What is AI?

AI or Artificial Intelligence is the buzzword these days. We have a lot of information and misinformation about it. Every day we hear stories regarding it and have formed our opinions about the positives and negatives even though we do not have the full information about it. I wanted to look at it and see what we are dealing with and what are its implications for the future. Provide a clear analysis of it with the positives and negatives.

AI is the ability of a machine to mimic human intelligence. It replicates the neural networks of the human brain and creates an ability for the machine to make decisions based on the code it has. It is used widely and has great potential for the future, though the potential for it in the wrong hands is also very huge and dangerous.

“Facial recognition is widely being done for safety, security, and other areas.”

It can be used widely for doing instant translations making conversations smooth. Language barriers will be a thing of the past. Self-driven cars are another area that is gaining popularity. Facial recognition is widely being done for safety, security, and other areas. The medical world is also using it for driving to precise diagnosis and treatments.

Impacts of AI on our life

The biggest impact that I see is on the healthcare world. It uses AI models for diagnosis drug discovery using the chemical composition and the potential impacts. It would reduce errors in diagnosis, show new ways, and improve patient care and treatment by reducing errors.

It has impacts on the different services and jobs for the public. Many jobs where human interaction is required are getting eliminated or will get eliminated. HR services company-wide are already on the minimum side. Earlier humans would be looking at HR-related services like recruitment going through resumes and calling potential resources. Now these things are being done through AI help.

“Routine tasks can be automated eliminating the need for humans there. Data entry operators will be gone as that can be automated.”

Robots are manufacturing vehicles company-wide. Tesla is the prime example which is using robots extensively for manufacturing cars and reducing its cost per vehicle. Routine tasks can be automated eliminating the need for humans there. Data entry operators will be gone as that can be automated. AI can be used to make automated calls and interact with humans. Give real-time replies to their interactions.

Retail cashiers are now on the scarce side. More and more retailers are depending on self-checkouts. ATMs have reduced the need for bank tellers. Warehouse work has been impacted and more and more robots are lifting and moving things around. Automated toll collections are being seen everywhere eliminating the need for a human to collect toll tax. AI is also impacting the textile industry and the agriculture industries in a big way. Textile manufacturing processes are being automated. The textile looms are now all automated. Planting seeds and harvesting crops are being done through AI machines reducing the need for manual labor.

“Devices are so sophisticated that they are now listening to what you are talking about, at home. Don’t believe me, discuss something with your family like you want to travel somewhere or want to do a particular job.”

Every company is using AI to personalize services for all its users. Facebook, amazon, google, Microsoft and many other companies are using AI to deliver specific services based on the history of the user’s browsing for example. Devices are so sophisticated that they are now listening to what you are talking about, at home. Don’t believe me, discuss something with your family like you want to travel somewhere or want to do a particular job. You will start getting emails, and ads related to it soon. User experience is enhanced but privacy certainly has gone for a toss.

Personalized marketing based on demographic data is being done extensively by companies, generating specific ads, and improving their reach to the customer. Airlines are using AI data to check user preferences. When people are searching for the same airfares, you see the cost going up. On other days when the activity is down you will see the same fare being offered at a lower price. Dynamic pricing has increased the profits of the industry. The same concept is used by Uber and Lyft the auto aggregators to jack up prices during peak hours.

“The pace and difficulty of the lessons are adjusted based on the learning ability of each user.”

It has good and wide impacts on education. Learning can be structured and tweaked according to the individual’s needs. The content can be tailored for the people and as feedback is instant, changes can be made on the go. The pace and difficulty of the lessons are adjusted based on the learning ability of each user. Virtual tutors offer answers to the student’s questions. AI is being used for automated grading. Answers are punched in the system. Checking and grading are almost instantaneous. We are now expecting instant results. I often wonder on days when my son comes home and tells me that the grading will be done later for that day’s test. Is the teacher not tech-savvy or was that test different? Our expectations have grown now.

