The upcoming launch of Hanooman, an indigenous ChatGPT-style service by the BharatGPT group, is a milestone in India’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) endeavours, which Reliance Industries supports. This initiative is meant to boost India’s AI aspirations. As concerns regarding accuracy and biases emerged regarding Large Language Models (LLMs) developed by global tech giants like Google, the notion of having a homegrown AI foundational model gained momentum.
Embracing Bharatiya Heritage: Introducing Hanooman AI Models
Hanooman is a creation rooted in the ethos of Indian cultural heritage and is represented by a pioneering initiative by the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B). Named after the revered Hindu deity Hanuman, this series of open-source Indic language AI models embodies a fusion of tradition and technological innovation. Hanooman was developed in collaboration with Seetha Mahalakshmi Healthcare (SML) and can generate text and speech across various Indian languages. The inaugural version of this model is slated for release in late March.
IIT-B is spearheading the development of the BharatGPT ecosystem by forging partnerships with industry stalwarts such as telecom giant Reliance Jio and medical equipment manufacturer SML. Ganesh Ramakrishnan, chair professor at the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at IIT-B and the project’s lead, explained the initiative’s vision in an interview with ET. He revealed, “The goal is to build generative AI capabilities for India, marrying Bharatiya linguistic and cultural heritage with technological innovation for catering to the large need for AI in the country.”
Ramakrishnan further emphasised the symbolic significance of Hanooman, drawing parallels with the altruistic attributes associated with Lord Hanuman. He asserted, “Hanooman itself borrows from the benevolent power inspired by Lord Hanuman and it reflects our dedication to public good. We are using the immense strength of generative AI solely for the benefit of others, not for personal gain.”
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Hanooman: A Fusion of Technology and Cultural Heritage
Amol Gite, the director of projects at SML, revealed that the inaugural iteration of the open-source model is anticipated to debut with 7 billion parameters. Gite further elaborated that while this initial release represents an incremental step forward from existing AI models, the team remains open to refining and enhancing the model’s capabilities in the future.
The ambitious plans of the central government’s AI Mission aim to establish a sovereign 10,000 Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) supercomputer. This move is expected to facilitate projects such as Hanooman. The initial version of Hanooman will support conversations in 11 Indian languages, with plans to expand to include all 22 official Indian languages in subsequent iterations.
Gite also revealed that several states, including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Telangana, have already expressed interest in collaborating with the Hanooman project, underscoring the widespread anticipation and support for this groundbreaking initiative.
Advancing Industries with Hanooman‘s Innovations
Hanooman is currently directing its efforts toward tackling the obstacles encountered by healthcare professionals by harnessing automatic speech summarisation technology to document and condense doctors’ conversations. In education, this model has the potential to aid students in their homework endeavours and support teachers in facilitating learning outcomes.
Ramakrishnan emphasises the importance of recognising the unique intricacies within each sector. Merely establishing a foundational model is not sufficient. In the education sector, for instance, addressing speech modality is imperative. Additionally, the capability to accommodate various accents and dialects is essential for comprehensive functionality.
Beyond healthcare and education, Hanooman’s project has garnered interest from many sectors, including banking and finance and industries grappling with translational challenges, such as entertainment.
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Exploring Hanooman‘s Industry Engagement and Expansion Plans
Hanooman has already initiated collaborations with various industries and has begun delivering solutions tailored to their needs. With its comprehensive suite of services, the company is also considering introducing a closed-source model tailored specifically for enterprise clients.
According to Gite, many enterprises rely on models like ChatGPT and incur substantial expenses for each transaction. By offering solutions within clients’ premises, Hanooman aims to shift the focus from cost to capability.
Scaling Up and Investor Insights
As Ramakrishnan, a key figure in the project, explained, Hanooman intends to expand its computational capabilities by increasing the number of GPUs from the current 1,024, based on the demands of various industries.
Vishnu Vardhan, the founder of SML and an investor in Hanooman, has previously collaborated with IIT-B to develop foundational healthcare models. His investment in Hanooman is geared towards acquiring the substantial computational capacity required for building such models. Further contributions from Vardhan and others are still under negotiation and await finalisation.
A Glimpse Into the Future
Hanooman made its debut at the annual Nasscom IT industry conference in Mumbai. In a showcased video, the AI model demonstrated proficiency as a motorcycle mechanic, banker, and developer, seamlessly interacting with users in their native languages.
Creating Hanooman addresses concerns previously voiced by Indian entrepreneurs regarding the availability of datasets in local languages for training foundational language models. While English-based chatbots have been prevalent, creating bots for regional languages, particularly those with limited resources, presents challenges. The necessity for resources to train and construct LLMs underscores the crucial question of dataset accessibility. Some suggest that government intervention to open access to language libraries could be a viable solution.
The forthcoming launch of Hanooman coincides with a wave of innovation within the Indian startup ecosystem. Ventures like Sarvam and Krutrim, supported by prominent investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners and Vinod Khosla’s fund, are crafting open-sourced AI models customised to meet India’s unique needs.
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