Episodes

  • Ep8: What does the Karnataka reservation bill reveal about India's job market? with Suresh Babu

    Ep8: What does the Karnataka reservation bill reveal about India's job market? with Suresh Babu
    Aug 3 2024
    Two weeks ago, the Karnataka Cabinet passed a labour legislation that effectively reserved 50% of jobs in managerial positions and 70% in non-managerial positions for local candidates in private firms. The controversial bill was severely criticised by businesses for being heavy-handed, forcing the government to stop the legislation temporarily. State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories and Other Establishments Bill, 2024 government shelved a labour reservation bill. But what does this piece of legislation say about India's job? Guest: Dr Suresh Babu, Director, Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai. Host: John Xavier, Technology Editor, The Hindu. Produced by Jude Francis Weston
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    35 mins
  • Ep 7 Is India blazing a trail on green data centres? with Vivek Dahiya

    Ep 7 Is India blazing a trail on green data centres? with Vivek Dahiya
    Jul 27 2024
    Artificial intelligence has sparked an insatiable appetite for computing power and data storage, driving rapid expansion of data centres - the physical backbone of the digital world. At the forefront of this expansion are hyperscalers - data centres of tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. Their massive, scalable data centre infrastructures power cloud services and AI applications that are becoming increasingly integral to business operations and daily life. As AI technologies continue to evolve and proliferate, the demand for data centre capacity is skyrocketing, leading to a global boom in data centre construction and investment. These modern data fortresses are growing not just in number, but in scale, with some facilities now consuming as much electricity as small cities. This growth, while enabling remarkable technological progress, also brings significant challenges. From the pressing need for sustainable energy solutions to the constant drive for greater efficiency and innovation, the intersection of AI, hyperscalers, and data centres represents a critical frontier in technology infrastructure - one that will play a pivotal role in shaping our digital future. India's data centre capacity is set to touch 2,000 MW by 2026. And the country is making plans to transition into a green economy. Joining me to explore the impact of data centres in India and in the Asia Pacific region is Vivek Dahiya, Managing Director & Head Data Centre Advisory Team, Asia Pacific, at Cushman & Wakefield. In this discussion, John and Vivek discuss: How the emergence of AI changed the market for data centres globally? How different are developed and emerging markets in their approach towards data centre infrastructure? What is the impact of data centre on climate change? What policies around green energy can make this industry green? This episode is powered by AMD EPYC Processors. Host: John Xavier, Technology Editor, The Hindu Produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian
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    32 mins
  • Ep6: Is India prepared for the next telecom revolution? with Sajan Paul

    Ep6: Is India prepared for the next telecom revolution? with Sajan Paul
    Jul 20 2024
    Behind the seamless experience of an internet call lies a complex ecosystem of networking infrastructure. When you call a friend using a WhatsApp service, your voice is converted into digital data packets that zip through a maze of routers, switches, and servers before reaching your friend's device, where they're reassembled into sound. This process, which happens in milliseconds, relies on a harmonious interplay between wireless technologies that efficiently use the radio spectrum and the robust wired networks that form the internet's backbone. From the 5G tower that picks up your smartphone's signal to the undersea cables that might carry your call across oceans, each piece of this vast infrastructure plays a crucial role in making your conversation possible. Given how much India has digitised in the past decade, is the country now prepared for the next frontier in telecommunication? That's the question I will be exploring with my guest today, Sajan Paul, Managing Director and Country Manager of Juniper Networks. Host: John Xavier, Technology Editor, The Hindu Produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian
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    29 mins
  • Ep5: How will Gen AI hyper-personalise your smartphones? with Alex Katouzian of Qualcomm Technologies

    Ep5: How will Gen AI hyper-personalise your smartphones? with Alex Katouzian of Qualcomm Technologies
    Jul 13 2024
    In the past two decades, personalisation of technology has changed the way we relate to each other and with our own devices. We unmoored from tethered telephones and set sail on the high tides of wireless connectivity that made electronic gadgets smart, small and easy to carry around. Right from checking emails, making video calls, to finding directions with maps app, advances in personal computing notably changed the way we communicate using smart devices. Now, with the advent of Gen AI, we are in the open ocean once again. This time, AI is transforming human to machine interaction in a novel way. In this new co-pilot paradigm, how are personal computing devices being re-imagined, re-built and transformed? That's the question I will be exploring with Alex Katouzian, Group General Manager of Mobile, Compute, XR and Wearables at Qualcomm Technologies. Host: John Xavier, Technology Editor, The Hindu. Produced by Jude Francis Weston
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    31 mins
  • Ep4: How are AI agents changing business processes? with Mihir Shukla

