ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
INTRODUCTION
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the simulation of human intelligence processes by
machines, especially computer systems. These processes include learning (the
acquisition of information and rules for using the information), reasoning (using
rules to reach approximate or definite conclusions) and self-correction. Particular
applications of AI include expert systems, speech recognition and machine vision.
AI can be categorized as either weak or strong. Weak AI, also known as narrow AI,
is an AI system that is designed and trained for a particular task. Virtual personal
assistants, such as Apple's Siri, are a form of weak AI. Strong AI, also known as
artificial general intelligence, is an AI system with generalized human cognitive
abilities. When presented with an unfamiliar task, a strong AI system is able to
find a solution without human intervention.
Because hardware, software and staffing costs for AI can be expensive, many
vendors are including AI components in their standard offerings, as well as access
to Artificial Intelligence as a Service (AIaaS) platforms. AI as a Service allows
individuals and companies to experiment with AI for various business purposes
and sample multiple platforms before making a commitment. Popular AI cloud
offerings include Amazon AI services, IBM Watson Assistant, Microsoft Cognitive
Services and Google AI services.
While AI tools present a range of new functionality for businesses ,the use of
artificial intelligence raises ethical questions. This is because deep learning
algorithms, which underpin many of the most advanced AI tools, are only as smart
as the data they are given in training. Because a human selects what data should
be used for training an AI program, the potential for human bias is inherent and
must be monitored closely.
Some industry experts believe that the term artificial intelligence is too closely
linked to popular culture, causing the general public to have unrealistic fears
about artificial intelligence and improbable expectations about how it will change
the workplace and life in general. Researchers and marketers hope the
label augmented intelligence, which has a more neutral connotation, will help
people understand that AI will simply improve products and services, not replace
the humans that use them.
Types of artificial intelligence
Arend Hintze, an assistant professor of integrative biology and computer science
and engineering at Michigan State University, categorizes AI into four types, from
the kind of AI systems that exist today to sentient systems, which do not yet exist.
His categories are as follows:
Type 1: Reactive machines. An example is Deep Blue, the IBM chess program
that beat Garry Kasparov in the 1990s. Deep Blue can identify pieces on the
chess board and make predictions, but it has no memory and cannot use past
experiences to inform future ones. It analyzes possible moves -- its own
and its opponent -- and chooses the most strategic move. Deep Blue and
Google's AlphaGO were designed for narrow purposes and cannot easily be
applied to another situation.
Type 2: Limited memory. These AI systems can use past experiences to inform
future decisions. Some of the decision-making functions in self-driving cars are
designed this way. Observations inform actions happening in the not-so-distant
future, such as a car changing lanes. These observations are not stored
permanently.
Type 3: Theory of mind. This psychology term refers to the understanding that
others have their own beliefs, desires and intentions that impact the decisions
they make. This kind of AI does not yet exist.
Type 4: Self-awareness. In this category, AI systems have a sense of self, have
consciousness. Machines with self-awareness understand their current state and
can use the information to infer what others are feeling. This type of AI does not
yet exist .
Examples of AI technology
AI is incorporated into a variety of different types of technology. Here are seven
examples.
Automation: What makes a system or process function automatically. For
example, robotic process automation (RPA) can be programmed to perform
high-volume, repeatable tasks that humans normally performed. RPA is
different from IT automation in that it can adapt to changing circumstances.
Machine learning: The science of getting a computer to act without
programming . Deep learning is a subset of machine learning that, in very
simple terms, can be thought of as the automation of predictive analytics. There
are three types of machine learning algorithms:
o Supervised learning: Data sets are labeled so that patterns can be detected and
used to label new data sets
o Unsupervised learning: Data sets aren't labeled and are sorted according to
similarities or differences
o Reinforcement learning: Data sets aren't labeled but, after performing an
action or several actions, the AI system is given feedback
Machine vision: The science of allowing computers to see. This technology
captures and analyzes visual information using a camera, analog-to-digital
conversion and digital signal processing. It is often compared to human
eyesight, but machine vision isn't bound by biology and can be programmed to
see through walls, for example. It is used in a range of applications from
signature identification to medical image analysis. Computer vision, which is
focused on machine-based image processing, is often conflated with machine
vision.
Natural language processing (NLP): The processing of human -- and
not computer -- language by a computer program. One of the older and best
known examples of NLP is spam detection, which looks at the subject line and
the text of an email and decides if it's junk. Current approaches to NLP are
based on machine learning. NLP tasks include text translation, sentiment
analysis and speech recognition.
Robotics: A field of engineering focused on the design and manufacturing of
robots. Robots are often used to perform tasks that are difficult for humans to
perform or perform consistently. They are used in assembly lines for car
production or by NASA to move large objects in space. Researchers are also
using machine learning to build robots that can interact in social settings.
