AI is still bone of contention and there are uncertainties whether it could be fully implemented in the future or not. Let’s first understand what is Artificial Intelligence & how does it work.

What Is AI?

Have you read any science fiction yet? Ever dreamt of talking robots and flying machines? That’s exactly where AI aims to take us! 

“The term AI describes anything that computer does would require the intelligence of a human.”

The term AI was coined in 1950s, but at that time, the concept of AI was understood by little and wasn’t as popular as it is today – thanks to advanced algorithms, and improvements in computing power and storage.

In the beginning, AI was limited to topics like problem-solving and symbolic methods. 

Things began to change when the US Department of Defense took interest in this type of work and commenced training computers to mimic human reasoning.

For instance, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) completed street mapping projects and produced intelligent personal assistants in 2003.

This was the beginning of a new era, that would later pave way for the automation and formal reasoning that we see in a computer today.

How Does AI Work?

Study the patterns of your brains which are responsible for your decision making. The concept of AI is quite similar to how the human brain works but AI is based on algorithms and free from all types of emotions. Have a look at how AI works:

• Artificial Intelligence is a programmed algorithm that could be for anything, like finding best hotel, voice, search and now even image recognition.
• You need some hardware as well depending on the kind of work you aim to take from AI-based machine. For instance, for voice search, you’ll need a mic. For image recognition, you’ll need a camera.
• AI has a neural network – the place where we input our data and store it for later use. This is called the “Brain” of an AI.
• There are various learning methods to teach AI for more effective use. The more it learns, the better it gets.
• As AI continues to learn, after some time it becomes remarkably intelligent that it is now capable of taking decisions like a human.

Machine learning is the key in AI that takes it closer to human intelligence. By constant learning, the computer learns how to respond to top certain actions. Historical data and algorithms together form a propensity model that perpetuates the cycle of learning and decision making – based on past experiences. 

Basic Components Of AI

Many of AI’s novel technologies are common buzzwords like ” Natural Language Processing”, and “Deep Learning”. à la mode technologies that enable computer systems to completely understand the meanings of human language, learn from experience and make predictions. The technologies are disruptive, revolutionizing the way we humans interact with data and make decisions. They should be understood in basic terms by all of us.

Machine Learning

Machine learning is an application of AI that provides computer systems with the ability to learn and improve from experience. This enhances the performance of any machine and improves its decision making. The computers are programmed in such a way that they continuously learn to respond in certain situations and come up with quick and effective solutions. Machine learning focuses on the development of such algorithms that can analyze data and improve decision making of a machine.

It is due to Machine Learning that relevant ads appear when we visit a particular site, we get relevant friend suggestions on FB and we’re able to find the best route for our Uber.

Deep learning 

In plain terms, deep learning is a subset of machine learning that employs artificial neural networks. These neural networks mimic the biological neural networks in the human brain and learn by processing data.

Multiple layers of artificial neural networks work in as a unit to determine one single output from many inputs. For instance, identifying the image of a face from a mosaic of titles. The machine learns through positive and negative reinforcements of the tasks they carry out and develop intelligence that assists them later in decision making.

 Neural Networks

Neural networks enable deep learning in AI, as mentioned above that neural networks are computer systems modeled after neural connection present in the human brain. Perceptron is an artificial equivalent of a human neuron. Bundles of neuron create neural networks in the brain. Similarly, stacks of perceptron create artificial neural networks in computer systems.

Neural networks learn from training examples.

For example, you input a set of 1,000 cat photos. The machine processes images and produce a single output, answering the question, “Is the image a cat or not?”

In this way, the machine is able to give meaning to a previously undefined data and find associations. These associations later improve its decision making and overall intelligence.

Natural Language Processing

To develop human-like intelligence, machines will have to understand human language first. Natural language processing allows computers to interpret and produce human language and speech. The primary goal of NLP is to enable seamless interaction between the machines and humans – the machines we use every day. The better we’ll teach them, the more their decision making will improve. Some of the real-world examples of NLP include Skype Translator which is capable of interpreting the speech of multiple languages.

