My Quest for Human and AI Synergy

I was 8 years old when I wrote my first computer program. Hailing from a backward village in India, I was one of the very few who got access to a computer (all thanks to my missionary driven school ). The fact that I can control a machine by passing a set of instructions fascinated me. It was like a magic!

Since then, playing with computers has become my favorite hobby, and I began tinkering with electronics. At the age of 14, I tried to build my first robot and I failed miserably. But it taught me the most important skill of my life – learning through trial and error. Additionally, I discovered that I lacked the skill of mechanical engineering, which is essential for building hardware products.

As I strolled along the muddy paths of my village, I crafted a marvelous universe in my own imaginary world. Just like any ordinary middle-class kid, I faced my fair share of real-life challenges. It's the usual run the mill story where education and educating yourself is the only way of changing your fate.

I pursued my graduation in mechanical engineering with a single goal in mind: To Build a robot. For my final year project, I have built an industrial-grade, large-scale SCARA robot - But this time, I succeeded. Mission accomplished!

I kicked off my career with a day job in the Aerospace industry, but my nights were dedicated to contributing to open source projects in the field of neural networks and genetic algorithms. Eventually, I transitioned into being a full-time entrepreneur, crafting software products. Since, I developed my first software product in 2008, I've consistently experimented with integrating machine learning algorithms in various ways. But, the technology and infrastructure were not truly ready for these endeavours.

I am a firm believer that the biggest skill of a human is contextual understanding. This is what makes us humans - both intelligent and emotional. There have been multiple computational approaches trying to achieve the same - neural nets, neocortex algorithms, genetic algorithms and many others. There was no clarity on which approach wins and it was a fair battle. The race was on and there were a flood of opinions/implementations.

The lines began to blur when Google launched BERT in 2018, marking a significant shift. It was a game-changer, and I still remember getting goosebumps when I read BERT's white paper for the first time. Unfortunately, back then, my personal limitations and circumstances kept me from pursuing my passion. The turning point came with the release of GPT3 in 2022 – a figment of clarity. Looking back, it felt like the war was over, and the world witnessed the first machine learning algorithm capable of predicting the next word within the context (pretending to understand the context but not 100% yet).

I was first excited and later appreciative of the fact that someone finally has solved the fundamental problem. It was a tectonic shift moment and I simply didn’t want to sit out this time.

This was also a moment of realisation for me. Despite being in the software field, my vision and inclination towards AI were never actualised and seemed impeded by various conceding factors and external considerations that held sway on my decision-making process. Initially, I questioned the validity of my decisions, only to later understand that the hindrance wasn't the decisions themselves but the direction in which I was being led. It's high time for a change, and to initiate that change, I must bid farewell to my current path. To delve into the realm of AI without any distractions and contribute to enhancing the world through the transformative power of AI, while also safeguarding it from the potential risks it may pose, requires a departure from my current trajectory. It's time for a fresh start, a focused pursuit of my passion for AI, and a commitment to making a positive impact on the world.

2023 was a year of awakening for me more as a technologist.

Whether people like it or not, AI will change everything.

Software has eaten the world and AI will eat software.

In the future, people clearly will fall into two categories: Humans with AI and Humans without AI.

In an era where advancements in artificial intelligence are reshaping our world in profound ways, it's crucial to recognise the dual nature of this revolution. As we stand at the crossroads of incredible possibilities and significant challenges, I am driven by a vision that goes beyond mere success metrics. My focus is not just on what can be achieved today, but on how I can look back a decade from now and say with confidence, "I made a meaningful contribution."

It's with this ethos that I am creating my latest venture Wexa AI , a company dedicated to a pioneering mission: to chain human cognition with AI. This isn't just a business; it's a commitment to the betterment of humanity. By harnessing the symbiotic potential between human intellect and artificial intelligence, we're not just building technology—we're crafting a future. We will be launching a slew of AI-first products in the coming months.

stay tuned!

(shameless pug. Follow Wexa AI on Linkedin or visit our website .)