As it celebrates the Diamond Jubilee of its inception, the Institute of Chartered Accounts of India has decided to embrace Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI to tap the benefits of the technology that gives human-like answers. After testing the Beta version, the institute launched the CAGPT, a fenced GPT (which is not connected to external resources) developed in a tie-up with OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT. The institute also launched another GPT, exclusively for the students pursuing CA courses.
“We have trained the GPT with all the data that the institute developed over the last 75 years. The GPT could churn out answers for any simple or complex questions that students might have,” Dayaniwas Sharma, a member of ICAI’s Central Council, and Chairman of the AI in ICAI, told businessline.
Earlier addressing a gathering of CAs at the AI Innovation Summit here on Tuesday, he demonstrated how they could use the CA GPT. “Over 30,000 of our members have used the GPT so far. We are encouraging others to tap the potential of Generative AI,” he said.
To equip the members with skills to use the GPT and other AI tools, the institute has launched a three-day certificate course, with a course length of 18 hours. “This is a preliminary course. We will introduce two other advanced courses,” he said.
The institute, however, will disable access to the GPT at the time of examinations. Stating that it was very particular about integrating technology with practice, the syllabus of core subjects in the outgoing batch was laced with technology.
Umesh Sharma, Vice-Chairman of AI in ICAI, said that the institute would publish different use cases to sensitise the members to tap the Generative AI in their practice. Asking the members to encourage their colleagues to use GenAI, he announced that the institute would kick start Season 2 of a hackathon, inviting innovators to solve some of the content-generation challenges faced by the members.
US conference
ICAI President Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal said that the institute would organise a similar conference in San Francisco in October. “AI is not going replace you (CAs). But the one with AI skills will,” he cautioned the members, asking them to learn how to use new tools.
He said the institute was in talks with the MeitY to develop an AI Audit tool that helps the members keep tabs on the books of corporates and flag frauds, if any.
The two-day conference is focussing on a range of topics around AI and GenAI including the challenges for adoption; the future of technology in accounting; upskilling CAs in the AI era; issues related to cybersecurity; the art of using effective prompts; and AI in forensic audit.