Davos (PTI): Artificial Intelligence is not just about creating text, images, graphics and videos online; it can make a big change in the physical life and for humanity by even predicting road crashes.

The assertion was made by SaveLife Foundation Founder and CEO Piyush Tewari here during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.

Tewari, who ventured into the area of working on road safety after losing a young family member in a road crash, said his organisation is looking at using AI in a big way for predictive analysis.

He also lauded the Government of India for a big push around AI in road safety.

Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari recently announced an initiative where AI is going to be used to interpret the road crash data that is coming out and provide faster insights.

"Can we predict road crashes by bringing some data points together? So, there's definitely a huge amount of application, and the signs are very much positive.

"At SaveLife, we have used AI for the last 7-8 years. We've trained cameras using AI, fixed with drones to preemptively identify parked vehicles on highways, for example, because rear-end collisions are a big issue when it comes to road safety.

"Similarly, we have used AI-trained cameras on intersections to identify conflicts and to create a heatmap of such intersections. We've defined conflicts on the basis of proximity, etc.," he said.

Tewari, who is participating in AI and social innovation sessions at WEF, said there's a significant amount of application of AI in this whole space of road safety.

"I hope to be contributing with regard to our experience of using it in India at a very, very grassroots level," he said.

"AI has the ability to transform lives. The decisions and the thought process that might take months sometimes can be done in hours or minutes using AI. We have to make AI more accessible to the public, and the Government of India's mission is also to make it more accessible.

"So we are very much aligned with the idea of using AI to make mobility safer," he said.

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Jammu (PTI): One person was killed and another injured in a landslide near a hydro-power project, while over 230 people, including women and children, were evacuated after they were caught in heavy snowfall at the high-altitude Sinthan top in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, officials said on Monday.

In view of the inclement weather, the authorities have ordered the closure of all educational institutions outside the municipal limits in Kishtwar and adjoining Doda district for Monday as a precautionary measure, the officials said.

A landslide, triggered by rain, struck a hydro-power project site near Dangduru in Kishtwar district on the intervening night of Sunday-Monday, trapping two workers, the officials said.

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While one worker was later found dead, the other was rescued in an injured condition and shifted to a hospital, they said.

In another incident, the officials said, a joint rescue operation by the police, Army and the civil administration successfully evacuated 38 vehicles carrying 235 passengers to safety amid heavy snowfall at the Sinthan Top connecting Kishtwar in Jammu region with south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.

“On March 15, information was received that 235 civilians were stranded at Sinthan top due to heavy snowfall and severe weather conditions. Troops of the White Knight Corps were immediately mobilised to launch a swift rescue operation despite the treacherous terrain and relentless snowfall.

“Braving extreme weather and snow-blocked roads, the rescue teams reached Sinthan top and provided the stranded civilians with hot meals, drinking water and shelter. Repair and recovery teams restored the mobility of the stranded vehicles, while passengers from the unrecoverable vehicles were safely evacuated.

“Medical teams rendered assistance and essential medicines to those in need,” the White Knight Corps said in a post on X.

“The mission witnessed seamless coordination between the Army, J-K Police and the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation, reaffirming the Army’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding lives in the harshest conditions,” the post added.

Kishtwar Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Sharma, along with SSP Naresh Singh and the commanding officer of the 11 Rashtriya Rifles, supervised the rescue operation, which continued for several hours, the officials said.