    Ep4: How are AI agents changing business processes? with Mihir Shukla
    Jul 6 2024
    AI, robotics, and automation are transforming how work gets done across industries. One area driving major shifts is the automation of business processes. From manufacturing to finance to customer service, companies are using AI tools to streamline and optimize workflows that were previously handled manually. This change is redefining the workplace and the skills needed to thrive in the modern economy. While some jobs will inevitably be replaced by automation, new roles are emerging that require humans to work with AI tools in novel ways. Joining me today to discuss whether the rise of automated business processes is a double-edged sword disrupting certain careers while creating new opportunities is Mihir Shukla, CEO and co-founder of Automation Anywhere, a leading robotic process automation company that serves companies in over 100 countries. Host: John Xavier, Technology Editor, The Hindu Produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian
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    26 mins
  • Ep3: How was the cloud market primed for growth? with Bhavesh Goswami

    Ep3: How was the cloud market primed for growth? with Bhavesh Goswami
    Jun 29 2024
    Imagine prompting ChatGPT with a query about the nature of the cosmos. Your prompt will travel digitally to a virtual machine that will leverage the bot's vast training data, hosted in a data centre, euphemistically called - - the Cloud. With that input, ChatGPT will generate a response for you. And all of this happens within seconds. Thanks to the powerful and ever-improving GPUs, the cloud enables fast computation and low latency. Within two decades, the industry has revolutionised the way data is stored, organised, analysed and accessed. Data centres are now altering the way work is organised and done. While the cloud has helped businesses make their operations more efficient, it has also left behind noxious exhaust emissions and carbon footprints. Cloud services use massive amounts of electricity for powering servers, cooling systems, and other infrastructure. And much of this energy still comes from fossil fuel sources, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. Joining me to discuss the evolution of data centres, cloud business model, and the future of cloud computing is the Founder and CEO of CloudThat, Bhavesh Goswami. Host: John Xavier, Technology Editor, The Hindu Produced by Jude Francis Weston
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    40 mins
  • Ep2: Are companies adapting to AI well enough? with Dr. Gopichand Katragadda

    Ep2: Are companies adapting to AI well enough? with Dr. Gopichand Katragadda
    Jun 28 2024
    In the last four centuries, corporations have used innovative tools and advanced technologies to build products that transformed societies. Thanks to globalisation, some transnational corporations today are larger than many nation-states. But how are these large enterprises approaching the current wave of artificial intelligence? That's the question I will be exploring with my guest Dr. Gopichand Katragadda, the President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and Founder of Myelin Foundry, a deep tech start up. Previously, he was the Group Chief Technology Office of Tata Sons where he spearheaded innovation across the $100 billion conglomerate. Before his stint at TATA, Dr. Gopi led General Electric's Technology Centre that built several innovative products. Host: John Xavier, Technology Editor, The Hindu Produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian
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    40 mins
  • Ep1: Is AI beating human intelligence? with Dr. Anima Anandkumar

    Ep1: Is AI beating human intelligence? with Dr. Anima Anandkumar
    Jun 24 2024
    Making machines intelligent has been the pursuit of inventors for ages. Pioneering mathematician Alan Turing developed a method to test machine intelligence in the 1950s. Seven decades later, no clever algorithm or complex machine has passed the Turing test. But signs of artificial intelligence surpassing human intelligence are visible in several quarters. Will this be the generation that sees AI triumphing over human intelligence? That's the question John will be exploring with Dr. Anima in this inaugural podcast. Guest: Dr Anima Anandkumar is the Bren Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences at the California Institute of Technology. Host: John Xavier, Technology Editor, The Hindu Produced by Jude Francis Weston
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    42 mins