What does Seekh do?
Seekh is a student-led non-profit organization that connects less privileged students from any part of India with teachers for free tuition. Students register on the Seekh app with details such as their age, languages they know, now, subjects they want to learn, etc. Teachers and students can see details and connect with each other. They connect with the help of a phone number, and set up calls through video-calling platforms. Due to the pandemic, a lot of less privileged students have lost out on education. On the other hand, there are a lot of people who want to teach for free. I wanted to connect these two ends, and that is essentially what seekh does. With 100+ downloads, 90+ students and 50+ teachers covering more than 15 regions in India, the app is becoming popular. And all these couldn’t have been done without the effort of the team.
The word ‘technology has become a household term. What is your opinion about that?
Technology has its pros and cons. One of the things that technology has enabled is democratising knowledge. For example, if I have to gather information about absolutely anything today, I can do that with just the click of a button. Technology has helped us connect in a way where we can actually communicate and take things forward. For example, during the Spanish flu, without advanced technology small businesses died. In contrast, despite the current pandemic, we are able to communicate with each other, institutions have started functioning online, and our economy is improving. All of these wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for the technological advancements in today’s world. But on the other hand, due to technology, the personal connection with friends and family is going down. Technology has also enabled dangers such as cyber threats. Internet scams, etc.
Do you believe internships will help you in the future?
I think internships are very helpful because they give us a real-world exposure. But we shouldn’t become an intern just to get a certificate or because it will look fancy on a resume. We should do it to learn something.
Do you think machine learning can and will bring in more changes in the future?
I got introduced sometime ago to the concept of machine learning, wherein an Al system can learn from data and predict outputs from them. I feel machine learning is making a difference in today’s world. It has started transforming so many fields such as healthcare and transportation. I feel there are going to be many more applications of machine learning in the future.
Should schools introduce coding and programming as extra-curricular learning?
Steve Jobs once said. “Learn how to program a computer because it teaches you how to think.” What programming does is it helps you develop a strong foundation in logic so that you can apply it anywhere.
What are your hobbies and interests?
I like music. I hang out with friends, play games and the list goes on. I play cricket with my brother.
Who do you look up to the most?
My biggest inspirations are my parents. They’ve instilled the right values in me and a sense of what I should be focussing on and not focussing on. And obviously, my teachers. If I had any questions, I would approach them, and they were so kind and responded to that. Even my friends for their honest criticism when something was not right. Apart from that, I feel Elon Musk is an inspiration for me today. How he can manage his time with all his businesses is something I am trying to learn. He has a vision to help humanity as a whole. If there is even the smallest way in which I contribute to humanity through Seekh, this initiative will be a success.
What are your future plans?
Machine learning is something that excites me. Using my machine learning algorithms to help humanity in some way – this is a one-sentence summary of what I would love to do. One of the things I want to build is Artificial General Intelligence. An Artificial Intelligence system is only as smart as the data it gets. A self-driving car does not treat or diagnose cancer, right? So we don’t have a general-purpose Al. But humans on the other hand do so many activities that involve different types of intelligence. So if we can build an Al that can do any basic task. I think that would be the next step forward in machine learning and how we can take humanity forward.
Picture Credit : Google
