Nefeli Saha | The Monarch Ranger
Image Credit: Pixabay
Nearly everyone in today’s world is familiar with the term “Artificial Intelligence,” or AI as it is more widely known. The term was first used by John McCarthy in 1956. Artificial Intelligence is a branch or a field of computer science where human activities are automated or performed as instructed by machines. Especially in recent years, AI has taken the spotlight for being implemented in sectors such as healthcare, education, security, businesses & trades, data-centered enterprises sectors, and more due to automating tasks in many cases humanly impossible within an impossibly small amount of time. A few instances of AI in operation include the search engines we use and chatbots like Chat-GPT and Bard that produce original responses. While AI has undoubtedly aided humans in carrying out time-consuming tasks, its swift advancement brings up many ethical questions in regards to its way of use.
While AI can be conceptualized and thought of in many different ways, one way to understand it is to think of it as a factory. Large amounts of structured or raw data depending on its use is given to the factory where it processes the data while following certain rules or “algorithms” given to it by humans. The finished result, or output, varies depending on what it aims to be used for.
Something as vast as AI can be used in almost infinite ways based on factors such as its capability and the types of data it can process. Limited Memory, Theory of Mind and Reactive Machines are just some classifications.
Terms such as “Machine Learning” are often used instead of “Artificial Intelligence,” though one is the subset of the other, Machine Learning is the branch where instead of being told exactly how to do a certain task, the system is given data to train on to provide the required output. This is especially cost-effective and efficient compared to simpler AI, where much more programming and hands-on involvement is required. Some applications of this technology can be observed in virtual assistants, facial recognition, medical imaging, identifying trends, predictive analysis, detection of fraudulent and spam emails, etc.
Today, AI has contributed immensely to mankind’s achievements. Unbiased decision making, 24/7 availability, automation of tasks and minimizing errors have enabled humans to handle more crucial tasks and explore their creativity. Despite its overall positive impact, AI continues to raise concerns. If it continues to develop its abilities at such rapid rates, issues such as job unemployment and misuse of power will likely become prevalent. It can be potentially programmed to do severely disastrous things if it falls into the wrong hands. Security and privacy of the people could also be in jeopardy. While still hypothetical, the extinction of humankind due to AI abusing superiority is also a potential problem. In light of the risks and ethical dilemmas AI could pose, many non-profit organizations as well as governments continue to research this topic to predict and minimize risks while ensuring the betterment of mankind as a whole.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND LEARN MORE
This article was written by Nefeli Saha. You can learn more about her and our other staff writers here.
Comentários