AI models can be used to analyze student data to see where they are struggling and provide them with the custom help they need. It can help the educator to identify the weak students who could fail potentially and help them. AI can be used to translate the lessons into any language thereby reducing the difficulty and increasing its reach. AI can be used by teachers to generate their educational content. Lessons, tests quizzes can be tailored to their needs. AI is also being used by educational institutes in their admission process and for scheduling bringing down the cost of operations. Harvard, Stanford, and other universities are using online learning to provide access to millions of students sometimes thousands of miles away. EDX Coursera etc. are being used to host their lessons. AI can be used with young learners where it can be used to develop their foundational skills.

“Imagine you driving to the car where you are just sitting and doing your work, reading something, or utilizing that time for yourself instead of driving.”

Self-driving vehicles are being developed by every motor company. Though there hasn’t been a fully automated solution, huge progress has been made from the initial cruise control the cars used to have in their initial days. This is still in its nascent stages though some progress has been made. Imagine you driving to the car where you are just sitting and doing your work, reading something, or utilizing that time for yourself instead of driving. What implications does it have on productivity?

Already there are multiple voice-enabled assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant. Microsoft has come up with some of its own in the past. Every major company is venturing into creating one as it has a lot of advantages for them. People with Alexa can buy stuff using Alexa increasing sales for Amazon. They will have all the data for their users and can use it to tailor their products for that person and family.

It has a lot of implications for the financial sector. AI is being used for fraud detection it is being used widely on automated trading models. Single-use credit card numbers can be created on the fly for online transactions. Earlier, humans would decide which stock to purchase or sell. Now this is being done through AI models reducing the cost and increasing profits for companies.

“AI-powered systems are creating original compositions. Graphics and visual effects for movies are going to the next level.”

AI is also being used widely in the entertainment industry. It is being used for creating new video games, music, and art. AI-powered systems are creating original compositions. Graphics and visual effects for movies are going to the next level, improving the time to market and their profits. Customer service is another area that has seen a lot of changes due to AI. Chatbots are there everywhere making it harder and harder for users to look and talk to an actual agent. Scripts are being generated automatically increasing the value for entertainment.

Platforms like Netflix are using users’ browsing history data to show recommendations for similar content increasing their reach and user engagement. Tailored recommendations are being made for shows that the user may like. Ai is also using automation for content moderation and filtering any hate and violent content, ensuring a safer environment. AI can also be used for content restoration. It is being used to restore old classics and infuse fresh life into them, bringing it to the newer generations. VR and AR, Virtual reality, and augmented reality are being used to create an immersive experience. Gaming and Porn companies for example are using it for the next level of interactions. The user feels like being part of the script, it increases their engagement and experience.

“AI can detect the changes from their normal network behavior to flag any attempts by hackers to get into the system. Identify the malware and phishing attacks and prevent them.”

AI is used widely in surveillance using facial recognition software and other means. The data they have on their hands can be analyzed instantly providing instant results and security decisions can be taken immediately. AI models can look at the data and process millions of records to give precise information. A human would have taken the same data many days to analyze and come up with some decision. This can be of huge help in preventing potential attacks. It can be used for cyber security, to detect frauds and prevent them. AI is being used widely in the network area where companies are using it to strengthen their networks and the potential for being hacked. AI can detect the changes from their normal network behavior to flag any attempts by hackers to get into the system. Identify the malware and phishing attacks and prevent them. Firewalls can be enhanced by building Intrusion detection systems, making real-time decisions, and blocking access in case of unwarranted attacks. Companies are also using AI to build better spam filters.

AI also has had a positive impact on reducing disability among people. It can improve accessibility and provide text-to-speech or speech and image recognition for the users. Improving life and their ability to interact with the world. It can also have impacts on the environment where it can be used to study the data and predict the weather, save lives, plan for crops, and many other things that can be done with that data.

“The lab results can be analyzed with the symptoms to get the correct diagnosis eliminating human errors. It can be used to predict how the patient would respond to certain medications based on their history.”

