Artificial Intelligence and The World At Large: A Beginner’s Guide
The concept of Artificial Intelligence has changed.
It was and is often portrayed in movies (an instance Ex Machina) where robots or machines seemed to act like humans, most times robots overthrew humans and sometimes humans and robots coexisted together. Fast forward to many years later, we not only see this in movies, but it has also become part of people’s daily lives.
How Artificial Intelligence Transforming The World
This technology is a wide-ranging tool that many individuals and companies use to reconsider data, examine the information and subsequently understanding to come to a better conclusion.
Major companies also offer their AI assistants. Microsoft offers Cortana, Amazon has Alexa, Apple had Siri and Google offers Google assistant. Uttering “OK Google” on your mobile for the first time will seem a bit eccentric but through these modes of assistance, you can get flights booked, know the weather beforehand and some things humans also predominantly do.
From self-driving automobiles to conversational bots used in customer service, AI is here to stay.
What is Artificial Intelligence?
There is no built upon and accepted definition of AI. According to Wikipedia, machines show Artificial Intelligence, unlike the natural intelligence displayed by humans and animals, which involves consciousness and emotionality. One particular article portrays Artificial Intelligence as a wide-ranging branch of computer science concerned with building smart machines capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence.
Various Definitions of Artificial Intelligence
1. Artificial Intelligence refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. — Investopedia
2. This is the simulation of natural intelligence in machines that are programmed to learn and mimic the actions of humans. –My great learning
3. Artificial Intelligence is the study of man-made computational devices and systems which can be made to act in a manner which they would incline us to call intelligent. — The University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
In layman’s terms, AI refers to the understanding that machines can extract, interpret and learn from external sources of data whereby these machines imitate cognitive (reasoning, or remembering) practices that are normally attributed to humans. AI is transforming every walk of life. This article will serve as a beginner’s guide to Artificial Intelligence. The various types, sectors it can be applied and its history will be looked at in this article.
History of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence began in ancient time, with myths, rumours and stories of artificial and mechanical beings endowed with intelligence existed or could exist with the help of master artisans. Ancient philosophers had been contemplating how human thoughts could be artificially mechanized and manipulated by non-human machines.
That thought process sort of piqued an interest in AI when logicians and mathematicians considered symbol manipulations, which led to the invention of the programmable digital computer, the Atanasoff Berry Computer (ABC) in the 1940s.
They found the field of AI research at a workshop held at the Dartmouth College Campus. Early scientist John McCarthy birthed the term Artificial Intelligence in 1956 and has gained its importance today because of larger data volumes.
Types Of Artificial Intelligence
We can classify artificial Intelligence into two types.
- Based on Capabilities
- Weak AI
- Strong AI
- Based on the Functionalities
- Limited memory
- Reactive machines
- Self-awareness
- Theory of mind
Based on Capabilities
Weak AI.
It is also known as Narrow AI, which possesses specific intelligence rather than general intelligence. Weak AI lacks human consciousness, though it may stimulate it. It stimulates human cognition.
Strong AI
Also known as Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), this is the theoretical form of machine intelligence that’s equal to human intelligence. Key characteristics include the ability to solve problems, learn, plan, communicate and so on.
Based on the Functionality
Limited memory
This kind of Artificial Intelligence makes use of past information, events, or occurrences. They use these pieces of data to learn to build probationary knowledge. We can see a distinct example in self-driving cars. They function properly by observing their environment, and they also consider the movement of other vehicles, road navigation, and what makes driving smooth and stress-free.
Reactive machines
This kind of AI is the opposite of Limited Memory. It does not form or use memories and/or experiences to inform current decisions. They can not learn, hence, they only perform what we have programmed them to do. An example is IBM’s Deep Blue chess-playing supercomputer. The reason for its creation was to play chess against a human competitor while intending to defeat them. They programmed it with the ability to identify a chessboard and its pieces; it made predictions on moves it and its opponent might take. In May 1997, Deep Blue beat Garry Kasparov, who happened to a chess grandmaster.
Self-awareness
According to Medium, self-aware systems are systems that can form representations of themselves. These would be machines that are aware of themselves and know their internal states. A state where engineered artefacts would have their own consciousness.
Theory of mind
This function hopes that machines will be able to make decisions on their own, have a mind of their own, and take decisions as well as humans would. In the evolution of AI, we haven’t quite gotten here yet.
Applications Of Artificial Intelligence
Different areas where AI has been applied have seen tremendous effect. Its impact is not only visible but also tangible. Below are few sectors where AI has been applied.
Agriculture
Agriculture has been around for a long time, and it plays a significant role in the economic sector. It began independently in certain parts of the world and involved the domestication of animals, development of plants and dissemination of techniques of raising them properly. It is estimated to be one of the powerful tools that will end extreme poverty, boost shared prosperity, and feed an estimate of 9.7billion people by 2050. Agriculture has been crucial to economic growth. In 2018, it accounted for about 4 per cent of Global Domestic Product (GDP) and over 25% of GDP in some developing countries.
AI is playing a key role in a series of industries, and agriculture is among one of the industry. The traditional methods which were used by farmers will not fulfil certain needs in this sector, and this is where Artificial Intelligence comes into full efficiency. We can find an instance where AI features in agriculture by helping farmers improve their efficiency by the use of weather forecasting. Farmers can now analyze a variety of things like weather, water usage or soil conditions collected from their farm to make better decisions.
Travel and transport
Most if not all hotels and resorts rely heavily on delivering sufficient customer service which enables them to build their reputation, and with AI in the travel sphere, it gets easier. Artificial Intelligence presents appear in different applications in the travel sector, such as smart travel agents, face-to-face customer service (AI-powered chatbots), adequate personalized recommendations; We can do all this without the presence of staff.
Customers want travel experiences tailored around and for them, and technology is delivering this efficiently. This is where apps like Lola, a travel app for Androids and iPhones, come in. We combine this app with human agents to provide booking ease, trip notifications, and itineraries to make a trip worthwhile. Companies like Airbnb and Uber rely on customer data to meet their expectations.
Healthcare
AI has countless applications in this industry. It is currently being applied for a wide range of health services ranging from patient monitoring, drug development, diagnosis processes, disease mapping, robotic surgery, medical imaging, and dosage reduction. It is also clear in detecting diseases such as cancer in its early stage.
For example, Babylon Health, a health service provider, developed an AI chat app for the United Kingdom National Health Service for people to use as the first point of call when they do not feel well. The app offers services like instant medical advice on what to do and answering patients’ questions about their symptoms. BuoyHealth, pronounced “boo-e-health”, PathAI are examples of AI active in the healthcare sector, and they can gather data, process it, and give a well-defined output to the end-user.
Education
Learning doesn’t have to be limited to the classrooms. AI has made education more accessible, convenient and fun for learners of all ages and ethnicity. Open online courses such as Coursera, Lynda, edX and the likes have made it possible through this technology application.
Guess what’s more fun? Automatic grading for self-learners on these platforms with assess to the internet and in return bring positive returns in their lives, careers and endeavours.
There are many examples and cases where AI is being put to use and the results are amazing. An instance is seen where AI is currently applied in photo restoration which can be viewed in this article, which shows that technology knows no bounds.
Glad you made it to the end. We’ve talked about Artificial Intelligence, its applications, types, and areas it is currently applied. Would you like to continue the conversation? I’ll be in the comment section.
