Artificial Intelligence (AI) and India: Promise, Perception and Preparedness (NIAS Research Report No. NIAS/NSE/U/RR/070/2019)

AI is identified as one of the emerging technologies which would have bearing on the lives of the people and society in the coming years. As part of a project “Managing Public Perceptions and Public Acceptances of Public Risks Associated with New and Emerging Technologies through Science and Technology Communications” funded by the NCSTC, DST, NIAS, has conducted an online survey to know various dimensions of the perceptions on AI and the results are reported in this report

Captivity-induced behaviour and spatial learning abilities in an enigmatic, aquifer-dwelling blind eel, Rakthamichthys digressus

We investigated the impact of captive life on behaviour and learning abilities in an enigmatic, aquifer-dwelling blind eel, Rakthamichthys digressus. Of eight major behavioural traits related to exploration and activity in a novel arena, four were significantly altered by life in captivity. While the startle response upon introduction into the arena and overall swimming away from the walls increased after captivity, inactivity exhibited immediately after the startle and the reaction to an external disturbance decreased. We also observed behavioural syndromes between ‘startle responses’ and ‘horizontal wall following’, and between ‘overall activity’ and ‘vertical wall following’; however, these behavioural syndromes were not altered by maintenance in captivity. Interestingly, this blind-eel failed to learn a simple spatial task in a Y-maze apparatus. Captive-associated behavioural changes in R. digressus may influence their survival after reintroduction into natural habitats, and such changes must be taken into account while developing protocols for ex-situ conservation and subsequent release