AI is being used increasingly in the medical industry. Diagnosis and treatments are being tailored to the individual needs. It can be used to analyze the X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs of patients to help in the diagnosis. These systems are being used to study these scans and identify the cancer cells or detect changes in electronic cardiogram reports to prevent heart failures. The lab results can be analyzed with the symptoms to get the correct diagnosis eliminating human errors. It can be used to predict how the patient would respond to certain medications based on their history. It can be used to monitor the patients remotely and identify any complications much earlier. Drug discovery is getting a huge boost. Properties of existing drugs and chemicals are being used to come up with new combinations to treat diseases.

Blood glucose levels, heart rates, any abnormal changes in it, and blood pressure can all be monitored through wearable devices. Every other day we hear stories of how an Apple watch saved the life of a person. Strands of DNA can be analyzed and the outcome predicted based on their genetic composition. AI sequencing can be used to improve the accuracy. It can be used to identify the genetic variants more quickly. They can be used to assemble DNA into complete genomes identifying variants associated with diseases. Variations in DNA genetics can be identified. It can be used to annotate and interpret the genetic data. A person having a history of cancer in the family can be monitored and the best treatment identified in advance.

Negatives associated with AI.

The biggest negative is the ethical and societal impacts it has on us. Privacy concerns are another major issue we encounter today. There are so many devices and electronics now, being used to monitor our behavior and data usage. As with the benefits these can be used in a variety of usage having a lot of negative consequences too. Facial recognition software is being used to track people’s movements without their consent.

“Human control over things will be reduced and we will be more and more dependent on technology and guided by its interpretations of right or wrong. AI systems would be making decisions that may be harmful to humans.”

There is a huge implication for bias. As the AI system is based on data, if the data is biased the outcome will also be biased. Garbage in is garbage out, it can lead to discrimination. Jobs will be eliminated as the population grows lesser human interaction will lead to fewer jobs impacting people in the future. Human control over things will be reduced and we will be more and more dependent on technology and guided by its interpretations of right or wrong. AI systems would be making decisions that may be harmful to humans. Already AI systems are prescreening candidates instead of real recruiters going through resumes. No matter how capable or qualified you are getting a job will depend on certain keywords that the AI system is looking for. Getting a new job is becoming more like winning a lottery.

Another big threat is the development of weapons of mass destruction intended to kill without any human interaction. Violence can increase in the future due to it. Already social media is being used by people to parrot their narratives. We are living in a world of post-truth. One who shouts the loudest and through more sources is what is being heard. Social influencers are gaining a lot of undue advantages over us. Fake videos and audio clips are being used to spread this fake narrative to deceive people. A section from here and a word from there are being pieced together to generate a new clip that may be totally false. Voice simulations are being done to create new frauds every day. Spam calls and emails are increasing as our numbers and emails are being simulated, we do not know who is calling or sending those emails anymore. There have been instances where I have got a call from my own number and an email from my own email ID.

“The dark gene is eliminated and a fairer one is implanted in its place. Raising a lot of ethical and moral issues. It will affect the future as it affects the heredity. It all leads to our fascination for fairer babies.”

Imagine the prospect of editing the genes to create designer babies. Genes may be altered to create taller and more intelligent babies or even fairer for that matter. The dark gene is eliminated and a fairer one is implanted in its place. Raising a lot of ethical and moral issues. It will affect the future as it affects the heredity. It all leads to our fascination for fairer babies. Fairness creams are the biggest marketing scams these days. What impacts, these changes to the genes will have later, we do not know. It will also result in unequal access as people with money and access to these technologies will gain an unfair advantage over others, increasing disparity. Genetically modified crops and organisms may have an unintended ecological impact having a negative consequence for our ecosystem. New bacteria and viruses can be manufactured which are more virulent. Unnecessary mutations can have huge consequences for mankind. It could be for economic reasons or otherwise but their implications are huge.

In 2017 Facebook created two chatbots in its artificial intelligence lab FAIR. These chatbots were designed to negotiate with each other over a set of objects like books and balls to reach an agreement on how to distribute them. During this experiment, the chatbots created their own language to communicate with each other, not understood by their research team, which was more efficient for these negotiations. This raised an issue of the development of languages that humans could not understand. Facebook did take some measures to ensure that the chatbots could not communicate in that language but such unintended consequences and unpredictability of AI are huge.

