment and onboarding, learning, development and workplace collaboration while customer-centric uses cases can be in the form of virtual delivery centres and pre-sales customer interaction.

The metaverse industry in India is expected to grow at an impressive CAGR of 37.1% and touch a whopping $758 billion by 2026, as per estimates. Last year, Infosys launched the metaverse foundry to ease and fast-track enterprises’ exploration of the metaverse. Infosys metaverse foundry aims to deliver enterprises the on-demand ability to create their own metaverse environment as well as deliver experiences in an existing metaverse.

“On metaverse, we are starting to see some projects and programs, especially related to AR/VR (augmented reality/ virtual reality) in the manufacturing, retail, education training, and maintenance context,” Salil Parekh, CEO and MD, Infosys, said in response to a question from FE. Last year, Tech Mahindra launched TechMVerse, its metaverse practice to deliver interactive and immersive experiences in the metaverse for its customers. The company is betting big on its uses and currently has about 70-80 active deals in the metaverse space.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is working on several metaverse-related use cases across verticals such as online shopping and workplace experience though the technology is expected to drive revenues only in the next three-five years. “We are still in the early stages. People are doing some piloting but leveraging the metaverse as an alternative channel for doing business is yet to happen,” said N Ganapathy Subramaniam, chief operating officer of TCS. To understand the potential of the metaverse, Wipro commissioned a global survey of 550 business and technology executives, which revealed that “the metaverse is here to stay despite accurate technology-sector turbulence and market skepticism”.

Wipro chairman Rishad Premji said during a annual general meeting that the company is investing in emerging areas like metaverse and Web 3.0.According to Deloitte, the adoption level of the metaverse may vary across industries depending on the viability of the use-cases in each sector. “The success of metaverse penetration will depend on organisations’ digital maturity to tap into its core levers of phygital immersive experience, trust layer, economic infrastructure and creator economy to their business and the pace of development of the ecosystem,” said Sreeram Ananthasayanam, partner, Deloitte India.

Today, we use AI to address opportunities and problems at every walk of life. Advances in computing technology and algorithms allows us to scale the maths to get relevant, real-world answers in real time. It allows machines to make independent decisions based on learnings of their own, without human intervention.

In Horizon one or “yesterday”, Automation based upon inputs from real-time operations, helped optimise and automate certain processes that followed a repetitive pattern. Otherwise known as Robotic Process Automation (RPA), most of AI in the early days was directed to apply this optimization.

Today, or in Horizon two, Autonomy is the rage. With advances in machine learning today we have built autonomous systems where machines can make certain operational decisions without needing a human actor. For example, eliminating data-stewards by self-correcting data based on patterns or replacing human document checkers by making commercial decisions based on understanding documents, are all examples of autonomous AI.

The next frontier or Horizon three, is when AI is able to completely replace a human counterpart in business. This would certainly require changes in laws and modifying social ethics, as the liability of actions would have to be borne by machines. For example, a “Level 4” self-driving car where the role of a human driver is eliminated or a machine trader which replaces a human one, where the business decisions are made through active communications. This is the age of the AI Alliance.

Engineering: Innovations in newer computing methods and engineering like Quantum computing, GPUs or even Block-chain technologies is a high growth area for accelerating the value of AI. In addition, advances in model engineering and AI operations, helps to harden AI applications in an enterprise.

Business: To leverage AI, business models also need to be re-imagined. Strategies to change the target operating model or fracture industry segments to create disruptions are the other areas of innovation that drive scale in AI

Wisdom: Teaching is perhaps the most underfunded areas in AI today and perhaps the most important. In future, when maths is commoditised by engineering and business models by best practices, wisdom or the tribal knowledge in an AI application will become the most important differentiator. Domain learning, labelling media, defining ontologies for document recognition, ethical choices in cognitive machines are just some of the areas to scale and innovate

The Headwinds Against AI

While the industry continues to innovate in AI across the three theatres and push the aspirations across the three horizons, measurable business impacts have lagged the exuberance of AI expectations. Several AI projects have been scrapped in the past like Amazon’s AI powered recruiting tool for generating gender bias, IBM’s Watson giving unsafe recommendations for treating cancer or Microsoft’s Tay bot after it learnt to respond with racism from twitter mentions.

Yet, business leaders remain bullish on AI’s role as mainstream technology. To reduce AI’s risk of failure, human ingenuity will continue to play a key role in Training algorithms on complex and subtle human traits for instance developing personalities of Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri that accurately reflects company’s brand, Explaining the outcomes of the algorithms especially in the light of GDPR requirement giving consumers the right to receive an explanation for any algorithm based decision, such as rate offer on credit card and explanation to evidence based industries like medicine and finally Sustaining AI systems to have them function safely, ethically and responsibly.

One of the trepidations for AI adoption stems from the fear of amplifying bad intent that can be wreak havoc in social norms. We already see the effects of that in social engineering when certain platforms can get hijacked by “ai-bots” operated and trained by bad actors.

Evolution of AI will necessitate responsible business process re-design in cognitive applications focusing not only on division of activities between AI and humans but also inclusion of communities and greater diversity of perspectives in production and deployment of AI.

The author is AI Practice Lead at Infosys.

Disclaimer: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETCIO.com does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETCIO.com shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organization directly or indirectly

© 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

© Provided by Free Press Journal Infosys collaborates with JNTU, Kakinada to digitally skill India through Infosys Springboard

Infosys, a next-generation digital services and consultancy, today announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada (JNTU-K) to accelerate digital and life skills development across India through its online learning platform 'Infosys Springboard', via an exchange filing.

The platform is already delivering corporate-grade learning experiences by orchestrating closer educator-learner collaboration.