Self-driving cars: These use a combination of computer vision, image
recognition and deep learning to build automated skill at piloting a vehicle while
staying in a given lane and avoiding unexpected obstructions, such as
pedestrians.
AI applications
Artificial intelligence has made its way into a number of areas. Here are six
examples.
AI in healthcare. The biggest bets are on improving patient outcomes and
reducing costs. Companies are applying machine learning to make better and
faster diagnoses than humans. One of the best known healthcare technologies
is IBM Watson. It understands natural language and is capable of responding to
questions asked of it. The system mines patient data and other available data
sources to form a hypothesis, which it then presents with a confidence scoring
schema. Other AI applications include chat bots, a computer program used
online to answer questions and assist customers, to help schedule follow-up
appointments or aid patients through the billing process, and virtual health
assistants that provide basic medical feedback.
AI in business. Robotic process automation is being applied to highly repetitive
tasks normally performed by humans. Machine learning algorithms are being
integrated into analytics and CRM platforms to uncover information on how to
better serve customers. Chat bots have been incorporated into websites to
provide immediate service to customers. Automation of job positions has also
become a talking point among academics and IT analysts.
AI in education. AI can automate grading, giving educators more time. AI can
assess students and adapt to their needs, helping them work at their own pace.
AI tutors can provide additional support to students, ensuring they stay on track.
AI could change where and how students learn, perhaps even replacing some
teachers.
AI in finance. AI in personal finance applications, such as Mint or Turbo Tax,
is disrupting financial institutions. Applications such as these collect personal
data and provide financial advice. Other programs, such as IBM Watson, have
been applied to the process of buying a home. Today, software performs much
of the trading on Wall Street.
AI in law. The discovery process, sifting through of documents, in law is often
overwhelming for humans. Automating this process is a more efficient use of
time. Startups are also building question-and-answer computer assistants that
can sift programmed-to-answer questions by examining the taxonomy and
ontology associated with a database.
AI in manufacturing. This is an area that has been at the forefront of
incorporating robots into the workflow. Industrial robots used to perform single
tasks and were separated from human workers, but as the technology advanced
that changed.
HOW CAN AI BE DANGEROUS ?
Most researchers agree that a super intelligent AI is unlikely to exhibit human
emotions like love or hate, and that there is no reason to expect AI to become
intentionally benevolent or malevolent. Instead, when considering how AI
might become a risk, experts think two scenarios most likely:
1. The AI is programmed to do something devastating: Autonomous
weapons are artificial intelligence systems that are programmed to kill. In the
hands of the wrong person, these weapons could easily cause mass casualties.
Moreover, an AI arms race could inadvertently lead to an AI war that also
results in mass casualties. To avoid being thwarted by the enemy, these
weapons would be designed to be extremely difficult to simply “turn off,” so
humans could plausibly lose control of such a situation. This risk is one that’s
present even with narrow AI, but grows as levels of AI intelligence and
autonomy increase.
2. The AI is programmed to do something beneficial, but it develops a
destructive method for achieving its goal: This can happen whenever we fail
to fully align the AI’s goals with ours, which is strikingly difficult. If you ask
an obedient intelligent car to take you to the airport as fast as possible, it
might get you there chased by helicopters and covered in vomit, doing not what
you wanted but literally what you asked for. If a super intelligent system is
tasked with a ambitious geo engineering project, it might wreak havoc with
our ecosystem as a side effect, and view human attempts to stop it as a threat to
be met.
As these examples illustrate, the concern about advanced AI isn’t malevolence but
competence. A super-intelligent AI will be extremely good at accomplishing its
goals, and if those goals aren’t aligned with ours, we have a problem. You’re
probably not an evil ant-hater who steps on ants out of malice, but if you’re in
charge of a hydroelectric green energy project and there’s an anthill in the region
to be flooded, too bad for the ants. A key goal of AI safety research is to never
place humanity in the position of those ants.
CONCLUSION
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are products of both science and
myth. The idea that machines could think and perform tasks just as humans do is
thousands of years old. The cognitive truths expressed in AI and Machine Learning
systems are not new either. It may be better to view these technologies as the
implementation of powerful and long-established cognitive principles through
engineering.
We should accept that there is a tendency to approach all important innovations as
a Rorschach test upon which we impose anxieties and hopes about what constitutes
a good or happy world. But the potential of AI and machine intelligence for good
does not lie exclusively, or even primarily, within its technologies. It lies mainly in
its users. If we trust (in the main) how our societies are currently being run then we
have no reason not to trust ourselves to do good with these technologies. And if we
can suspend presentism and accept that ancient stories warning us not to play God
with powerful technologies are instructive then we will likely free ourselves from
unnecessary anxiety about their use.