Tech Giant IBM Using AI to Create Customised, Emphatic Chatbots

Chatbots may have become ubiquitous in recent times, assisting businesses in everything from bill payments to customer services, but these automated algorithms still struggle to grasp the nuances of human language and context of conversations.

In order to improve user-experience, researchers at IBM India are using artificial intelligence (AI) to make chatbots more emphatic and personalised so that they can meet a client's specific needs and provide business value at a much higher scale.

According to an estimate, chatbots are predicted to tackle a massive 85 per cent of customer service interactions by 2020. India is a key player in the chatbot market today where such services have been introduced by many banking and insurance companies, said Gargi B Dasgupta, director, IBM Research-India and CTO, IBM India/South Asia.

Banks and insurance providers, she explained, were the early adopters of chatbots in the country, helping customers for bill payments, mobile recharges, booking travel, so on and so forth. However, when it comes to making people feel comfortable, AI has a lot to learn, Dasgupta noted. A lot of available systems make building the first chatbot easy, but do not scale-up when you increase the scope of the chatbot or need to build several hundred more, she said. This, she said, is because of two main factors: overt dependence on the manual effort for creating chatbots which makes them both time consuming and brittle, and lack of an end-to-end fall-back plan with continuous learning and improvement.

“We at IBM Research are working towards training these applications with data by infusing AI and related technologies to help organisations get business value at a much higher scale,” Dasgupta said.

The tech giant's IBM Watson Assistant can be trained to represent a company's specific brand voice and values using that firm's customer and business data.

"Conversational agents are going to be a primary way people communicate and the AI that powers it needs to be very strong," Dasgupta said. "We work with several enterprise customers to enable their conversation agents to be more usable and affordable," she said.

“There are a couple of AI projects we at IBM Research India are doing on conversational AI,” Dasgupta said.

The technology, she noted, empowers more realistic conversational AI which is able to handle nuances of the user language and that can handle domain and context understanding.

The enterprise chatbot evolution in India started with everyone being impressed by the fact that they can have a 24/7 channel of communication with their customers.

In addition, they can delight their customers with an instantaneous response to their queries.

Further, many are looking at offering more services like register a claim, get a quote and help customers understand their various policies better. “Conversation is the most natural way for humans to interact with an AI system and the predictions are by 2024 this will be double-digit billion markets," said Sachindra Joshi, Manager — Conversational Platforms, IBM Research-India.

"Since human conversation is complex, contains forth and back references, is contextual, it poses a very interesting research problem to solve," Joshi told said.

"We have built chatbots using the research technologies for multiple external and internal clients. They have been running successfully now for 1-2 years," he said.

The researchers use deep learning techniques on conversations between end-users and human agents that provide support in traditional call centres.

Their analysis helps identify dominant problems or reasons for which end-users contact call centres as well gives insights on how experts agents handle those problems.

“These inputs are extremely valuable to build a chatbot. They reduce the manual effort and the initial build time as well as provide concrete ways to continuously improve the chatbot as it is being used,” Dasgupta said. “We have focused on continuous learning of conversation agents, scalable bootstrapping from documents and logs and innovative and expressive ways of dialogue design,” she said.

“As these technologies mature, users of chatbots will see an improved experience with the bot being able to learn from past conversations and get more effective,” she said.

"This should increase the proportion of successful conversations. Also bot designers will be able to use our tools to create conversation agents faster and make them more effective,” she said.

Joshi noted that one big challenge for chatbots in India is the support for local languages.

Ninety per cent of the new internet users are expected to be non-English speakers in the next few years.

Researchers, he said, are trying to work with linguists alongside technologists developing verticalised vernacular models for handling local languages.

"We have also developed deep learning techniques that help in creating chatbots in a data driven manner and have brought down the initial build time of chatbots from several weeks to only a few days," noted Joshi.

Researchers said while designing chatbots, it is crucial to keep in mind the affordability of creating chatbots and their usability.

Chatbots are only useful when they help a particular business function to improve, they said.

Jaya Kumar Appointed VP & Managing Director of Sabre Development Center in Bangalore

Sabre Corporation, the leading technology provider to the global travel industry, has appointed Jaya Kumar K as Vice President & Managing Director, for Sabre Global Development Center in Bangalore, reaffirming its commitment to transforming the future of travel and strengthening Sabre’s presence in India.

In his role, Jaya will be responsible for propelling the Centre’s innovation capabilities, as well as attracting key talent to deliver cutting-edge technology solutions.

