Artificial Intelligence (AI); Understanding the Basics of AI and how it works

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is a technology that is becoming more and more popular in today’s world. From self-driving cars to customer service chatbots, from facial recognition software to recommendation engines, and from autonomous drones to virtual assistants, AI is becoming a part of everyday life.

WHAT IS AI

At its core, artificial intelligence is a system of computer programs that can perform tasks that normally require human intelligence. AI systems are able to learn, process data, think logically, and understand language. And the best part is, they can continue learning and get better at their tasks over time.

HOW DOES AI WORK?

AI systems are built on a combination of machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and deep learning algorithms. Machine learning is the process of teaching a computer to recognize patterns in data. Natural language processing enables computers to understand human input and generate output in a human-like language. Computer vision is the ability to recognize objects in images and videos. And deep learning is a subset of machine learning that uses algorithms called neural networks to enable computers to learn more complex tasks.

Machine learning is the most important component of AI. It is what allows AI systems to learn from data, recognize patterns, and make decisions. Machine learning algorithms can be trained on large sets of data to recognize specific objects or patterns. For example, an image classifier might be trained to recognize common objects in an image, such as a cat or a car.

USES OF AI

AI can be used for many different applications, from facial recognition software to autonomous cars. In the near future, AI will continue to make our lives easier by taking over tedious and complex tasks, such as data analysis, medical diagnosis, and customer service.  The possibilities with AI are endless, and the potential benefits are huge. As AI continues to develop, we will continue to see more and more applications of the technology in our everyday lives.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

While artificial intelligence has many benefits, there are also drawbacks. The benefits of AI include efficiency through task automation, data analysis for informed decisions, assistance in medical diagnosis, and the advancement of autonomous vehicles like the Tesla FSD. The drawbacks of AI include job displacement, ethical concerns about bias and privacy, security risks from hacking, a lack of human-like creativity and empathy.

Advantages of AI include;

1. Reduction in Human Error; One of the biggest benefits of Artificial Intelligence is that it can significantly reduce errors and increase accuracy and precision. The decisions taken by AI in every step is decided by information previously gathered and a certain set of algorithms. When programmed properly, these errors can be reduced to null.
2. Zero Risks; A big benefit of AI is that humans can overcome many risks by letting AI robots do them for us. Whether it be defusing a bomb, going to space, exploring the deepest parts of oceans, machines with metal bodies are resistant in nature and can survive unfriendly atmospheres. Moreover, they can provide accurate work with greater responsibility and not wear out easily.
3. Interrupted Availability; There are many studies that show humans are productive only about 3 to 4 hours in a day. Humans also need breaks and time offs to balance their work life and personal life. But it can work endlessly without breaks. They think much faster than humans and perform multiple tasks at a time with accurate results. They can even handle tedious repetitive jobs easily with the help of AI algorithms.
4.  Unbiased Decisions; Human beings are driven by emotions, whether we like it or not. AI on the other hand, is devoid of emotions and highly practical and rational in its approach. A huge advantage of Artificial Intelligence is that it doesn’t have any biased views, which ensures more accurate decision-making.
5. Perform Repetitive Jobs; We will be doing a lot of repetitive tasks as part of our daily work, such as checking documents for flaws and mailing thank-you notes, among other things. We may use artificial intelligence to efficiently automate these menial chores and even eliminate “boring” tasks for people, allowing them to focus on being more creative.

Disadvantages of AI include;

1. High Costs; The ability to create a machine that can simulate human intelligence is no small feat. It requires plenty of time and resources and can cost a huge deal of money. AI also needs to operate on the latest hardware and software to stay updated and meet the latest requirements, thus making it quite costly.
2. No Creativity; A big disadvantage of AI is that it cannot learn to think outside the box. it is capable of learning over time with pre-fed data and past experiences, but cannot be creative in its approach. A classic example is the bot Quill who can write Forbes earning reports. These reports only contain data and facts already provided to the bot. Although it is impressive that a bot can write an article on its own, it lacks the human touch present in other Forbes articles.
3. Unemployment; One application of artificial intelligence is a robot, which is displacing occupations and increasing unemployment (in a few cases). Therefore, some claim that there is always a chance of unemployment as a result of chatbots and robots replacing humans. Robots are frequently utilized to replace human resources in manufacturing businesses in some more technologically advanced nations like Japan.
4. Make Humans Lazy; AI applications automate the majority of tedious and repetitive tasks. Since we do not have to memorize things or solve puzzles to get the job done, we tend to use our brains less and less. This addiction to AI can cause problems to future generations.
5. No Improvement; Humans cannot develop artificial intelligence because it is a technology based on pre-loaded facts and experience. AI is proficient at repeatedly carrying out the same task, but if we want any adjustments or improvements, we must manually alter the codes. Artificial Intelligence cannot be accessed and utilized akin to human intelligence, but it can store infinite data.