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Kamaldeep
07 June, 2023
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How many of you remember the Small Wonders? Or its Hindi adaptation- Karishma Kaa Karishma. Didn’t we all want a robot sibling of our own? Who could not only make our lives easier but also understand our thoughts and emotions. Thanks to Artificial Intelligence, it seems to be very much possible.
If we looked at the development of AI just 5 to 6 years ago, it seemed like a distant dream where AI would take over our world and be smarter than humans cognitively. But today, this development is already knocking at our doors.
Thanks to Tesla, autopilot cars are already a reality and there have been many instances where self-driving cars have been reported to save many lives. So yes, AI has very much made its way into each and every aspect of our lives whether it is education, healthcare, fashion, lifestyle or pretty much anything else.
Today, we will explore some of the ways in which AI impacts our life and understand some of its real-world applications.
Like a lot of other innovations, the idea of AI also emerged from fiction. The world was first introduced to the wonders of AI robots in the form of “heartless” Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz. This concept of humanoid robots was continued further when Metropolis introduced yet another such robot that impersonated Maria in the movie.
The impact of these science fiction movies was so strong that by 1950, many scientists and mathematicians were fascinated by AI. This list included many big names such as Alan Turing, a British Polymath who was inclined towards working on the mathematical possibilities of AI. In his paper, “Computing Machinery and Intelligence”, Turing put forward the argument that humans use reason and the information available to them to make decisions, then why can’t machines do the same? He discussed in the paper about ways to build intelligent machines and test their intelligence.
You must be wondering why Alan Turing didn’t build any intelligent machines. This is because before 1949, computers lacked the ability to store commands. They could only take commands and execute them but were not able to remember the tasks. Moreover, computing was extremely expensive back then. Just leasing a computer would cost $200,000 a month. Thus, it was a luxury that only big tech companies and prestigious universities could afford.
The first proof of the concept of AI was presented by a bunch of scientists, namely, Allen Newell, Cliff Shaw, and Herbert Simon in their programme- Logic Theorist. The Programme was funded by the Research and Development (RAND) Corporation and was designed to imitate the problem-solving abilities of human beings.
This was the kickstart of the AI revolution. Inspired by the success of the programme, many corporations jumped into AI. From 1957 to 1974, the sector had shown promising growth. However, there were many limitations in the technological world that limited this growth. For starters, computers could not store much information.
However, in the 1980s, the developments in Artificial Intelligence again picked up pace with the emergence of the concept of deep learning. It was around this time that Simon Feigenbaum came up with expert systems. These systems were capable of mimicking the decision-making process of a human.
Over the past 4 decades, there have been many advancements in the AI sector. Today, AI is able to think like a human and possesses great cognitive abilities. Everyday we witness the dawn of a new development in AI. Artificial Intelligence has shaken our world upside down.
Let us now take a look at some of the major ways in which AI is impacting our day-to-day lives.
There are three things that make AI stand out from all the other technological advancements. These are- intelligence, adaptability and intentionality. This provides machines with human capabilities such as contemplation, judgement and intention. Thus, it is no wonder that AI has already started to transform our world by raising important questions in society. It has already taken over all the important sectors such as finance, transportation, healthcare, criminal justice, city planning, etc. Let us now take a look at how AI is altering these areas.
Artificial intelligence has taken the finance sector by storm. Today, most loan decisions are made by AI as they take a lot of factors and finely parsed data into consideration while making lending decisions rather than coming to a conclusion merely based on credit score and a background check.
Furthermore, today, there is a new concept emerging in the world- robo advisors. These robo-advisors help investors create personalised investment portfolios by taking emotions out of investing and making financial decisions solely on the basis of analysis.
If we take a look at the major stock exchanges of the world, most of the trading is now being handled by machines without any human intervention. AI is able to identify even the most minuscule trading inefficiencies and market differentials and execute profitable trades.
A research by Cameron Kerry and Jack Karsten, Brooks Institution, states that between 2014 and 2017, an investment of more than USD 80 billion was made in autonomous vehicle technology.
The automated vehicles use AI to analyse information in real-time. Furthermore, they utilise high-performance computing and deep learning systems and can easily adapt to new circumstances. They are also equipped with many other advanced technologies such as automated vehicle guidance and braking, lane-changing systems, the use of cameras and sensors for collision avoidance.
AI has been revolutionising two major areas in the healthcare sector- medical imaging and congestive heart failure. In the case of the latter, AI tools help in predicting any challenges way ahead of time and can accordingly educate the patient on how they can take care of their health and avoid any serious health concerns.
In the arena of medical imaging, Merantix, a German company is exploring the applications of deep learning in addressing medical issues. It has successfully developed an application that can detect lymph nodes using Computer Tomography (CT) images. Deep learning trains computers to understand the differences between a normal and an irregular lymph node.
Metropolitan governments all over the world are in a constant endeavour to use AI to improve urban delivery service. The Cincinnati Fire Department has been utilising AI applications and data analytics tools to optimise medical emergency responses. This analytics system takes into consideration a number of factors to offer an optimal response to medical emergency calls. For instance, it offers information like whether a patient can be treated on-site or needs to be taken to the hospital. Every year, the system fields approximately 80,000 requests and is getting adopted by a number of cities.
AI applications are also being employed in other areas to improve service delivery such as energy utilisation, city planning, resource management, environmental planning, crime prevention, etc. For example, Boston launched a “City Hall To Go” campaign and installed cameras, sensors and inductive loops which are being used to manage traffic and mitigate gunshots. Similarly, Seattle is using AI to manage their energy resources.
First introduced to the world in the form of the heartless Tin Man from Wizards of OZ, AI has today developed into full-fledged systems that can perfectly imitate human decision-making abilities. The first AI system, Logic Theorist, was introduced to the world in 1956 and over the past 7 decades, AI has witnessed a massive revolution. The intelligence, adaptability and intentionality of AI make it the most breakthrough technology the human species has ever witnessed. Today, AI has started to take over each and every domain of our society including finance, healthcare, transportation, urban planning and criminal justice.
