(This article forms a part of the Data Point newsletter curated by The Hindu’s Data team. To get the newsletter in your inbox, subscribe here.)
Hello, data enthusiasts!
In recent years, we’ve seen an explosion of AI-powered apps and features across platforms. From WhatsApp to Facebook, and even your Gmail inbox, artificial intelligence is being seamlessly woven into our everyday digital experiences.
Take Facebook, for example. When watching a video, Meta’s AI suggests questions that may pop into your mind based on the content you’re viewing. But how relevant are these suggestions? And more importantly, how accurate or helpful are the answers provided? Meta’s AI is now also part of WhatsApp, acting as a chatbot for casual conversations. Meanwhile, in Gmail, AI summarises long emails into bite-sized paragraphs for easier digestion.
On one hand, AI assistants like ChatGPT have allowed people to venture into new areas with ease. Whether it’s coding, graphic design, or even video editing, these virtual assistants are breaking down barriers. Tasks that once required specialised knowledge are now accessible to novices. However, while AI tools in platforms like Gmail, Facebook, and WhatsApp are improving, there’s still plenty of room for growth.
Recently, I had an interesting experience while working on a story about polio vaccination coverage in India. The story was prompted by a case of vaccine-induced polio in Meghalaya, and I was sifting through data from the National Family Health Survey. My goal was to analyse tables with data on polio and other vaccinations, which I had uploaded to Google Drive.
That’s when I noticed Google’s AI assistant, Gemini, offering to summarise the document. As any data journalist knows, converting PDFs into Excel sheets is a frequent and tedious task, so I decided to test Gemini’s ability to ease this process.
The first table I uploaded was fairly straightforward:
And to my surprise, Gemini handled the conversion with flying colours. While there were minor discrepancies, anyone who has tried extracting data from PDFs will agree – this was a significant improvement.
However, as I began to test Gemini with more complex datasets, things became trickier. A densely packed table with rows of data threw the system off a bit. This was the original table:
The output wasn’t perfect, but it was still manageable:
Then, I gave it an even greater challenge – a rotated PDF, the format in which many government datasets still come in today. This time, the results were far from ideal, with numerous errors in the conversion process.
So, while AI integration into everyday apps such as Gemini in Google Drive show promise, they still have a long way to go before they can fully replace trusted PDF-to-Excel converters like Adobe’s, IlovePDF, or Tabula. For now, those remain the go-to solutions. But with the rapid advancements in AI, we might not have to wait too long for these systems to catch up.
You can reach out to the author Vignesh Radhakrishnan via his mail id vignesh.r@thehindu.co.in
While you’re here, be sure to check out some of the other important stories we’ve published in recent weeks:
- The battleground States that could decide the U.S. Presidential elections | Data
- A snapshot of migration in India: Who moves, why and where
- Indians who migrate abroad see incomes double; residents need 20 years to catch up
- Defying odds, more girls enter mechanical, civil, marine and mining engineering courses
- Will the Centre release its share of funds for Metro Rail work?
Chart of the week
The chart shows the projected number of psychiatrists and the number of years required for India to meet the World Health Organization’s recommended number of psychiatrists per one lakh population.
In its 2023 report on ‘Mental Healthcare and Its Management in Contemporary Times,’ the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare stated that there were 9,000 working psychiatrists in India at the time. If the goal is three psychiatrists per one lakh population, India would require 36,000.
The report also points out that about 1000 psychiatrists enter the workforce every year. Keeping aside factors such as attrition and unemployment, it would take India about 27 years to meet the WHO-recommended goal. If India wants to achieve this mark earlier, a policy intervention with enough incentives are needed to increase the supply of psychiatrists.
Here are some important News in Numbers from last week:
Wealth amassed by Adani according to the Hurun 2024 list
11.6 in Rs. lakh crore.
Gautam Adani’s net worth shot up 95% to Rs 11.6 lakh crore last year, which helped him replace Mukesh Ambani to become the richest Indian. In 2023’s report, Adani’s wealth declined by 57% to Rs 4.74 lakh crore, and Ambani was way ahead with a fortune of Rs 8.08 lakh crore
Number of sitting MPs and MLAs facing cases of crimes against women
151
According to the Association for Democratic Reforms, 16 of these MPs and MLAs have declared cases related to rape in their election affidavits. West Bengal tops the list with 25 MPs and MLAs facing charges related to crimes against women, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 21 and Odisha with 17.
Number of persons that died while cleaning sewers
453
As many as 453 people died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks since 2014 even as 732 of India’s 766 districts declared themselves free from manual scavenging, the Union Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry said on August 6th.
Death toll in Gaza since October 7th 2023 as of September 4th
40,861
The toll includes 42 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to ministry figures, which also list 94,398 people as wounded in the Gaza Strip. This phase of the Israel-Palestine conflict is currently nearing its twelfth month.
Published - September 05, 2024 09:34 pm IST
