You must have heard the term artificial intelligence. Newspapers, online news, television panel discussions, forums and social media channels. You name it, and the term artificial intelligence is being discussed to death there. As someone new to this term, it gets overwhelming. And if you try to dig just a bit deeper with Google search, it can get mind-boggling and downright scary.
I realized I needed to do something about it when my daughter (she is in grade 9) asked me if machines will take over the planet in a couple of decades. A modern-day teenager, she is very technology savvy, understands devices intuitively, and uses Google to look for information automatically. So when she raised this question, I knew there were gaps in information that she was getting online. And being a teacher and a writer, I decided to do what I do best – teach her through lessons and videos. I hope I would be helping others too if I can manage to reach enough people. That’s something only time will tell.
Examples of AI we encounter every day
When you say “Hey Alexa, Play Burzkhalifa” (the song, not the building 😉), you are using AI.
When Spotify continues to play your favourite songs long after your playlist has ended, it’s using AI.
When you put your destination in Google Maps and travel to any new place without getting lost, it’s Google Map’s AI at work.
When you are shopping on Amazon or Flipkart or Ikea and product bundles are being flashed consistently to entice you, that’s AI at play.
Any technology is as good or as bad as you want it to be
Artificial Intelligence is everywhere. And seems to be taking over without our being aware of it. So, it’s time we understood it for what it is.
Because I firmly believe that
Any technology is as good as the person who uses it. So why should Artificial Intelligence be any different? Click To Tweet
Don’t believe me?
TNT was developed as a harmless yellow dye. Within four decades it was being used as an explosive for military and industrial uses.
People were excited about nuclear energy because it could meet the world’s energy requirements easily. And then the first atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.
There are many more such examples but these two should have convinced you that any technology is as good as those who use it. So, if we use Artificial Intelligence judiciously, there is no reason why the technology should take over mankind.
So what exactly is Artificial Intelligence?
There are two terms here – Artificial and Intelligence. We will look at these two terms separately and then combine their meaning.
What is artificial?
Something that is not natural but man-made. Think of paper, calculator, refrigerator, juicer, table, chair, even the good old pencil and eraser. All these are artificial; they are not found in nature and have been made by humans.
On the contrary, things like trees, rivers, mountains, etc. are found in nature.
And what is intelligence?
The ability to
- Understand
- Plan ahead
- Take decisions
- Solve problems
- Think logically
- Create
is intelligence.
Living things like humans, plants and animals have an innate intelligence that helps them perform every activity they do, like growing, talking, sleeping, walking, crying, etc.
Yes, even plants that cannot move from one place to another are intelligent. Otherwise, how can a small sapling grow into a huge banyan tree? Or the stem of a potted plant kept on the sill starts growing towards the window to get more sunlight? Or Sunflower faces East in the morning and by evening faces West, where the Sun is setting?
But even Alexa does what it is asked to do by itself. Spotify selects and plays songs automatically. Google Maps shows directions and the best route on its own. Aren’t these machines intelligent then?
No, definitely not.
Automatic does not mean intelligent
Machines do not have innate intelligence. The only intelligence that they have is what we tell them. It is acquired intelligence. We humans train the machines in how they perform different tasks like selecting songs based on history, optimizing routes connecting two places, deciding which products to upsell, etc.
The one thing that machines doing every task so fast that we think the machine is so smart. It’s the speed at play, not intelligence. Every intelligence they display is artificial.
Final thoughts
Over the past one-and-half years, since the COVID-19 pandemic struck us, Artificial Intelligence has helped us in multiple ways. Be it scientists, healthcare professionals, frontline warriors, or businesses who continued their services through lockdowns, all have benefitted by the artificial intelligence technology.
Moving forward, it is even more important for everyone to understand its basics, so that we use it to make life better.
So the question remains, how do machines acquire this artificial intelligence?
This is something we will explore in subsequent articles, so keep tuned.
For now, hope I have busted your fear that machines can take over us humans. They can do this only if we ourselves train them to do that. And I am sure no computer scientist would want that.
Or am I being overly optimistic?
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