Page 43 - The Indian EYE 091826

TECH EYE SEPTEMBER 18, 2026 | The Indian Eye 43

TECH EYE

Scientist Warns World Is

Unprepared for Rapid AI Rise

SAN FRANCISCO, CA: He also urged AI laboratories to
consider voluntary slowdowns in fron-
penAI chief scientist Jakub tier AI development until common
Pachocki has warned that the safety standards are established. In-
Oworld is not prepared for the ternational coordination, he said, will
consequences of rapidly advancing ar- be increasingly important as increas-
tificial intelligence, calling for “extreme ingly capable systems cross national
caution” and stronger safeguards to borders.
ensure humans remain in control of A key concern is AI alignment,
increasingly powerful AI systems. ensuring that advanced systems pur-
Pachocki said the pace of prog- sue goals consistent with human in-
ress in machine intelligence could tentions and values. Pachocki said
continue to accelerate, potentially monitoring AI reasoning and devel-
reaching a stage where AI systems oping defensive systems will remain
begin improving their own capabili- important, particularly as models be-
ties. He argued that the development come more capable of operating inde-
of increasingly autonomous systems pendently.
requires safety measures to advance The warning highlights a growing
alongside their capabilities. incidents in which AI agents demon- companies may not be sufficient on tension in the technology industry:
The warning comes days after strated the ability to operate auton- their own. He called for broader in- while increasingly powerful AI prom-
OpenAI released GPT-6 Astra, de- omously and conduct cyber-related tervention, including mandatory safe- ises advances in science, cybersecurity
scribed by the company as its most activities. ty standards that could be enforced by and productivity, its rapid develop-
powerful model yet. Concerns over Pachocki said technical safe- governments, independent auditors ment is also creating new challenges
AI safety have intensified following guards being developed within AI or international organisations. for oversight and control.

Indian Railways Deploys AI to Detect Defects

NEW DELHI:
The consequential railway ac-
ndian Railways is expanding the cidents declined sharply from
use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) 135 in 2014-15 to 11 in 2025-
Iacross tracks, trains and stations
to strengthen passenger safety, de- 26. AI-based intrusion detec-
tect equipment failures and prevent tion systems have been de-
elephant fatalities along railway cor-
ridors, as per Research Designs and ployed across 141 km of tracks
Standards Organisation (RDSO). in the Northeast, with tenders
The AI-based initiatives include
computer-vision systems for inspect- issued for another 1,000 km.
ing railway tracks, online monitoring of AI-enabled video surveillance
rolling stock and Wheel Impact Load has also been installed at
Detectors (WILD), which can identi-
fy defects in train wheels while trains 1,731 stations.
are running. The technologies are in-
tended to detect potential safety risks One of the key systems being movement near railway tracks, partic- The Railways’ indigenous ‘Kavach’
earlier and enable timely intervention. implemented is the Integrated Track ularly in vulnerable corridors. automatic train protection system is op-
At an AI Technology Transfor- Management System, which uses The Railways is additionally de- erational across more than 2,746 route
mation Conference in Hyderabad, computer vision to examine rails, veloping ‘Tri-Nethra’, an advanced kilometres, covering around 617 loco-
RDSO explained that AI-driven inter- sleepers and track fastenings. AI- driver assistance system designed to motives and 860 stations. The system
ventions were increasingly contribut- based intrusion detection systems help locomotive pilots operate more has achieved Safety Integrity Level-4
ing to safer and more reliable railway using distributed acoustic sensing are safely in fog and other low-visibility certification, the highest internation-
operations. also being deployed to detect elephant conditions, especially in the Northeast. ally recognised railway safety standard.

www.TheIndianEYE.com