Artificial Intelligence: The Next Big Thing ?

Artificial and intelligence:  although two different and vastly unrelated words bring a whole other meaning when brought together. It would not be wrong to say that as of today, in the 21^st generation, there are only a few people who have no idea about artificial intelligence. Simply put, artificial intelligence is that intelligence or ability of computer system that would enable to system to perform tasks that would usually require human intelligence. Visual perception, speech recognition, decision making and translation between languages are only a few of the examples that it has set out to become. It is hands down and without a doubt, the next big thing. Why: Because nothing has developed as rapidly as technology in the last 25 years.

It is fascinating that the things we could not have even imagined in the past are slowly becoming a reality. While fascinating, it is also ironical that when the computer was first invented it could barely do anything apart from simple calculations that too only with extensive assistance from a human operator. We have come a long way from supercomputers and telephone calls costing huge amount of money per minute to today when vast amount of data can be stored in a small chip to free calls over the internet. Or CCTV cameras doing the duty of security guards and giving you the ability to oversee your property online. Now the situation is completely opposed as where the human does not do even the simplest calculation by himself and relies on a computational device that our race has developed only for extensive assistance. This is why artificial intelligence is the next big thing.

If one could remember about a movie in the early nineties called “Back to the Future”, it showed glimpses of what people thought life in 2015 could be. Flying cars and what not? The movie showed time travelling 20 years in the future to 2015. Recently, 2015 actually happened. Do we have flying cars yet? Well, no sadly.

But we have amazing technological advances that were not even thought possible in the 20^th century and better days are yet to come.

Why is artificial intelligence thought of as the next big thing exactly?

1.      Automated Transportation : This has already begun in several countries where trains are operated without drivers or even the beginning of self driving cars. However, it will take a while for the public to accept such terms of use. The system of automated transportation first began in 2012 when Google began testing a self-driving car and since then there has been no turning back.

2.     Taking over dangerous jobs: The use of robots in dangerous fields like factory or production or dangerous fields would reduce the potential harm to human beings.

3.    Solving climate change: Stuart Russell has said that, machines have more access to data than one person ever could—storing a mind-boggling number of statistics. Using big data, AI could one day identify trends and use that information to come up with solutions to the world’s biggest problems.

4.    Improved elder care: For many seniors, everyday life is a struggle, and many have to hire outside help to manage their care, or rely on family members. AI is at a stage where replacing this need isn't too far off.

This is not just a theory but truth; we can count many jobs that are actually being slowly replaced by machines and technology.

Like many things, artificial intelligence too, involves risks.

1.   The AI is programmed to do something devastating: Autonomous weapons, in the hands of the wrong person could kill; these weapons could easily cause mass casualties.

2.   The AI is programmed to do something beneficial, but it develops a destructive method for achieving its goal: machines are going to do literally only what you asked for and not what you want. Sometimes we can fail to align our goals with the artificial intelligence goals and this could be dangerous.

This being said, artificial intelligence can be seen as both a good and bad thing strangely. The advancing of artificial intelligence will do wonders for the industry. And the commencement of artificial intelligence is already happening. Whether we want to be in this technical world or not, we are already a part of it, somehow without even realizing it. Already we can see assistance for the disabled and the sick taking place. Be it online purchase prediction, customer support or the advancement of video games for a better experience with playing, the machines are seeping in and taking over. What about artificial intelligence in schooling and education? Projectors, e-books and learning apps have take over classrooms, not to mention virtual classrooms and virtual learning. Every day we see news on the television about new robots or devices being introduced, each advanced than the prior. The bad thing however is, people are getting more and more dependent on technology.

Some examples coming up to the top of my head this instant are iphones and Siri. Siri is an intelligent personal assistant available in Apple phones. It is voice operated. It responses to your voice and you can ask it anything. Be it the direction of a place you have to go, or dialing a friend without even having to dial his number, you can just ask Siri.

If we take a recent example in the context of Nepal, we can take the example of a newly openend restaurant in Khichapokhari, New Road: KKFC or Krispy Krunchy Fried Chicken where robots serve you.

How about the interaction with the humanoid robot Sophie that recently took place on the 24^th of March, 2018 in Nepal? Developed by a Hong Kong based company, the robot is known for her human-like appearance and behavior compared to previous robotic variants. According to the manufacturer, Sophia uses artificial intelligence, visual data processing and facial recognition. Sophia also imitates human gestures and facial expressions and is able to answer certain questions and to make simple conversations on predefined topics.

The creation of Sophia and attempts to create other robots in the world today brings to my mind what Stephen Hawking, a great mind the world has recently lost, had said: “the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race”.

Could that really happened?  We do not for sure what exactly the future holds, however it is quite evident that interacting with AI will soon become an everyday activity. Of course, these interactions will help our society evolve with automated transportation, handling dangerous duties, solving climate change, friendships and improving the care of our elders and the disabled. Day by day new things are being discovered and artificial intelligence can influence our future in even more ways, and this very fact has professionals across multiple industries extremely excited for the ever-burgeoning future of artificial intelligence.