TISS, IIT Bombay to set up Centre for AI and Society under Ratan Tata School of Analytics

The announcement was made during the convocation, attended by chief guest Dr C S Pramesh, director of Tata Memorial Hospital

The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) will join hands with IIT Bombay to set up a Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Society under its newly set-up Ratan Tata School of Analytics, vice-chancellor Professor Badrinarayan Tiwari announced at the institute’s 86th convocation on Saturday. The proposed centre will bring together the study of artificial intelligence with questions around society and sustainability.

Debasmita Das, receiving the silver medal and best research award in Masters in Women Studies from Dr C S Pramesh, Chief Guest 86th convocation TISS.

The announcement was made during the convocation, attended by chief guest Dr C S Pramesh, director of Tata Memorial Hospital. As many as 1,376 students and scholars from TISS’s four campuses received their degrees at the ceremony.

The graduating students included 35 doctoral students as well as students from Master’s, Bachelor’s, Integrated and Dual-degree programmes. The first undergraduate batch of the Bachelor’s in Analytics and Sustainability Studies also graduated this year.

The Ratan Tata School of Analytics was established as an academic initiative looking at the relationship between technology, society and sustainability. Faculty members from social sciences, science, technology and mathematics are part of the school.

It currently offers a Master’s in Analytics and a Bachelor’s in Analytics and Sustainability. The programmes seek to combine technical knowledge with an understanding of social and policy issues.

Addressing the students, Pramesh spoke about the challenges facing their generation and urged them to stay curious, follow evidence and keep learning as the world changes.

“Your generation has inherited remarkable challenges. And I don’t envy your generation because what we had to deal with when we were younger was far simpler,” he added.

The convocation also saw TISS hand over a degree certificate to the parents of Shrutika Baranwal, a TISS student who was among 21 people who died in a fire at a bed-and-breakfast facility in South Delhi’s Hauz Rani in June.