Jaya comes to Sabre from Walmart, where he was Managing Director and Vice President, Global Technology Services, where he grew Walmart Labs India significantly, and established Centers of Excellences (CoE) for analytics across e-commerce and in-store technologies. Prior to that, Jaya also co-founded and built Neta, a pioneering data mining tool.

“As we continue to push the boundaries of technological innovation at all levels of the travel industry, we are pleased to have Jaya join the team to drive our development strategy forward, and ultimately, enable us to better serve our clients. The Global Development Centre in Bangalore is essential to our success, and I am delighted to have Jaya on board to spearhead Sabre’s efforts in driving the industry toward next generation retailing, distribution and fulfilment,” said Louis Selincourt, Senior Vice President, Sabre Global Development Center Operations.

Speaking on his new role, Jaya Kumar K - Vice President & Managing Director, Global Development Center – Bangalore, said, “I am delighted to be a part of the team. I want the Bangalore Center to be known as a dynamic growth engine that provides holistic career opportunities for professionals. My focus will be to make this Center a hub of opportunity for talented individuals while keeping innovation and creativity at the core of our operations. I look forward to a long and successful journey with the organization.”

Established in 2005, the Global Development Center in Bangalore has been driving innovation for Sabre’s global customer base of over 425,000 travel agents, 350 airline partners, and 40,000 hotel properties. The team supports multiple technology functions, including product development, enterprise data and analytics and operations research efforts, while providing customer care and support, implementation and consulting services, and delivering leading products and solutions to Sabre customers globally.

Largest Multiplex Chain, PVR Cinemas Ties Up with GyFTR (Vouchagram) to Power its e-Gift Vouchers

PVR Cinemas, the largest and the most premium film exhibition chain in India, has teamed up with GyFTR (Vouchagram), country’s leading online-to-offline (O2O) peer-to-peer gifting platform, to power its e-gift vouchers. The brand will now feature their e-gift vouchers on the GyFTR platform, which will be available for purchase in the following values: INR 100, INR 250, INR 500, and INR 1000.

Established in 1997, PVR Cinemas is the largest cinema chain and currently owns 758 screens in 162 locations across 65 Indian cities. Its extensive pan-India presence and superlative in-cinema experience make it the first choice of millions of cinemagoers. This association underlines PVR’s efforts to enhance its customer acquisition and augment its online/offline footprint with the help of GyFTR’s end-to-end e-gifting solutions.

PVR customers can use e-gift voucher powered by GyFTR to book PVR movie tickets online and can redeem only one e-gift voucher on one bill. These cannot be used directly at PVR cinema halls.

Commenting on this association, Arvind Prabhakar, Co-Founder – Vouchagram India Pvt. Ltd, said, “There is no dearth of cinema lovers in India, which is why there is massive traction for e-gift vouchers for online movie ticket booking. Our partnership with PVR, one of India’s most popular cinema chains, significantly expands our offerings in this space. We are confident that this association will not only enhance the experience of movie-goers in India but also allow PVR to offers its services to a much wider online audience.”

Speaking on the partnership, Mr. Gautam Dutta, CEO, PVR Ltd. said, “At PVR Cinemas, we understand that the expectations of the modern day consumer are transforming rapidly. In this day and age, a combined online/offline marketing strategy is crucial to enhance revenue generation and sales, market visibility, and brand recall. This is why; we are thrilled to join hands with GyFTR, a platform that will give PVR Cinemas seamless access to the diverse e-gifting ecosystem, thereby allowing us to accelerate customer acquisition and business growth.”

A thought leader in the instant gifting and redemption domain, GyFTR currently services more than 5 million customers and has a clientele of 135+ active brands. The platform facilitates seamless gifting across multiple geographies and has been revolutionizing the segment by making the experience of receiving a gift like a ‘gift’ in itself through its proprietary technology.

Gourmet Passport Now Available in Kolkata; Will Launch in Three More Cities by June

Dineout – India’s largest dining out and restaurant tech solutions company today launched its premium membership program Gourmet Passport in Kolkata. The service was launched by Mr. Ankit Mehrotra, CEO, Dineout and Mr. Rocky Mohan, founder & mentor, Gourmet Passport and a renowned food columnist in India.

Gourmet Passport by Dineout is a subscription based premium membership program that offers unbeatable value to diners with its incredible Buy 1 Get 1 offer at 1000+ top restaurants across India. It enables dining at top restaurants more accessible to food connoisseurs who are looking for a great dining experience and at the same time enjoying unmatched savings of up to 50% on their dining bills.

