OpenNyAI Maker Residency Program at TinkerSpace
In a unique and collaborative initiative titled “OpenNyAI Maker Residency,” leading experts from law, justice, and technology came together to brainstorm ideas for utilising artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool to ensure increased access to safe and speedy justice across the country. This transformative event jointly organised by OpenaNyAI and TinkerHub Foundation unfolded from 28th July to 1st August 2023 at TinkerSpace in Kochi, Kerala — a first-of-its-kind maker space in the region.
The primary objective of this residency was to tackle critical challenges in the field of law and justice using AI technologies, innovation, and collaboration. More than 30 entrepreneurs and innovators from diverse backgrounds, including law, technology, design, and social entrepreneurship, participated in the program from India, the UK, and the Netherlands.
Over the course of the residency, participants delved deep into refining their problem statements, validating their ideas, testing hypotheses, and crafting tangible prototypes ( Tech or Design Demos) in the realm of Law & Justice. Each participant brought forth their distinctive problem statements, reflecting real-time issues faced by them or their organizations, and eagerly explored the possibilities of leveraging technology to address these critical challenges.
The residency program also ignited a dialogue in the field, encouraging active engagement with technology for social good and fostering a journey of tech learning.
Among the problem statements tackled by the participants were questions like:
“How might we address the problem of information asymmetry, which poses a significant barrier to accessing justice?”
“How might we create a comprehensive chat interface that serves as an efficient grievance redressal system for citizens of Andhra Pradesh, specifically addressing complex revenue issues?”
As the residency progressed, each participant made significant strides in advancing their solutions, and the collaborative atmosphere nurtured lasting relationships that would support them on their transformative journey.
Another cornerstone of the Residency was providing a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach by bridging the gap between legal experts and technologists. It also offered an exclusive platform for participants to showcase their ideas and works to law students and the wider community, fostering continued collaboration and innovation.
The sessions in the residency program were led by experts in the legal-tech field and covered topics like the Effectiveness of AI models, Ethics in AI, and Limitations and Challenges in Building for Public Systems. The Residency featured notable mentors such as Deepak Paramanand (JP Morgan Director — AI), Sameer Segal (Microsoft Research Senior Research SDE), Kailash Nadh (Zerodha CTO), Rahul Matthan and Nikhil Narendran (Trilegal Partners), Amod Malviya (Udaan CTO), Hanae Baruchel (Ashoka Senior Change Leader), and Gopal Garg (Project ASPIRe Director) with support from Praveen Sridhar (AI Artificial Intelligence consultant), Muhammad Swalah (Software Developer, Softway) among others.
Some sidebar sessions were facilitated by tech mentors and speakers from the TinkerHub Foundation, which included topics like “Building for Public Systems” by Safwan Erooth (Founder at Tridz), “Ethics & Practise in Information Technology: Responsible Tech Philosophy” by Nidhi Sudhan (Co-Founder, Citizen Digital Foundation), and “Open Source Applications for Law and Justice” by Gopikrishnan Sasikumar (Machine Learning Engineer),
Prominent individuals and organisations involved in the initiative included Justice Kannan Krishnamoorthy (former Judge of Punjab & Haryana High Court and Madras High Court), Dhatri Reddy (Government of Andhra Pradesh), and Kishore Kommi (Andhra Pradesh Police). Other notable participants were One Future Collective, Lawctopus, Insurance Samadhan, Youth Ki Awaaz, and Citizen Digital Foundation.
The OpenNyAI Maker Residency was an exciting and fruitful endeavour, bringing together experts from different fields to collaborate and innovate in using AI for the betterment of the legal system and ensuring justice for all.
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TinkerHub Foundation is actively involved in tech learning through its programs, campus communities, and TinkerSpace. It also works in the intersection of tech and society to use technology for social good. OpenNyAI, on the other hand, is a non-profit collaborative mission focused on developing AI public goods (models and APIs) and building a maker community of lawyers and technologists to transform the experience of justice in India. The initiative is led by Agami, EkStep, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, National Law School of India University, and ThoughtWorks.
