At the age of six, when children are often busy with toys and video games, Kautilya Katariya is already shaping the future of programming.
Based in Northampton in the UK, Katariya was just six years old when he won the Guinness World Record as the world’s youngest computer programmer. Now 8 years old, he is an IBM Artificial Intelligence (AI) Professional and a Certified Microsoft Technology Associate.
Speaking to the Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the World Government Summit, Katariya said her passion for computing started at the age of five when her father gave her a book on building a basic curriculum. .
“I liked it so much that I finished the book in a day. That’s when I wrote my first computer program and installed Python,” noted Katariya, who describes himself as a computer explorer. .
During the Covid-19 lockdown, the ninth grader invested his time in learning coding, maths, science, origami and puzzle solving.
He has completed four professional certifications from IBM for Python and AI. Now he joins math lessons with high school students and competes with university students in computer science and programming, in addition to his occasional speaking role at key global events.
Initially, Katariya explored computer languages such as Python, JavaScript, and HTML support before focusing on Python as the best programming language to learn for AI and machine learning.
“I have developed AI projects using IBM Watson and Python, including a chatbot, voice assistance and an image recognition system to detect fire and smoke.”
Explaining the image recognition program which aims to reduce the number of fire fatalities, Katariya noted, “It can be used in places where the risk of fire is high so that the camera can be connected to my model. AI and can then check if there is fire or smoke, and if there is, then he can call a firefighter.
Through her YouTube channel, Katariya solves problems on different coding platforms in an effort to inspire the younger generation to learn programming.
“Programming develops problem-solving skills for future challenges. You can do almost anything using programming.
The young student stressed that governments must help future tech talent become young programmers by expanding learning resources and providing access to places like labs and research.
Ultimately, he said, AI and technology must be part of the curriculum.
To develop his skills, Katariya said he explores different areas of computing through books and online tutorials.
In January 2021, he earned an IBM Professional Certification for Data Visualization and Applied Data Science with Python.
In the future, Katariya said he plans to design a new kind of AI and become a mathematician and computer scientist.
“One day I would like to build an AI program that could do anything if you were sick it could be a doctor, if you want to talk it could be a friend, if you need a ride , it could become or build a robot or rocket car for you,” he said.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com
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