Hyderabad: The Telangana Board of Intermediate Education (TGBIE) has announced that it will not introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a separate subject in the Physics stream.

Speaking to The Hans India, a senior official from TGBIE said that discussions regarding the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) are still in the preliminary stages, and no final decision has been taken so far. He explained, "The matter is currently under consideration by experts to potentially introduce AI as a chapter in Physics rather than as a separate subject."

Prof Ramana, a Professor of Physics and Member of the Expert Committee, further clarified that the board's main objective is to reduce the syllabus burden on students, similar to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). As part of this effort, the board proposed removing a topic on elections and communication, which is highly technical and deemed unnecessary for intermediate-level students. In its place, a topic on AI was proposed to provide foundational awareness of the field, given its growing significance.

However, it is worth noting that the University Grants Commission (UGC) allows students to take the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) Examination after completing their undergraduate courses to enroll in research programmes. AI interfaces with various disciplines, including social sciences, physical sciences, life sciences, and languages. The 10+2 syllabus is to align with changes in undergraduate courses; otherwise, students may find themselves at a disadvantage compared to their CBSE counterparts.

Further, several leading global companies have been recruiting people from fields such as language linguistics, psychology, and related branches to be part of their AI teams.

When asked about the reasoning behind TGBIE's decision to limit AI foundations to Physics students only, Prof Ramana acknowledged that this idea had not come up for consideration when discussing the introduction of AI. However, he assured, "The idea to introduce AI as an introductory topic to benefit all student streams will be presented to the board for consideration and decision-making."