It’s difficult to avoid discussion about Artificial intelligence (AI) recently – it’s a hot topic that affects a whole range of industries. But for anyone relatively new to the conversation, what exactly is being discussed? And how does it relate to the current state of computing? Artificial intelligence (AI) is a disruptive technology that has huge, transformative potential. And this is something that both excites and concerns both sides of the debate. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s define some key concepts in the conversation.
What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the simulation of human intelligence, notably thinking and learning, in computers. It’s a multidisciplinary field that combines computer science, mathematics, and cognitive science. The aim is to create intelligent systems that can observe their surroundings, reason, acquire new skills, and act based on information and experiences – like humans. Think of an artificial brain that continues to learn.
You might see AI being discussed at the same time with machine learning. This technology allows computers to learn and improve from data without explicit programming. Their algorithms analyse large amounts of data to find patterns, make predictions, and handle challenging tasks. AI can be applied to a range of methods and strategies. It involves analysing huge volumes of data, pattern identification, forecasting, understanding human language, as well as interpreting other types of data. AI can be applied to machine learning, natural language processing, and robotics. All of this is at the scale and speed which would be near-impossible for a human mind.
The ultimate goal is for AI to carry out tasks that traditionally require human intelligence input. From simple tasks like image categorisation on photo apps, to more complex ones like autonomous driving, there’s a huge amount of potential that’s just being explored.
So Why AI?
As AI aims to replicate human intelligence at speed and scale, it can take on tasks that would take much longer if done by humans. For instance, AI enables automation of repetitive tasks. This frees up human resources to focus on more complex, creative, and more business critical tasks. AI systems can perform these types of tasks faster, with higher accuracy and removing the risk of human error.
AI systems can also uncover trends and patterns that far more quickly than humans, and may also pick up on insights that we might miss. Businesses can use this capability to make data-driven decisions, enhance forecasting precision, and find anomalies. The result? Competitive advantages for businesses are discovered more quickly.
Finally, but not last, AI encourages innovation, pushing the boundaries of what machines can achieve. It encourages researchers and developers to explore new algorithms, technologies, and applications. AI-driven research and development can lead to breakthroughs across various industries. It’s an exciting time, as there’s plenty of potential to explore.
But Why Are There Concerns Around AI?
While AI holds great potential and offers numerous benefits, there are legitimate concerns surrounding its development and deployment, especially as it is integrated into more and more industries.
For instance, there’s a worry that AI will lead to job losses. With the development of AI and automation technologies, there is concern that they may displace human workers from some occupations and cause unemployment. Another concern is potential bias. AI systems may only be as good as the data they are trained on, biased training data may cause the AI system to make biased judgements and produce biased results. There’s also the fact that more and more personal data is being collected to power AI systems. This has created privacy concerns, due to the possibility of misuse or unauthorised access to sensitive information.
How these transpire all depends on the continued developments of AI and machine learning, as well as how those on the frontline of AI development move forward. As it’s all still so new, there’s not much that can be predicted. It’s a case of watching and learning as we go.
Whatever happens next with AI, it’s certainly going to be disruptive and shake up what we already know. As to how it affects industrial business. It’s something we’ll all be keeping an eye on. It’s unknowable, but we have to admit, pretty exciting. Let us know what you think about AI?