What will be the future of Artificial Intelligence?

“[AI] is going to change the world more than anything in the history of mankind. More than electricity.”— AI oracle and venture capitalist Dr. Kai-Fu Lee, 2018

The growing momentum of AI and its results in all the major fields are going to be soon visible in near future. As AI increases, bots are gonna be much smarter and even cross human cognition capabilities. There has been a 14X increase in the number of active AI startups since 2000. These and many other fascinating insights are from Stanford University’s inaugural AI Index (PDF, no opt-in, 101 pp.). Stanford has undertaken a One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence (AI100) looking at the effects of AI on people’s lives, basing the inaugural report and index on the initial findings. The study finds “that we’re essentially “flying blind” in our conversations and decision-making related to Artificial Intelligence.”

We need to understand what should be the balance between AI and human interaction to ensure fruitful collaboration of both and not surpassing the base it should always stand. Current leaders in AI should also enhance the importance of such technology and its effects if not handled properly to young and future leaders, so they are not only inclined towards the technology but also have good command and balance between both. Let's see what would be the disruptions and effects in the coming years.

Some sectors are at the start of their AI journey, others are veteran travelers. Both have a long way to go. Regardless, the impact artificial intelligence is having on our present-day lives is hard to ignore:

• Transportation: Although it could take a decade or more to perfect them, autonomous cars will one day ferry us from place to place.

• Manufacturing: AI-powered robots work alongside humans to perform a limited range of tasks like assembly and stacking, and predictive analysis sensors keep equipment running smoothly.

• Healthcare: In the comparatively AI-nascent field of healthcare, diseases are more quickly and accurately diagnosed, drug discovery is sped up and streamlined, virtual nursing assistants monitor patients and big data analysis helps to create a more personalized patient experience.

• Education: Textbooks are digitized with the help of AI, early-stage virtual tutors assist human instructors, and facial analysis gauges the emotions of students to help determine who’s struggling or bored and better tailor the experience to their individual needs.

• Media: Journalism is harnessing AI, too, and will continue to benefit from it. Bloomberg uses Cyborg technology to help make quick sense of complex financial reports. The Associated Press employs the natural language abilities of Automated Insights to produce 3,700 earning reports stories per year — nearly four times more than in the recent past.

• Customer Service: Last but hardly least, Google is working on an AI assistant that can place human-like calls to make appointments at, say, your neighborhood hair salon. In addition to words, the system understands context and nuance.

The Concerns behind the Rise of AI

• Data Security

Modern enterprises generate data and most of that still battles against data abuse. Most AI tools are and will be dominated by companies and governments who are striving for profits or power. This leaves data silos and data lakes open rising fears of security against data mishandling.

• Diminishing Human Cognition

Though many see AI augment human capacities some even predict the opposite. The increasing dependence on machine-driven networks may diminish human cognitive abilities to think for themselves, interact effectively with others, and make decisions independent of automated systems.

• Trade-off for the Inevitable

As AI algorithms have taken over decision-making and predictions, humans may experience a loss of control over their ability to think and act. Decision-making on key aspects is automatically ceded to code-powered “black box” tools. The drag and drop tools are not making decisions easy, as users know the context but do not understand the logic behind why the tools work. Thus, in this context, privacy and the power over choice; are scarified with no control over the processes.

Of course, much has been made of the fact that AI’s reliance on big data is already impacting privacy in a major way. Look no further than Cambridge Analytica’s Facebook shenanigans or Amazon’s Alexa eavesdropping, two among many examples of tech gone wild. Without proper regulations and self-imposed limitations, critics argue, the situation will get even worse. In 2015, Apple CEO Tim Cook derided competitors Google and Facebook (surprise!) for greed-driven data mining.

“They’re gobbling up everything they can learn about you and trying to monetize it,” he said in a 2015 speech. “We think that’s wrong.”

Last fall, during a talk in Brussels, Belgium, Cook expounded on his concern.

“Advancing AI by collecting huge personal profiles is laziness, not efficiency,” he said. “For artificial intelligence to be truly smart, it must respect human values, including privacy. If we get this wrong, the dangers are profound.”

“If implemented responsibly, AI can benefit society. However, as is the case with most emerging technology, there is a real risk that commercial and state use has a detrimental impact on human rights.”

Artificial Intelligence for the Next Decade

AI and allied technologies have already achieved superhuman performance in a juncture of areas, and it is beyond doubt that their capabilities will improve over the years, probably vary significantly in 10 years from now, by 2030. Aided by access to vast data troves, bots powered by intelligent automation will surpass humans in their ability to make complex decisions. AI will drive a vast range of efficiency optimizations especially into highly rule-based chores which involve manpower.

Newer generations of citizen data scientists will become more and more dependent on networked AI structures and processes. Networked interdependence will increase an enterprise’s vulnerability to cyberattacks. There will be a sharp gap between the digital ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots,’ especially those who are technologically dependent on digital infrastructures. The next question will be to answer the ‘commanding heights of the digital network infrastructure’s ownership and control.

Artificial Intelligence is empowering the ability for autonomous operation and the first thing which comes to mind is autonomous vehicles, but the applications are limitless. The combination of natural language processing, predictive analytics, and the world of intelligent sensors powered by IoT has had a pervasive impact on our daily lives.

Summing up, AI will be an integral component of an enterprise experience. Organizations will increasingly use and sometimes rely on AI systems to enhance their daily interactions with each other. In the next decade, AI will propel the powers of language translation and augmented creativity bringing a new dimension into digital transformation.

We need to be aware of the upcoming changes and the place AI will take in our society and ready to be balanced side by side. Do let me know your thoughts on the same.

Rohan Girdhani

IT Consultant

Your Personal Sherlock Holmes

HAPPY LEARNING!!