Chatbots, Robots, and AI in News 2024: Latest Science & Tech Current Affairs

Chatbots, Robots, and AI Current Affairs 2024

Explore all the latest happenings related to Artificial Intelligence (AI), chatbots, and robots. This topic is very important for Science and Technology Current Affairs in 2024. Knowing about the latest developments in chatbots, robots, and artificial intelligence (AI) can help you in various exams like SSC, WBCS, RRB, CDS, RAILWAY, UPSC, and other state-level exams. In this blog, we will share the latest news and advancements in these exciting fields, making it easy for you to stay updated and prepared for your exams.

November 2024

• Punjab Police launched the ‘Cyber Mittar’ chatbot to assist with cybercrime queries.

• NASA and Microsoft collaborated to create “Earth Copilot,” an AI-driven chatbot for democratizing access to Earth Science data.

• Meesho launched India’s first multilingual Gen AI-powered voice bot for e-commerce customer support.

• IndiaAI IBD and I4C launched the “IndiaAI CyberGuard AI Hackathon” to scale impactful AI solutions for socio-economic transformation.

• Hanooman AI launched “Everest 1.0,” India’s first multi-lingual and multi-modal foundational large language model (LLM).

• Sarvam AI developed “Sarvam 1,” India’s first home-grown multilingual LLM supporting 11 languages.

• Gnani.ai and Nvidia partnered to launch a speech-to-speech LLM capable of handling over 10 million voice interactions daily.

• The year 2026 was announced as the India-Spain Year of Culture, Tourism, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

• RackBank launched India’s first Purpose-Built AI Datacenter in Indore.

• Amazon India launched ‘Amazon Future Engineer Makerspace’ in Bengaluru to teach underserved students robotics, AI, and 3D printing.

• AI-enabled ‘e-Tarang System’ for Defence Spectrum management was developed by Integrated Defence Staff in collaboration with BISAG-N.

• Nvidia and SoftBank Corp piloted the world’s first AI-RAN network, running AI and 5G workloads concurrently.

• Denmark launched its first AI supercomputer, named Gefion.

• UNESCO South Asia Regional Office and MeitY organized a stakeholder consultation on AI Safety and Ethics, with Ikigai Law as the implementing partner.

• Ministry of Science and Technology launched India’s first AI data bank to drive innovation and enhance national security.

• As per BCG’s “The AI Maturity Matrix” report, Germany was not listed among the top five AI pioneer economies.

October 2024

• Google has announced a major update to its AI model Gemini, incorporating its latest image generation model Imagen 3 to enhance the visual capabilities of the Gemini chatbot.

• The world’s first government-funded Multimodal Large Language Model project focused on AI in Indian languages, named BharatGen, has been launched.

• Federal Bank and AI-powered language translation platform Bhashini have signed an MoU enabling Feddy, the AI virtual assistant, to handle vernacular languages.

• Meta has introduced a new artificial intelligence model for generating video and audio from text prompts, called Movie Gen.

• Tata Electronics Private Limited (TEPL) has completed an agreement with Taiwan-based Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC) to build India’s 1st AI-enabled greenfield fab in Dholera, Gujarat.

• Phase-2 of the International Telecommunication Union – World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (ITU WTSA) Hackathon concluded in New Delhi under the “AI Bharat 5G/6G Sandbox”, in collaboration with the Department of Telecommunications.

• Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced three AI Centres of Excellence (CoE), with IIT Ropar leading efforts in agriculture.

• The Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) partnered with Meta to launch an AI Assistant for the Skill India Mission.

• The Karnataka state government launched Shiksha Copilot, an AI-powered digital assistant to improve learning outcomes and support teachers.

• Google partnered with Kairos Power to power its AI data centres with nuclear energy sourced from Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).

• Nvidia Corp has partnered with Reliance Industries to build AI computing infrastructure and an innovation centre in India.

• IndiaAI and Meta announced the establishment of the Center for Generative AI, Srijan (सृजन) at IIT Jodhpur.

September 2024

• IP Saarthi Chatbot: Launched by the government as a digital assistant to help users with IP registration.

• Trademark Search Technology: Union Minister Piyush Goyal unveiled AI and ML-based technology for trademarks, along with the IP Saarthi chatbot.

• Jio Brain: Reliance Industries Limited launched this AI-driven platform to integrate AI into business processes. It also introduced JioPhonecall AI and the Jio AI-Cloud Welcome offer, providing 100 GB free cloud storage.

• Project Morni: Google DeepMind’s India unit is working on this project to create an open-source database of Indian language speech data.

• Quick Vitals: World’s first AI-powered health monitoring app, launched by Bisam Pharmaceuticals, Hyderabad, to track health data using a smartphone or tablet.

• Anil Kapoor: Featured in TIME100 Most Influential People in AI 2024 List, along with other leaders like Sundar Pichai, Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Nandan Nilekani.

