Meet Kaustav Das Sharma, The Global Engineer Redefining AI Accessibility

Digital technology has introduced many valuable tools, from smartphones and laptops to home devices and online platforms, helping create a more interconnected world.

Yet despite this progress, access to these technologies isn’t always equal, which is something engineer Kaustav Das Sharma knows all too well.

Sharma grew up in India and later worked across Europe, North America, and the Middle East, so he’s seen firsthand the barriers such as poor internet infrastructure and a lack of technical knowledge that prevent people benefiting from the latest technological breakthroughs.

As he puts it: “While technology is awesome, its benefits aren’t evenly distributed across socioeconomic classes. It should be built to enhance parity and grow, not boost inequity.”

Kaustav has dedicated his career to solving this issue. Recognizing the potential of artificial intelligence, he’s focused on creating simple, user-friendly tools that make this technology accessible to all. Whether it’s developing apps to support students or helping companies create automated workflows, Kaustav is working hard to make sure everyone can use vital technology regardless of their resources.

Read on to learn more about Kaustav Das Sharma and how his work is democratizing AI.

A Global Perspective on Inequality

Kaustav’s worldview and engineering philosophy were shaped by his uniquely global upbringing. He grew up moving around cities like Calcutta, Milan, Dubai, Stavanger, London, and Montreal, which exposed him to diverse cultures and communities from an early age.

“Living in so many countries taught me how to connect with people from all walks of life,” he reflects. “That’s the foundation of my approach to engineering.”

But these experiences didn’t just teach him about diversity, they also opened his eyes to the stark inequalities in access to technology.

In an increasingly digital world, tools like reliable internet, modern devices like smartphones and laptops, and basic technical knowledge can determine opportunities in education and employment. Studies show that 80% of middle-skill jobs now require some sort of digital proficiency, yet millions of people around the globe lack access to these tools and skills, winding up left behind and unable to progress in a digital world.

After witnessing this inequality, Kaustav became determined to help bridge the divide of access to technology. He set out to pursue a Bachelor’s in Computer Engineering with the intent of building accessible tools that could create opportunities for as many people as possible.

“I believe talent is distributed evenly, but opportunity is not,” he explains. “That’s why, as an engineer, my motivation is to build things that remove burdens from people’s daily lives.”

This commitment to inclusivity became crucial when Kaustav encountered a brand-new technology during his studies — one with the potential to help him reach his goals.

Kaustav’s Incursion Into AI

While in undergrad, Kaustav began delving into artificial intelligence, a field that was beginning to become widely adopted in industries like healthcare, logistics, and customer service by the early 2020s. Today, over half of companies use AI to automate manual tasks, monitor production processes, and boost their productivity.

However, Kaustav saw that while AI was benefiting large corporations, it also had the potential to be a powerful tool for people in underserved communities. He realized that AI could help bridge the gap in access to opportunities by offering resources that allow people to learn new skills, access essential services, and solve everyday challenges, all without requiring heavy infrastructure or technical expertise.

“Innovation should break barriers, not reinforce them,” he asserts. “My goal is to ensure that AI is a tool for inclusion, not exclusivity.”

To accomplish this, Kaustav launched the McGill AI Society Podcast, a show dedicated to breaking down AI’s complexities for a broader audience. The podcast features industry experts who explain AI’s rising influence across multiple industries and provide examples of its potential to assist people in their everyday lives.

At the same time, Kaustav began working on a series of projects that would provide use cases for AI in multiple fields, such as StudyGuru, a generative AI-powered tool designed to help students by creating concise summaries of complex academic materials to simplify their learning process. Another of his projects was Therap.ai, a mental health chatbot that provided conversational support to individuals who lacked access to professional therapy.

Both projects showed the practical ways AI could improve people’s lives while also highlighting the need to design simple and accessible tools — factors that would become crucial for Kaustav’s next project.

Automating Workflows With Gumloop

In 2024, Kaustav joined Vancouver-based startup Gumloop as its first employee and founding engineer.

Gumloop is a platform that provides businesses and individuals with AI tools to automate their workflows without needing any technical expertise. This is possible with the platform’s intuitive drag-and-drop interface, which enables users to combine various tasks into custom workflows.

For instance, users can automate tasks like summarizing online videos and emailing those summaries to their teams, eliminating multiple time-consuming manual tasks in the process.

As the founding engineer, Kaustav played a key role in shaping Gumloop’s user-friendly design. One of his standout contributions was Gummie, an AI-powered chatbot integrated into the platform. Gummie serves as a virtual assistant, guiding users through the process of creating and optimizing workflows and providing step-by-step tips for beginners and personalized recommendations for more advanced users, creating an approachable and customized experience.

Although Gumloop has only recently launched, Kaustav is optimistic about its potential to change how people interact with AI and hopes to continue expanding its automation capabilities. This includes making Gummie even more intelligent so it can automatically build workflows based on user prompts.

“Through Gumloop, we want to make AI workflows so simple that anyone can bring their ideas to life — no matter their background,” Sharma concludes.

A Vision For Global AI Adoption

Kaustav Das Sharma’s work reflects the importance of democratizing technology on a global scale. His diverse background, lifelong commitment to addressing inequality, and focus on creating simple, user-friendly tools have driven his efforts to make AI accessible for everyone.

From his early projects like StudyGuru and Therap.ai to his current work at Gumloop, Kaustav’s story is an example of how technology, when designed with inclusivity in mind, can empower individuals worldwide and open doors for personal and professional growth.

BDG Media newsroom and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.