HYDERABAD: If you thought artificial intelligence and machine learning is only jargon being used by the tech world, you've got another 'think' coming. Premier city-based tech institution the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-Hyderabad) is working on putting their emerging technologies to use to solve day-to-day problems confronting the common man in the real world.One such issue bothering Hyderabad is the deplorable state of roads battered by rains this monsoon. In order to help the government solve this vexatious problem, researchers from IIIT-Hyderabad have commenced working on a project that uses AI algorithms to detect as well as understand the condition of roads, which can in turn help government authorities in their repair and upkeep."We are working on a project where we send a car fitted with a few cameras on the roads and the back-end algorithms helps in detecting potholes, water logging or obstructions. These basic facts, that the GHMC may want to know, are not easy to collect and we can help them collect it automatically," IIIT-Hyderabad director Prof PJ Narayanan said. IIIT-Hyderabad professor CV Jawahar, who is leading the project, said the institute came up with the idea only after the recent rains. "The project is at an experimental state and it has been only a few weeks since the institute has started working on it. Based on the results, we will look at approaching the government," he said.The institute has been conducting a pilot in and around its campus in Gachibowli. Narayanan said it will take a couple of months before the institute can come up with a proper proposal to submit to the government.If IIIT-H is able to get this project on the road, this will be perhaps one of the first instances of AI & ML being used by the government to solve a civic issue in the city.Companies are increasingly resorting to AI & ML to solve real-life problems across the globe. For instance, in the Dallas firing last year, the police were able to kill the perpetrator with the help of a bomb robot that was powered by AI.Tech-savvy Telangana has already been using AI to screen children for eye problems with the help of Microsoft. Telangana's IT and MA&UD minister KTR has on numerous public platforms urged the startup community as well as tech institutions to come up with smart solutions powered ny new and emerginh technologies that can be deployed by the government for smart as well as effective governance.