• Council of Europe: Launched the first legally binding AI treaty to protect human rights and democracy.

• Telangana: Signed an MoU with the World Trade Centres Association (WTCA) to establish a World Trade Centre in its AI City.

• IIT Kanpur: Partnered with the National Health Authority (NHA) to provide a platform for comparing and validating AI models.

• Salesforce: Introduced “Agentforce,” a suite of AI agents to improve employee productivity in service, sales, marketing, and commerce.

• Avtr Meta Labs: Collaborated with the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) to launch India’s first AI Avatar Creator Contest.

• CERT-In and SISA: Launched the Certified Security Professional for Artificial Intelligence (CSPAI) program, the first ANAB-accredited AI security certification.

August 2024

💠GitHub, associated with Microsoft, recently announced GitHub Models, an interactive sandbox environment for developers and engineers to explore different AI models for free.

💠Dr. Neeraj Mittal, Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), launched the ITU-WTSA-24 Hackathon “AI Bharat 5G/6G Sandbox” as part of the forthcoming World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-24).

💠The National Remote Sensing Centre organized an “AI for Space Immersion Program” in collaboration with the Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE) – International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad.

💠Andhra Pradesh announced a partnership with Google to implement Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications across various sectors.

💠The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare launched an AI-based National Pest Surveillance System (NPSS) to help farmers connect with agriculture scientists and experts on controlling pests using their phones.

💠OpenAI developed a tool to detect whether its AI chatbot has been used to write essays, research papers, or generate photos.

💠The Government of India allocated 100 seats for Malaysian nationals under the India Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme in the areas of cyber-security, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning (ML).

💠xAI, an AI company, recently unveiled its latest AI models, Grok-2 and Grok-2 Mini.

💠Amazon announced the beta launch of ‘Rufus’, a cutting-edge generative AI-powered conversational shopping assistant, in India.

July 2024

• Pench Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra has launched an advanced AI system for early detection of forest fires.

• OpenAI unveiled CriticGPT, a new AI tool based on GPT-4 for finding errors produced by ChatGPT.

• BlinkX introduced India’s first Gen AI Lab in the stock broking market.

• A Google employee created the “world’s first AI dress,” known as the Medusa dress.

• National Informatics Centre (NIC) and Spices Board of India signed an MoU to develop AI tools for detecting and classifying large cardamom diseases in Sikkim.

• Meta launched a new AI text-to-3D generator for building 3D models usable in real-world applications.

• The Gujarat government signed an MoU with IBM to establish an AI Cluster at GIFT City, Gandhinagar.

• The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) will collaborate with MeitY to develop an AI Audit Tool for detecting fraud in corporate India.

• Zen Technologies Limited and AI Turing Technologies launched the ‘Barbarik – Ultralight Remote Control Weapon Station (URCWS),’ the world’s lightest remote-controlled weapon station.

• OpenAI launched GPT-4o Mini, a small AI model aimed at making technology more affordable and energy-efficient.

• Courts in Delhi launched their first “Pilot Hybrid Court” with AI-powered speech-to-text capabilities for streamlined evidence recording.

• Mistral introduced its latest AI model named ‘Large 2’.

• OpenAI announced the development of an AI-powered search engine called SearchGPT.

June 2024

• The Council of Europe (COE) has adopted the Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law, known as the ‘AI Convention’.

• Newgen Software Technologies Ltd has introduced ‘LumYn’, a Gen AI-powered hyper-personalization platform designed for the banking sector.

• OpenAI has released a more advanced version of its AI-powered robot designed for school settings named ChatGPT Edu.

• Kerala has introduced Artificial Intelligence (AI) learning in the Information & Communication Technology (ICT) textbook for Class 7 students.

• Nvidia Corp. is making a new AI chip platform called Rubin.

• Qatar Airways has unveiled Sama 2.0, the world’s first AI-powered digital flight attendant.

• India participated in the “AI for Good” Global Summit held in Geneva, Switzerland, organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

• UNESCO South Asia Regional Office and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) organized the ‘National Stakeholder Workshop on Safe, Trusted, and Ethical AI’ in New Delhi.

• Wipro has launched its Lab45 AI platform leveraging generative AI (GenAI), machine learning (ML), and deep learning technologies.

• Indian technology startups Pixxel, Sarvam AI, and Niramai Health Analytix are featured in the Technology Pioneers 2024 list released by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

• Ingenious Research Solutions Pvt Ltd has developed an AI tool “Divya Drishti” integrating face recognition with immutable physiological parameters.

• Infosys has announced the launch of ‘Aster’, a set of AI-amplified marketing services, solutions, and platforms.

• National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has signed an MoU with Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Delhi to leverage AI-based solutions for improvement in road sign availability on National Highways.