Computer Vision

Infographics have become prevalent and preferred over traditional ways of representing information. In AI, computer vision is a technique that implements deep learning and pattern identification – interpretation of diverse content present in an image including graphics, table, pictures within PDF documents, etc. Computer vision is a necessary part of Ai, enabling our computers to identify and process visual data.

This technology has revolutionized the industry of healthcare and research and development. Doctors are able to diagnose patients faster – thanks to computer vision which explicitly evaluates a patient’s x-ray scans.

Benefits & Risks Of AI

Would you mind a self-driven car? You are sitting behind with family, happily chatting and playing with your kids, while the car navigates and moves at its own. Sure, you would love it. But what if this kind of technology mistakenly or intentionally goes into wrong hands?

What if science fiction movies turn into reality and these machines rebel against us? 

Benefits Of AI

There is always a constant debate going on since the birth of the idea of artificial intelligence. There are divided opinions and most of them make sense. Some suggest humans are digging their own graves by creating intelligent machines while some contradict that they are actually contributing in catapulting human civilization to greater heights with it.

However, some of the benefits of AI are becoming evident as the AI machines are now found in different place be it a hospital or a supermarket.

1. Increase work efficiency

AI-powered machines are doing particular repetitive tasks with amazing efficiency – that we human find boring! The reason is quite simple: they don’t have emotions like us, neither they feel tired or sick like us. They do whatever they are designed to do, with amazing efficiency and accuracy.

Who would mind a machine working 24X7, instead of a human, who of course can’t work continuously for that long.

For example, AI-powered chat assistant can answer customer queries on your site 24/7 and boost your sales.

2. Work With Accuracy

Another important benefit of AI-powered machines is their ability to solve complex problems. Even if you have inherited a piece of brain from Einstein, you’ll still need a significant amount of time to solve some extremely complex problems. But AI machines can solve such problems in seconds, that too with astonishing accuracy!

Due to their high accuracy, they are now being used in the medical field particularly. Robots are learning fast at diagnosing serious conditions in the human body. With robots now able to perform delicate surgeries, the risk of human lives is minimized!

3. Minimize Cost Of Training & Operation

Since AI-based machines learn from their everyday experience, the need to update code regularly is eliminated. The machine learns new things at its own and this saves our time and cost.

Moreover, robots can perform a certain task with better efficiency than human – if they have learned enough. Machines don’t take rest and can operate 24/7 with the same accuracy and efficiency. 

All robots need is maintenance – they don’t ask for monthly salaries and bonuses. This is one of the reasons why robots and AI is becoming prevalent in every industry.

4. Improve Processes

The humongous amount of data that we gather from machine gives us a terrific insight into our work. The data helps to improve business, spread awareness about a fast-spreading disease, study the human mind and find the root of every problem!

Risks Associated With AI

1.Less Job For Humans

If the world starts deploying robots for their common house chores or at the workplace, how will humanity survive? For centuries, humans have followed one principle: Learn, work and earn. If robots take over all the position that humans now hold at work, the entire world will enter into never-ending chaos. Of course, rich ones would prefer to keep robots at their office – they work fast and can work longer than humans.

2.AI is Unsustainable

The computers that offer high computing power have rare earth materials in their chips like Selenium as a major constituent. Moreover, the batteries of such machines run on Lithium – another rare element in earth’s crust. With continuous working on AI machines, mining of these materials is being done at a very fast pace, which is harmful to our environment. These computers need a huge amount of power to function, that puts severe pressure on our power plants. 

3.Misuse of AI

Like every new invention has some benefits and disadvantages, positives and negatives, the same is true for AI. Ai, if used for healthy purpose can bring revolution. On the contrary, if anyone uses it with evil intentions, it can pose an unprecedented threat to human beings and other species. 

For instance, an AI-based weapon falling in the hands of a wrong person can cause massive destruction and result in unbearable loss.