Programs
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Chief Operating Officer, EkStep Foundation
Talk Title: Rooted Intelligence: AI for Inclusive, Indigenous, and Climate-Resilient Farming Futures
Jagadish Babu is the Chief Operating Officer of EkStep Foundation and a pioneer in digital public infrastructure for learning and agriculture. With over 25 years of experience across private, government, and non-profit sectors, he has played key roles in Aadhaar, DIKSHA among others. He leads innovations in AI, language technologies, and open networks to make knowledge and services more accessible. As a founding conceptualizer of the Open Agricultural Network (OAN), his work is shaping sovereign agri-stacks globally, powered by AI. An alumnus of IISc Bangalore, Jagadish is passionate about harnessing technology to transform lives at scale. He is an agriculture, agroForestry and wildlife enthusiast.
Small and marginal farmers form the backbone of our food systems — yet they remain vulnerable to climate shocks, market volatility, and systemic inequities. This keynote explores how Artificial Intelligence can be harnessed not just for productivity, but for inclusive innovation, prosperity, and empowerment. From AI-powered advisory systems to climate-smart crop planning, real-world implementations are already bridging the digital divide — including voice-to-voice technologies that finally allow multilingual, low-literacy interaction. These innovations amplify indigenous knowledge, support women farmers, and redefine grassroots agency. While new frontiers continue to emerge and urgent questions remain — on equity, ethics, and scalability — this talk centers on what’s working now and how we can innovate from the ground up. It calls for a new era of policy and investment where AI becomes a tool of resilience, dignity, and sustainable livelihoods.