Dineout has partnered with more than 100 restaurants across  Kolkata for Gourmet Passport  including the city’s luxury & fine dining restaurants and 5 star hotels. Some of its tmost exclusive partner restaurants are – Pa Pa Ya, Ping’s Cafe Orient, JW Kitchen and The Salt House among others, where Kolkata’s foodies can enjoy the privileges of their Gourmet passport subscription.

“Our expansion into Kolkata is a part of our commitment to meet the growing demands of our consumers. Gourmet Passport is a premium membership program that caters to evolving taste of Indian foodies and has a membership base of close to 260K members. We look forward to enhancing the gastronomic experiences of Kolkatans by bringing them the most exclusive dining options across the city”, said Mr. Ankit Mehrotra, CEO & Co-founder, Dineout.

Expressing his thoughts on the launch, Mr. Rocky Mohan, Founder & Mentor, Gourmet Passport said that, “People of the City of Joy love to dine out and want to experiment with their food choices. Gourmet passport is a tailor-made product for food connoisseurs who are looking to discover premium dining experiences at best of the restaurants. We are sure that Gourmet Passport will act as a gastronomic treat to the diners with new restaurants and cuisines.”

Gourmet passport by Dineout has close to 260K + members from 8 cities of India and has partnered with over 1000 luxury dining restaurants and bars across 5-star hotels, premium standalone outlets & chains. The product is already available in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Chennai in India. The brand will next launch in Jaipur, Goa and Chandigarh by June.

Ajay Dixit Appointed as the New CEO of Cairn Oil & Gas India

Cairn Oil & Gas, a vertical of Vedanta Limited, and India’s largest independent oil and gas exploration and production company, has announced the appointment of Ajay Dixit as its Chief Executive Officer. Ajay succeeds Sudhir Mathur, who after seven successful years with the company, moves on to pursue personal endeavors.

Ajay brings 39 years of rich experience in the energy sector and joined Vedanta in 2015 from Siemens where he was CEO - Energy for South Asia. An alumni of Delhi College of Engineering, he served as the Acting CEO of Vedanta’s Aluminium and Power business before being elevated to this new role. He brings deep experience in strategy, operations, technology, finance and regulatory affairs. His leadership will support Cairn’s vision to realize the full potential of Barmer block, grow the offshore business, appraisal of new blocks under OALP I and DSF II, and in continuing to steer a strong and high growth organization.

Speaking on the appointment, Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan, CEO, Vedanta, said, “We are delighted to appoint Ajay as CEO of our oil and gas business. Ajay has a deep understanding of our business and the markets we operate in. He is a dynamic and values-driven leader with an impressive track record of delivering consistent high quality performance in a safe and sustainable way. We are confident that he will play a stellar role in further increasing the operational efficiency and growth of our oil and gas business. We warmly thank Sudhir for all his contributions and wish him the very best in his future.”

Ajay said, “I have been closely watching and admiring Cairn’s spectacular performance and it is a privilege for me to lead this business. We will continue to invest systematically and bring in world-class technology to further strengthen our India exploration footprint. Our focus will remain on exploration and production in innovative and sustainable ways to support India’s vision of energy security and self-sufficiency.”

Cairn today produces approximately 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, which is about 25% of India’s crude production and has a vision to take up its contribution to 50%. The company has planned investments worth $3.5 billion over the next 3-4 years which will significantly ramp up its production.

Jaguar Land Rover Finds the Teenagers Writing the Code for a Self-driving Future

Tomorrow’s engineers are learning to code self-driving vehicles of the future today thanks to the unique Land Rover 4x4 in Schools programme.

Self-driving cars will require an estimated one billion lines of computer code1 – almost 1,000 times more than the 145,000 lines required by NASA to land Apollo 11 on the moon2. To meet the growing need for more coders to deliver these future autonomous and connected vehicles, Jaguar Land Rover is looking to inspire the next generation of software engineers.

The talented teenagers competing in this year’s Land Rover 4x4 In Schools Technology Challenge world finals - a global education enrichment initiative aimed at encouraging young people to take up STEM careers - were able to write 200 lines of code in just 30 minutes, to successfully navigate a scale model Range Rover Evoque around a 5.7-metre circuit.

David Lakin, Head of Education from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), said: “We’re in the midst of a digital skills shortage – the UK alone requires more than 1 million software engineers to fill the growing demand for roles requiring a knowledge of coding, software engineering or electronics.