AI impacts for the future

All the impacts mentioned in the current world will continue in the future too but something most exciting about the future is the use of AI to eliminate certain conditions from the human body. A lot of research is being done to identify defective genes and ultimately replace them with healthy ones. It can be used to treat genetic diseases by replacing the defective gene and preventing diseases.

“A healthy gene can be cloned and used to replace a defective one.”

Cloning is another thing altogether. AI systems can be used to develop effective cloning techniques. It can be used for research and drug discovery. A healthy gene can be cloned and used to replace a defective one. Of course, like the uses, there are negative implications for each of these. A gene associated with blindness can be replaced imagine the implications of it.

Here one technology, CRISPR-Cas9 (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats and CRISPR-associated protein 9) is very exciting. It is a revolutionary technique in that sense. It has significant implications for the future. Diseases like muscular dystrophy sickle cell disease etc. by the precise editing of the DNA, can be eliminated, using this technology. Gene therapy is the most exciting of them all. Many gene therapies are in the research and development stages. These can be used to replace defective genes and prevent a lot of potential diseases and conditions like blindness. Cancerous cells can be better targeted and removed or modified. Specific mutations can be targeted preventing their growth into cancerous cells. Researchers are working on targeting specific viruses like HIV for their treatment and cure. Other animal organs are being analyzed using this technology for transplantation, called xenotransplantation, by addressing rejections by the human system and compatibility issues. It can be used to destroy antibiotic-resistant bacteria. CRISPR is also being used to identify new vaccines for different diseases by studying the pathogens and their impact on the immune system.

“It can also be used to develop new materials having specific properties like enhanced strength, conductivity, and flexibility. These can be used in new semiconductors which operate at room temperature and generate less resistance.”

Besides the medical field, CRISPR technology can be used for agriculture for example. It can be used to design new crop varieties that are more resistant to pests and diseases. It will reduce the need for more pesticides making things more organic and eliminating food scarcity. It can also be used to develop new materials having specific properties like enhanced strength, conductivity, and flexibility. These can be used in new semiconductors which operate at room temperature and generate less resistance. The strength of materials like steel or others can be improved leading to a variety of impacts on industries like construction, aerospace, and electronics. Lighter-weight planes and vehicles can be used to develop the airplanes of the future improving fuel efficiencies and decreasing transportation costs. Buildings would be sturdier, and more resistant to natural calamities like earthquakes. Higher capacity batteries, solar, and fuel cells can be built to improve energy storage and use.

It can be used to develop new biomaterials targeting microorganisms like bacteria and yeast to produce biodegradable polymers, plastics, and biofuels of the future reducing our carbon footprints and impacts on the environment. Energy and water can be consumed more efficiently in the manufacturing process by reducing waste.

“There is a need for regulation and governments all over the world need to come together to have a handle on this technology and crisp guidelines and penalties for its misuse.”

AI has a lot of potential in the right hands. The key is to keep it that way though. How do we prevent it from going into the wrong hands as the potential for its negatives is huge some of which we may not even be aware of? There is a need for regulation and governments all over the world need to come together to have a handle on this technology and crisp guidelines and penalties for its misuse. Data privacy and security guidelines can be set, establishing clear rules for its use. Standardization and interoperability can be ensured, for computability between different AI systems.

Regulations can define ethical principles and guidelines for its development. Ensuring more fairness and transparency in the AI algorithms that are written for these systems. Liability and safety standards can be set providing accountability and transparency of how the decisions are made. Testing and certification authorities can be established ensuring that the systems are meeting a set standard before being introduced to the public at large.

“It is very important though to establish a balance between the regulation standards as that can stifle innovation.”

There should be protections against its misuse. Regulators can ensure penalties to deter potential fraud and misuse of the technology. It is very important though to establish a balance between the regulation standards as that can stifle innovation. The standards should be flexible and amenable to change.