If you are a millennial, you might have watched Steven Spielberg’s Artificial Intelligence, and spent the entire night curled up in the bed, crying your eyeballs out. No? Only me? Okay!
The movie was full of emotions and gave a glimpse of what the future holds in terms of technology, especially Artificial Intelligence. Although the movie was set in the 22nd century, the 21st century is also seeing a rapid evolution of computer intelligence where robots are creeping into our everyday lives and taking over most of the labor.
Change is inevitable, therefore, it is only smart to understand how AI will transform our society, and affect our lives. But before we move on to their effect on human lives, let’s understand what their qualities are.
Usually AI refers to machines that respond to stimulations which are consistent with traditional responses from humans, given the human capacity for contemplation, intention and judgment. They are defined by three basic features which include:
- Intentionality
- Intelligence
- Adaptability
THEIR INTENTIONALITY
AI algorithms are designed to make the robots capable of making independent decisions, using real time data. They use sensors, digital data and remote inputs to combine information and analyze material to act upon them. Their processing speeds and analytics techniques allow them to make sophisticated decisions.
THEIR INTELLIGENCE
AI is associated with machine learning and data analytics. Machine learning takes data and looks for current underlying trends. AI needs data which are robust which the algorithms can employ to turn them into useful patterns. This data could be digital, or visual.
AI AND ADAPTABILITY
AI can learn and adapt fairly quickly. For instance Google Maps can let you know before hand of any upcoming congestion on your route and look for alternate ones for the driver. Many cars now come with smart parking, where the car itself assesses and parks in the space without having the driver worry about the space.
How AI is Transforming the World
Although many across the globe are still unaware of the potential power of AI, the latter is still affecting our everyday lives. They are transforming the conventional world into a society of highly intelligent, capable and error free masses.
Following is a list of few industries that AI is gradually transforming:
- Transportation Industry
- Manufacturing Industry
- Healthcare Industry
- Education
- Media and Journalism
- Customer Service Industry
Transportation Industry
Gone are the days when steam engines, and the train captain would operate the trains. Technology, and particularly AI has come a long way. Autonomous cars are now taking over conventional driving, where you can just sit and relax in the passenger, or even the driver’s seat without having to worry about driving. You can take a nap, or do your work, while your autonomous car takes you to your destination in the most efficient way: avoiding road blocks, potholes and wrong turns.
Manufacturing Industry
AI is known for their problem solving skills, and fast processing. They can perform a task in less than half the time a human would do. It is evident that machines have replaced humans in multiple sectors, especially manual labor. However, they are slowly taking over other industries as well where they can perform tasks such as assembly, stacking, predictive analysis and lifting to increase an industry’s efficiency.
Healthcare Industry
Although AI is still in its nascent state in healthcare industry, they are able to assess and diagnose disease more accurately and quickly as compared to our “human” doctors. AI might also replace nurses and pave the way for virtual nursing assistants who will monitor patients and analyse their status for a more personalized patient care experience.
Education
Growing up, almost all of us relied on paper-back books printed in hard copy. Kindle changed the way we read books. It helped us save space, and access to a much wider library through the internet. As the usage of AI will increase, it will pave the way for digitalized text books, virtual tutors and teacher’s assistants etc. AI assistants will be able to assess students and determine their mental status. They will then tailor make study plans for struggling students and cater to individual student’s needs.
Media and Journalism
Electronic media, more or less, is already ruled by AI. However, it is also transforming print media, especially journalism. Many media companies such as Huffington Post is employing AI journalists to write articles and news pieces. The Associated Press (AP) also employs the natural language capabilities of Automated Insights that produce about four thousand report stories per year.
Customer Services
This sector will be most drastically affected by AI. Many high end companies already employ chat bots to talk to their customers. However, Google is trying to take it up a notch. It is working on AI assistants that will be able to make calls and talk to humans like a normal assistant would. Additionally, the AI assistant will be able to read the customer’s behavior through his response pattern and adopt accordingly.
Conclusion
Many people are still unfamiliar with AI. It is a type of technology that is affecting every walk of life. Be it transportation, medical, customer services or even education, you will rarely find a place where AI has not some role to play.
For many it is a step towards increased efficiency and better human life. Assistants like Alexa have transformed people’s lives and made them much more competent. AI is a wide ranging tool that has led people to rethink on integrating information, analyzing data and using the results to improve their decision making capabilities.