"Digital skills are vital to the economy, which is why the IET is proud to support initiatives like the Land Rover 4x4 In Schools Technology Challenge to ensure we inspire, inform and develop future engineers and encourage diversity across STEM subjects from a young age. If we are to safeguard jobs for the next generation, we must equip the workforce of the future with the skills they will need to engineer a better world.”

As of 2018, there were 23 million software developers worldwide but this population is expected to grow to 27.7 million by 2023†,  with World Economic Forum research suggesting 65% of students today will end up working in jobs that don’t currently exist*.

This year, Jaguar Land Rover will launch a new Digital Skills Apprenticeship programme to attract the brightest computer engineers to help code its next-generation electric, connected and autonomous vehicles and support the factories of the future.

Nick Rogers, Executive Director of Product Engineering at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Computer engineering and software skills are more important than ever in the rapidly changing automotive industry, and that will only increase as we see more autonomous, connected and electric vehicles on the roads. The UK will need 1.2 million more people with specialist digital skills by 2022, and as a technology company, it’s our job to help inspire and develop the next generation of technically curious and pioneering digital engineers. The Land Rover 4x4 In Schools Technology Challenge is just one of the ways we are doing this, as well as our new Digital Skills Apprenticeship programme we are launching this year.”

The Land Rover 4x4 in Schools programme has helped the company reach more than four million young people since 2000. This year 110 students from 14 countries qualified for the world finals  held at the University of Warwick, with NewGen Motors team from Greece lifting the trophy following two intensive days of competition.

Mark Wemyss-Holden, former teacher and Curriculum Content Developer, said: “Coding is high on the agenda across industry and teachers do a fantastic job delivering the curriculum, but schools have competing priorities and are hamstrung by limited budgets and time. The private sector, and programmes like Land Rover 4x4 In Schools, have a real opportunity to bridge the gap between what learners enjoy studying and how that translates into a future career.”

Jaguar Land Rover is a leader in the development of Autonomous, Connected, Electric and Shared (ACES) mobility services and has invested in Global Pioneering Hubs around the world to capitalise on– including Shannon, Republic of Ireland; Budapest, Hungary and Portland, in the United States.

John Cormican, General Manager for Vehicle Engineering, Shannon, said: “Shannon has an important role to play in realising the company’s vision for autonomous and connected vehicles, but we cannot deliver this future without the very best minds - individuals who could write the next chapter for Jaguar Land Rover. It's fantastic to see the company taking such an innovative approach towards investing in the next generation.”

Unity Technologies Announces the Open Beta of the Unity Distribution Portal at GDC 2019

At this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC), one of the biggest gaming conferences in the world, Unity Technologies, creator of the world’s most widely used real-time 3D development platform, announced several updates to its platform, enabling developers to move further towards innovation. In Unity’s annual keynote address, the company provided an exclusive first look of The Heretic, the first ever real-time digital humans featured video, introduced the Lightweight Render Pipeline (LWRP) is coming out of preview this year, announced the open beta of the Unity Distribution Portal (UDP), and much more.

The Heretic, is a short film by Unity’s award-winning Demo Team, the creators of Adam and Book of the Dead. The Heretic is also Unity’s first ever showcase of real-time digital humans. Unity’s demo team combined data acquired through both 3D and 4D scanning, and then built a complete pipeline from data acquisition to real-time rendering in Unity, aligning services offered by various commercially available service providers.

Additionally, Unity announced that the Lightweight Render Pipeline (LWRP) is now out of preview and will be ready for production use in the 2019.1 release. This rendering pipeline has been designed from the ground up to offer the most scalable solution for Unity graphics, with a lean and optimized approach that allows optimum performance on the maximum amount of supported Unity platforms.

Unity also announced the open beta launch of the Unity Distribution Portal or UDP at the conference. UDP allows developers to scale their business and expand their player base globally by distributing mobile games on apps stores in emerging markets. Distributing a mobile game to different apps stores comes with a lot of hurdles, complexities, and challenges. UDP automatically creates builds for each of the participating stores and enables distribution regardless of individual store requirements.

“We believe that the world is a better place with more creators in it,” said Hubert Larenaudie, President Asia Pacific & Global Lead Unity Distribution Platform at Unity Technologies. “We invest heavily in our technology to ensure that we’re powering our community’s ideas and enabling them to create, operate, and monetize on our platform. Our announcements at GDC 2019 underscore that commitment”.