• The country’s first AI-based smart fence project, called ‘Ele-fence’, is being installed in Kerala.

May 2024

• Google has unveiled a new product called ‘Gemini Flash 1.5,’ designed for chat and complex tasks requiring a fast response.

• China has introduced a new chatbot named ‘Chat Xi PT,’ a large language model (LLM) trained on the political philosophy of the country’s president.

• The AI-powered news anchor, Sana, developed by India Today Group, was honored with the ‘Best in South Asia for AI-Led Newsroom Transformation’ award.

• Google has developed TacticAI, an AI system providing tactical insights, particularly on corner kicks in football, through predictive and generative Artificial Intelligence.

• Ukraine has unveiled an AI-generated spokesperson named Victoria, who will make official statements on behalf of its foreign ministry.

• The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bhubaneswar has collaborated with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for AI-driven surveillance.

• An AI-controlled aircraft, the F-16 Falcon, has completed a test flight with United States Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall onboard.

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• OpenAI is set to release a new AI model called ‘GPT-4o,’ capable of realistic voice conversation and able to interact across text and image.

• Google has introduced a new multimodal AI agent called ‘Project Astra,’ capable of answering users’ queries in real-time via text, audio, or video inputs.

• Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. has announced plans to establish a unique ‘human-centric’ AI Centre of Excellence in Paris, France.

• Soket AI Labs, in collaboration with Google Cloud services, has launched an open-source multilingual foundation model, ‘Pragna-1B’.

• David Salvagnini has been appointed as the first-ever chief artificial intelligence (AI) officer of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

• The second global AI summit has been co-hosted by South Korea and the United Kingdom.

• DD Kisan is set to launch two AI anchors, AI Krish and AI Bhoomi.

• The Foundation for Interoperability in Digital Economy (FIDE) has launched a multi-network AI agent called ‘BecknGPT’ that can carry out commercial transactions on the user’s behalf.

• Wipro has partnered with the Centre for Brain Research (CBR) to develop a personal care engine aimed at reducing and managing the risk of cardiovascular disease by utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI).

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April 2024

• India’s first AI-based film, “IRAHA,” is set to release on April 4th, 2024.

• Hume developed the world’s first emotionally intelligent voice AI.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) unveiled S.A.R.A.H. (Smart AI Resource Assistant for Health), its first digital health promoter prototype with enhanced empathetic response.

• The United States and the United Kingdom announced a joint effort to establish AI safety testing standards and protocols.

• Canada announced a $1.8 billion investment package to bolster its AI sector.

• Researchers at the University of Leicester developed ‘VA-ResNet-50,‘ an AI tool predicting a person’s risk of lethal heart rhythm with 80% accuracy.

• The World AI Creator Awards (WAICAs) announced the world’s first ‘Miss AI’ beauty pageant, offering a $5,000 cash prize to the winner.

• Meta Platforms launched its new AI assistant, Meta AI, powered by Llama 3.

• Microsoft introduced the VASA-1 AI model capable of producing hyper-realistic talking faces from a single portrait photo.

• Intel Corporation will release two AI chips, HL-328 and HL-388, with reduced capabilities in the Chinese market.

• Centre For Development Of Telematics (C-DOT) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Jodhpur, signed an agreement for “Automated Service Management in 5G and Beyond Networks Using AI.”

January and March 2024

• India’s first AI teacher humanoid robot, named Iris, was unveiled at KTCT Higher Secondary School in Trivandrum, Kerala.

• Anthropic launched AI models “Claude 3 Haiku”, “Claude 3 Sonnet”, and “Claude 3 Opus”.

• National Payments Corporation of India partnered with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, for blockchain and AI research.

• “Haiper” gained attention as an AI-powered video generation tool.

• Accenture introduced the AI-native learning platform “LearnVantage”.

• World Consumer Rights Day observed on March 15, focused on fair and responsible AI for consumers.

• Google Deepmind introduced its AI gaming agent “SIMA”.

• Nvidia unveiled the B200 ‘Blackwell’ AI chip.

• Tennessee became the first US state to pass the AI music legislation “Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security (ELVIS) Act”.

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• The USA launched the X-37B robot spaceplane, while China launched “The Shenlong” robot spaceplane.

• Google DeepMind and Stanford University unveiled the humanoid robot “Mobile ALOHA.”

• A woman robot astronaut named Vyommitra will fly into space ahead of ISRO’s “Gaganyaan” mission.

• “Homosep Atom” in the news is a type of septic tank/manhole cleaning robot.

• Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh launched the AI-supported Telemedicine Mobile Clinic “Aarogya-Doctors on Wheels” in Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir.

• Krutrim AI became India’s first AI startup to reach unicorn status.

• Google announced the launch of its AI video model “Lumiere.”

• Digital University Kerala introduced the silicon-proven AI chip “Kairali AI Chip.”

