AI Aware course

 

When we talk about Artificial Intelligence, does that mean we are talking about a machine with human-like intelligence?

Well yes. That’s what it is!
Artificial Intelligence is the technology that enables a machine to work intelligently and display its ability to learn as well as solve problems on its own.

So, we can say that when a machine can mimic human intelligence, it is termed as artificially intelligent.
In other words, an AI machine has human-like abilities to solve real-world problems, improvise based on its learnings and experiences, make predictions according to the information it has and make decisions on its own.

What qualities does a machine possess?

HOW IS AI AROUND US?

• Did you ever wonder how we have an assistant living in smartphones that can help us make calls, send messages, search for information, and a lot more just like a real person?
• If you haven’t explored the little assistant on your phone yet, then go give it a try!
• Fascinating, isn’t it? AI can be useful for all of us despite our age, gender, and professions.
• Let’s have a look at how this technology surrounds us.
• Surprisingly we don't even recognise and acknowledge it's presence!

WHAT IS AI DOING AROUND US?

Artificial Intelligence has been revolutionizing industries and economies.

While AI seems to be pretty sci-fi and out of our reach, it is a technology that has been impacting our lives for a long time now.

There exist a wide variety of applications and tools powered by AI that help us in our day-to-day lives.

You must have heard about Alexa, Google Assistant, Cortana, or Siri. These are applications powered by 

AI.

Now that we have seen the impact of AI in our lives, let us understand why AI is such a big hit today.
There are a lot of such technologies that surround us in today’s time but AI has several abilities that makes it more special than any other technology.
Let us take a look at some of them.

Artificial Intelligence has the potential to analyze huge amounts of data in a very short span of time.
It can perform bulky and high-volume tasks efficiently.
It can help us achieve incredible accuracy in many real-world problems.

With the help of these abilities, AI can help us accomplish tasks that were considered to be either difficult or impossible.
This is why a lot of companies and organizations have been incorporating AI in their research and development.

How do machines learn?

After exploring the abilities of Artificial Intelligence, it is now time for us to see how does this happen.
Let us understand this in two simple steps.

Similar to us, machines too learn from training and experiences.
Remember the first time you were taught mathematics?

• Starting with numbers, you went through basic arithmetic operations and now you can easily calculate and maintain finances in your daily lives.
• Information that was taught to us helped us understand the concepts and our experiences improved our performance.

Same is the case with AI too.Machines are fed with data, which is the information used to build the foundation of their intelligence.Machines are trained on this data and they develop their own understanding around it in the form of algorithms.Once the machine starts functioning, it keeps on updating its algorithm according to its own experiences.Just like us, machines also gather feedback on the mistakes they have made and improvise accordingly.Here’s how this actually happens:The machine collects data - Data AcquisitionIt analyses the data to find patterns – Data ExplorationIt tries out different solutions- Solution ModelingReceives feedback and figures out the best solution - EvaluationIt implements the optimal solution – DeploymentWith technology making new advances everyday, we need to ensure that we are in tune with these changes. As users, we should be able to know what is powered by AI and what is not.Let us try to understand this in three easy steps.While AI seems to have an impact everywhere, there still are a lot of such technologies that aren't aligned with AI yet.But how does one truly understand the difference between machines powered by AI and otherwise?Well, even though all machines are designed to do tasks with efficiency and reduce human labor, not all machines have the cognitive abilities – to learn, train, and solve problems independently.For example, an AC will not understand what temperature to set without the user guiding it.But an AC can adjust the temperature according to your need/ preference if it is powered by AI like in the smart homes.Thus, it won’t be wrong to say that machines that are equipped with cognitive abilities and can solve problems independently are powered by AI.However, with technological advancements, non-AI devices have also become very savvy at their jobs; making it challenging to know if they are AI-powered or not.Let us consider a Robotic arm. Here, the arm is programmed to perform specific tasks by itself and looks sophisticated enough to be confused with AI.But in reality, it is not AI-powered. Well, the difference between programming and AI is that programming always takes decisions based on certain predefined steps.In contrast, AI can learn from experience and then make decisions without predefined actions.It has functions similar to the human arm, yes. Still, it does not make decisions on its own and clearly lacks cognitive abilities.The same is the case with all the programmable technologies which do not have an AI-element.To make AI a genuine part of your everyday life, you should know that AI is merely a tool to solve a problem, not the solution itself.Can AI be as sophisticated as humans?To answer this, AI can be broadly divided into Artificial Narrow Intelligence and Artificial General intelligence.Artificial Narrow Intelligence can perform specific tasks like auto-tagging and it can get better at it. However it will never be able to play chess.Siri, Cortana, Google assistant are all examples of Artificial Narrow Intelligence as they are meant to perform only tasks of a personal assistant like scheduling.Artificial General Intelligence is sophisticated and has cognitive abilities.Instead of being very good at one task, it can perform multiple tasks with ease, just like humans do.Some tasks like data entry and calculations can be better performed by it than us humans.Many science fiction movies have plots and characters based on Artificial General Intelligence.One famous example of this is Iron Man's virtual assistant Jarvis.This brings us to a very intriguing point that there is a fair possibility that in future, there might be a robot sitting beside you on your next flight!While Artificial General intelligence looks promising, it is still decades away.         Will AI take away your jobs and displace the economy?  No, AI will not take away the jobs!

• Like any other technology, AI exists to make our lives easier.
• Let us look at an example to understand this better
• For the detection of cancerous tumors, AI can help achieve better efficiency. It can predict and make suggestions only. The final decision still lies with the doctor.
• AI also assists by making digital reports and automating repetitive tasks. Because of this, doctors, and nurses can focus better on the treatment.
• AI is creating new areas for people to find employment.
• It is revolutionizing the kind of jobs that exist presently and the ones that might exist in the future.
• In fact, we have seen AI do this before.
• Professions like computer science experts, AI ethics experts, social media influencers and tech assistants are born out of market intervention of AI.
• Certainly, AI can create jobs that we don’t even know yet and will exist in the future.
• To ensure that we do not get unemployed, all we need to do is -
  
  • Upskill ourselves
  • Be ready for any change that occurs in the employment generation.
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