The phrases “neural networks”, “machine learning”, “artificial intelligence” are heard more and more often. The profession of a data analyst is called one of the most demanded now and in the near future. But there are a lot of myths and misconceptions around the topic of artificial intelligence. You will find answers to the most popular questions about artificial intelligence (AI) in this article.
1. What is AI technology?
Since the inception of the first computers, they have been viewed as programmable computing devices capable of performing billions of simple arithmetic and logical operations according to a predetermined algorithm. This made it possible to solve numerous important problems, like ai solutions for retail, primarily related to calculations in complex mathematical models of various processes, which were described by differential equations.
2. In what areas is AI already being applied?
One of the amazing results of recent years was the realization that AI models can be used for a very wide range of problems. It was believed 20 years ago that they could not be solved using a computer. And the ability to solve them is an attribute of higher nervous activity. For example, AI is capable of drawing pictures, maintaining a conversation, driving a car, and much more. AI is already being actively used in systems for recognizing printed and handwritten texts, speech recognition speech recognition and ai voice synthesis, Internet search, and recommendation systems. Among the latest achievements, one can note the solution of the problem of predicting the tertiary structure of proteins, which was one of the most difficult and most important problems in biology and which was solved by the specialists of DeepMind in the fall of 2020.
3. Will the degradation of people begin if we teach a computer to think for us?
People will always have something to think about.
AI technologies are just tools sharpened for solving specific, such as insurance software development, (albeit very complex) tasks.
Just as people did not physically weaken after the advent of machine tools and machines that can replace humans in physical labor, the emergence of technologies that can solve some of our cognitive tasks for us will not lead to people working with their heads less. They just start doing it for fun, not to feed themselves. Finally, questions of ethics and morality, the meaning of life will definitely remain the prerogative of a person.
4. What are the social implications of the massive adoption of AI technologies?
It is no exaggeration to say that the widespread adoption of AI technologies will lead to major changes in the style and standard of living of people. The same dramatic changes took place with the widespread introduction of the steam engine, the development of the electric power industry, and the spread of automobiles. Humanity will move from mass production of the same goods and services to personalized services; many sectors of the national economy, which cannot be imagined without people now, will be fully or partially automated. Within a couple of decades, the professions of a call center operator, driver, simultaneous interpreter, airplane pilot, etc. will become a thing of the past. Most people will have virtual or robotic personal assistants who will help with household chores, monitor their health, and plan their leisure time. Of course, some of the current professions will die out, but there is no need to be afraid of this.
5. Are we facing an AI-led machine uprising?
This is one of the biggest and most harmful delusions. AI technologies are designed to solve specific intellectual problems. A separate model is used for each task. The strategic goal is to create a so-called strong AI: a universal learning system that can constantly learn to solve more and more different types of problems, but does not forget how to solve old problems.
Such a system will be able to pass the Turing test, that is, when communicating with it, a person will not be able to distinguish whether it speaks with a computer or with a human. (So far, this is beyond technological capabilities.) It can be assumed that with the introduction of quantum computers, it will be possible to approach the creation of a strong AI. But even when it is created, it will be just an assistant of a person, incapable of independent goal-setting. For the latter, not artificial intelligence is needed, but artificial consciousness, when the system realizes itself as a thinking creature and it may develop aspirations for self-preservation and self-reproduction. We do not observe anything even close to artificial consciousness, and this is unlikely to threaten us in the foreseeable future.
