“Envision 2018”, the annual Business Conclave organized by X-SYS, the Systems Association of XIMB
Bhubaneswar: “Envision 2018”, the annual Business Conclave organized by X-SYS, the Systems Association of XIMB, took place at Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar on Sunday, 29th of July. The theme for this year’s conclave was “Leveraging A.I. for Business Transformation”. This conclave was aimed at addressing the students at XIMB and broadening their horizon of knowledge in the respected field.
Mr. Anjani Kumar (Global Chief Digital Officer, Collabera Inc.), Mr. Suresh A Shan (Head – Business and Future Tech, M&M Financial Services Ltd.), Mr. Utpal Chakraborty (Head – Artificial Intelligence, Yes Bank Ltd.), Mr. Kapil Mahajan (Group CIO, Safexpress Pvt. Ltd) and Mr. Shobhit Patnaik (Director, Avasant) were the speakers for the occasion. Prof. Sanjay Mohapatra (Professor, Information Systems, XIMB) served as the moderator for the event.
The first speaker of “Envision 2018” was Mr. Anjani Kumar. He began by stating how popular AI became among people; some even saw it as a beacon of light in an otherwise dull future. “Everyone thought digital would solve all problems”, here, digital including all aspects of the internet, including AI. “AI is the buzzword of the industry”, he said. Mr. Mahajan enlightened us with his broad manner of thinking, as well as obliged us when he stated: “You are the catalyst to AI being adopted in the right way.”
The next speaker, Mr. Suresh A Shan, started to elucidate on how India perceives artificial intelligence and how customers expect a lot without fully being aware of the scope and purpose of AI. He further went on to explain the persistent fear factor regarding AI that has been created among executives. He then gave an insightful description of the key aspects of AI and its role in customer engagement.
Mr. Kapil Mahajan was the third speaker of the day. He dived into the history of AI in the 1950’s, mentioning John McArthy, the person who coined the term. Soon after he stressed over how crucial and interesting this current phase of technology is. He described this phase to be the one of change, with big things around the corner. “Data is the new oil and AI is the new electricity”. His words focused on the importance of having AI in all our business ventures.
The next speaker for the day was Mr. Utpal Chakraborty. He went on to explain the known areas of Artificial Intelligence such as health care and tourism. “Along with AI, Virtual reality and Augmented Reality are picking up”, he stated, further explaining how AI and VR were used in hotels to create a virtual beach experience.
Mr.Shobhit Patnaik was the final speaker of the day. He spoke about AI as a component of a larger ecosystem where it works in combination with a number of other technologies to run a business. He highlighted the impact that technology was having on us, stating that “We have started becoming slaves to technology. To end with he spoke about various verticals and pillars AI depends on and how it’s changing the demand in an ever-dynamic market.
The enriching and thought-provoking speeches were followed by an interactive Q&A session with the guest speakers answering thoughtful and challenging questions posed by the students. Prof. Sanjay Mohapatra then shared his insights and learning with the audience. The event concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Prof. Bhaskar Basu (Associate Professor, Information Systems, XIMB).