• AIIMS, Delhi, in collaboration with CDAC Pune, launched the AI platform “iOncology.ai.”

• Microsoft initiated the “ADVANTA(I)GE INDIA” program to equip 2 million Indians with AI skills by 2025.

• Google declared the establishment of an “AI Centre of Excellence” at IIIT Nagpur.

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• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ “iRASTE” initiative won the 9th GovTech award in Dubai for AI-Powered Government Services.

• OpenAI launched the text-to-video AI model “Sora.”

• iCreate signed an MoU with Microsoft to launch the iMPEL-AI program in India.

• Assert AI unveiled “Pratham,” the world’s first No-code computer vision platform.

• Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) received the first prize in “Innovation in AI” at the Aegis Graham Bell Awards for its ASTR project.

• Google DeepMind launched the generative AI model “Genie.”

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Chatbots and Robots in News 2023 [January to December]

▪ Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) have developed a groundbreaking humanoid robot named ‘Pibot’ that can operate aircraft without the need for cockpit modifications. Pibot is the first humanoid pilot in the world, utilizing artificial intelligence and robotics to precisely control flight instruments even in turbulent conditions.

▪ The Meghalaya state government has recently adopted Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled robotic technology for cleaning Umiam Lake.

▪ India’s first AI-driven anti-drone system, “Indrajaal,” was recently launched and developed by Grene Robotics.

▪ India’s largest robotic manufacturing unit, “Bot-Verse,” was inaugurated in Greater Noida.

▪ NASA is developing the snake-like robot Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor (EELS) for exploring Saturn’s moon’s surface.

▪ Telangana launches State Robotics Framework to create a sustainable robotics ecosystem. The framework was launched by IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao in Hyderabad.

▪ Kerala became the first state to use the robotic scavenger “Bandicoot” for cleaning manholes.

Saw 'Bandicoot' in action in Trivandrum today. This is a kind of work workers used to do manually. Workers frequently die in India due to inhalation of toxic gases in manholes. The Municipal Corporation of Trivandrum has been using this robot for the past 3 yrs, workers said. pic.twitter.com/OWh5SlROpC

— Subin Dennis (@subindennis) May 27, 2023

▪ Emirates unveiled the world’s first robotic check-in assistant, named “Sara.”

▪ Researchers from Switzerland developed an autonomous fish robot called “Belle.” It enables conservationists to gain valuable insights into underwater ecosystems without disrupting marine life. 

▪ A sniffing robot using locust antennae for disease diagnosis and security checks was developed in Israel.

▪ The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) launched “Kisan e-Mitra,” an AI (Artificial Intelligence) Chatbot, for the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme.

▪ Italy has recently banned the use of ChatGPT.

▪ Jammu and Kashmir launched India’s first Tele-MANAS chatbot for mental health services.

▪ Madhya Pradesh introduced the AI chatbot “Just Ask/Khulke Poochho” in partnership with UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund ) to address the critical need for accurate and accessible information on social issues and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) among adolescents and young adults.

▪ Delhi’s Child Rights Commission launched a WhatsApp chatbot called “Bal Mitra” to make governance more effective for children by enabling two-way communication. The chatbot can be accessed by sending a WhatsApp message to the DCPCR Helpline number 9311551393. It can be used to register complaints, seek information on child rights, and track the status of complaints. The chatbot is also available in Hindi and English.

▪ Google introduced the AI chatbot “Bard” globally, including in India.

▪ Baidu (a Chinese multinational technology company)announced the launch of the AI chatbot “Ernie Bot” (Enhanced Representation through Knowledge Integration).

▪ The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) initiated the Bhashini WhatsApp chatbot. Bhashini is a translation system that will connect Indians, who use local languages, with the internet. 

▪ The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) launched the chatbot “Aadhaar Mitra.” It has enhanced features like checking Aadhaar enrollment/update status & information on enrollment center location.

▪ India’s first ChatGPT-powered AI chatbot is named “Lexi.”  The chatbot has been invented by the financial technology firm Velocity.

At Velocity, we’re super excited to introduce you to Lexi – India's first AI-powered D2C #chatbot integrated with OpenAI's #ChatGPT.🤖

With its intelligent responses & user-friendly interface, Lexi has already ruffled some feathers in the eCommerce industry. Check it out! 👇 pic.twitter.com/QsyAo2R2SO

— Velocity⚡️ (@velocity_in) February 14, 2023

▪ Meta launched the new chatbot “LLaMA.”

▪ “Artifact,” an AI-powered personalized news feed app, was launched by Instagram co-founders.

▪ Anthropic introduced its AI chatbot “Claude.”

▪ Punjab and Haryana High Court became the first in India to use Chat GPT for deciding bail plea.

▪ Sberbank unveiled its chatbot “GigaChat.”

▪ Microsoft introduced “Jugalbandi,” an AI chatbot for rural India.

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