As part of the engagement with Infosys, JNTU-K will offer e-content on their website including self-learning material, assignments and projects, powered by Infosys Springboard, to accelerate digital skills development.

JNTU-K has introduced 8 skill-oriented courses in collaboration with Infosys. Industryrelevant content will be made available, through Infosys Springboard, to 200+ affiliated institutions impacting about 1.5 lakh students.

This will be beneficial for not just students but also members of their faculty too, to help implement the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

Dr. G.V.R. Prasada Raju, Vice Chancellor, JNTU-K, said, "The National Education Policy (NEP) gives us ample scope to implement these tactics. In fact, at JNTU-K we’ve included eight state-of-the-art skill development subjects into our B.Tech., CSE and IT curriculum. In this context, JNTU-Kakinada and Infosys have entered into a collaborative arrangement to leverage Infosys Springboard program, with its rich repository of 12,000+ courses, for developing the digital skills of the faculty and students of JNTU-Kakinada."

"We are delighted to collaborate with JNTU-K to support a generation of enthusiastic learners who have a strong aspiration to participate in our digital future. We are confident that this collaboration will contribute massively to the advancement of technical education in India and help youth build industry-relevant skills in a rapidly transforming world," said, Thirumala Arohi, Senior Vice President and Head – Education, Training and Assessment at Infosys.

Melbourne, Australia (ots/PRNewswire) - Marks five years of Digital Innovation Partnership with tech experiences for a more sustainable, immersive, and accessible Grand Slam

Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, is bridging technology and purpose at the Australian Open (AO) 2023, with empowering technologies for fans, players, coaches, media and the surrounding ecosystem.

Now in the fifth year of its partnership with Tennis Australia (TA), Infosys is using its bespoke 'tennis platform' to evolve experiences for the 2023 tournament while shaping AO's future vision. New experiences in 2023 include:

Engage: A digital carbon management platform

Infosys collaborated with TA to define, design and develop Engage, a prototype digital platform that will support TA in its ambition to achieve a 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2040, in accordance with the UN Sports for Climate Change Action Framework. The platform will enable TA to track and visualise its emissions reduction performance and will facilitate integration of vendor and supplier emissions data. The platform will enable better transparency for each AO event from 2023 onwards, across Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.

Infosys is also driving sustainable change in its presence at the tournament. The Infosys Fan Zone at Melbourne Park is certified as climate active, with its entire carbon footprint offset and the structure recycled.

AI Video Insights: Powering on-court strategy and media reporting

An enhanced Player's Portal with new AI-generated videos will provide players and coaches with game and competitor insights for post-match reviews and pre-game analysis. Additional features added for AO 2023 include Get into the Zone, which plays video montages of the player's previous exceptional performances to put them in the winning mindset before the match. An opponent tendency feature will also allow players to view and analyse the statistical playing tendencies of their opponents.

Beyond players and coaches, AI Shot of the Day has been enhanced to enable Tennis Australia's media team to quickly analyse and post social media ready clips from the best shots of each day.

Match Centre 2.0: Enabling predictive insights to increase fan-engagement

A refreshed Match Center 2.0 will live on the AO website and mobile app for all matches throughout the tournament providing fans with immersive insights such as Matchbeats, Stroke Summary, Rally Analysis, Courtvision and AI Commentary. A new win predictor makes every match more engaging to follow with a real-time prediction as the game progresses. To Strengthen accessibility and engage a larger fanbase, Infosys MatchBeats has been enhanced to present simplified game data and visualisations with the use of contrasting colour combinations meeting Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 AA.

Infosys Springboard: Nurturing future leaders

Infosys and TA are also collaborating to nurture future leaders in the region, with year 10 and 11 students from metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria getting access to digital learning enabled by Infosys Springboard. Through a customised version of the platform, program beneficiaries have the opportunity to learn transferrable skills in areas such as inclusion, leadership, technology, and design thinking.

Craig Tiley, CEO of Tennis Australia and Australian Open Tournament Director, said, "Working with Infosys over the past five years has enabled us to set new benchmarks in fan engagement using digital technologies. This partnership has enabled us to deliver new innovative digital experiences year after year for everyone associated with the tournament. We are also going deeper and wider in our journey this year with truly meaningful use of technology for climate action. We remain committed to making the Australian Open a global standard for a digitally-enabled sport that is inspiring, engaging, inclusive and sustainable."

Andrew Groth, Executive Vice President Infosys and Region Head, Infosys Australia and New Zealand, said, "Through detailed journey mapping of how fans, players, coaches and partners engage in the AO, our teams continually identify opportunities to innovate across digital and physical touchpoints with a focus on entertainment, sustainability and accessibility. Our journey continues in 2023, through engaging fans in new digital experiences, engaging players through digital coaching and better preparing young leaders through digital learning tools. This year, Infosys is particularly proud to contribute to the long-term sustainability goals of Tennis Australia, with the development of the Engage carbon tracking platform, which will be transformative for the sport and the AO as it moves towards a net-zero future."

About Infosys

Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. Over 300,000 of our people work to amplify human potential and create the next opportunity for people, businesses and communities. With over four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer clients, in more than 50 countries, as they navigate their digital transformation powered by the cloud. We enable them with an AI-powered core, empower the business with agile digital at scale and drive continuous improvement with always-on learning through the transfer of digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem. We are deeply committed to being a well-governed, environmentally sustainable organization where diverse talent thrives in an inclusive workplace.

Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, financial expectations and plans for navigating the COVID-19 impact on our employees, clients and stakeholders are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause genuine results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding COVID-19 and the effects of government and other measures seeking to contain its spread, risks related to an economic downturn or recession in India, the United States and other countries around the world, changes in political, business, and economic conditions, fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India and the US, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry and the outcome of pending litigation and government investigation. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law.

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