CAREERS BLOG
CAREERS BLOG
Mar 29, 2022
Dr. Krishnendu Chaudhury (aka Krish), co-founder and CTO at Drishti, is one of the world’s foremost computer vision and deep learning experts. Over his long career, he’s been directly responsible for some of the most groundbreaking technological innovations in the history of Google, Flipkart and Adobe.
Today, he’s charting a technical vision for digitizing human actions in real-time, a challenge that’s pushing the boundaries of computer vision and deep learning even further. Dr. Chaudhury is the author of the book, "Math and Architectures of Deep Learning."
We caught him off guard on a late Sunday evening; here is the gist of a candid chat we had with him.
What did you learn early in your career that has helped guide you ever since?
Krish: Go for the big picture, and first get the main story in your head. That concept is something that my father instilled in me. In all things important, there is a core story. Developing insights into this story matters the most. In most mathematical problems, especially regarding AI and neural networks, there is geometrical vision. This idea applies not just to computer vision, but also to larger life. Everything else is mere details.
Learn to wrap your mind around the fundamental aspect of the story. This way, you don't need to know everything, you can create a mental picture from which everything can be derived. If this can be done, you will see that things will start to fall in place.
If 35-year-old Krish won a lottery of $10 million, what would he have done differently?
Krish: When I was 35 years old, which is a couple of decades ago, $10 million was worth a significant amount compared to today. All through my life, I always wanted to pick up a problem whose solution matters. Two things to this context:
I wanted a challenge that was difficult to solve, that is the fun part of it. There are people who are driven by puzzles, and I belong to that set. I enjoy solving puzzles. I cannot pick up a puzzle and not try to solve it.
Many puzzles make no difference to the world, but if I am doing it as a profession then I would also like it to make an impact on the world. It also has to be a problem that I should be able to solve.
Finding such a problem is difficult. Most people go through their lives without finding any such thing. Drishti has the potential to fall into that category. It can make a difference and it certainly is a difficult puzzle.
Coming back to the $10 million at 35, I have always wanted to work on something related to health, as my father was a doctor. Though I was passionate about it, the opportunity hasn't presented itself so far.
One idea I would have worked on is the now Google Glass. In this, you fit a camera into your glasses. With the requisite level of AI, it helps to interpret the world around you. Think what it can do for a vision-impaired person! I have come across people attempting it, but have never seen it being solved in a good way. Similarly, for folks on the autism spectrum, something that can interpret the world in a certain way that is automated and constantly with them can really help. These were problems I have been wanting to work on for a long time, but never found an opportunity.
To be fair, Drishti is the best thing I have worked on so far. I am having fun. I am being honest here. At Drishti, we have solved things that nobody has solved before. We are not a company that re-hashes or reuses other people’s solutions, we build our own from scratch.
What are three things nobody knows about Dr. Krishnendu Chaudhury?
I took a course online for umpiring: I played for the Northern California cricket league (third division, where computer scientists and people like doctors played.) It was fun, it took a lot of dedication. We used to travel to smaller towns in California to play 45 overs matches, this was before T20 international was invented. If you are not playing in a game, you are supposed to volunteer as an umpire.
I have written a few poems in Bengali over the years. One was published in my school magazine in grade 10. I have published 10-12 poems in my life. I sometimes publish them on webzines.
I can touch the tip of my nose with my tongue. This may be the most distinguished thing about me for the moment. I am somewhat proud of this ability.
There was a time when I had a very luxurious mustache of which I was proud, but not anymore.
If Krishnendu Chaudhury was not an engineer, what would he be?
Krish: Mathematician, that is an easy one. Even as an engineer I have stayed very close to mathematics. Geometry is the love of my life. My dad gave me an opportunity to study what I want. I seriously considered taking up math, but for various reasons, I did study electronics. I have stayed very close to maths even with what I do now. Computer vision and neural networks are very math-oriented. Machine learning in general is a math-oriented discipline.
If you were shipwrecked on a deserted island and all your human needs were met, what are the other two items you would want to have with you?
Krish: Definitely books. I would like to take a copy of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I have read it a couple of times and it is one of my favorites.
I read Mahabharata quite a lot. In fact, repeatedly. I have done this all my life. I generally read a lot about the war part, not so much the previous works. I know many many details in the Mahabharata that are not well known. I have read it in thorough detail.
Or another would be a book of geometrical puzzles, perhaps.
Another would be Kishore Kumar songs. In Kolkata, in the Bengali atmosphere, it is great to mention very classical-oriented singers, but this is what I like. I actually enjoy Kishore Kumar more than Bhimsen Joshi. I have never developed a taste for western music, maybe because I didn't listen to it much when I was growing up.
Side note: I love Indian music. Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Da are two people I have loved. They have also sung a lot of Bengali songs. I used to have a huge collection of them.
Who is your favorite superhero? Why?
Undoubtedly, my dad! For me, he is my superhero. He was the person who instilled the love for insight and deep thinking in my life. He could decouple himself quite a bit from material wins and losses of life.
From an imaginary character perspective, Obelix is undoubtedly my superhero. I have read the entire series. I love it. I love the simple clarity of life in this character that says, “These are my enemies, I need to beat them up.” It is clean and simple and that is why I love it.
