artificial intelligence (AI)

What is artificial intelligence (AI)?

Artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence processes by
machines, especially computer systems. Specific applications of AI
include expert systems, natural language processing, speech recognition
and machine vision.

How does AI work?

As the hype around AI has accelerated, vendors have been scrambling to
promote how their products and services use it. Often, what they refer to
as AI is simply a component of the technology, such as machine learning.
AI requires a foundation of specialized hardware and software for writing
and training machine learning algorithms. No single programming
language is synonymous with AI, but Python, R, Java, C++ and Julia
have features popular with AI developers.

In general, AI systems work by ingesting large amounts of labeled training

data, analyzing the data for correlations and patterns, and using these
patterns to make predictions about future states. In this way, a chatbot
that is fed examples of text can learn to generate lifelike exchanges with
people, or an image recognition tool can learn to identify and describe
objects in images by reviewing millions of examples. New, rapidly
improving generative AI techniques can create realistic text, images,
music and other media.

AI programming focuses on cognitive skills that include the following:

 Learning. This aspect of AI programming focuses on acquiring data

and creating rules for how to turn it into actionable information. The
 rules, which are called algorithms, provide computing devices with
step-by-step instructions for how to complete a specific task.

 Reasoning. This aspect of AI programming focuses on choosing the

right algorithm to reach a desired outcome.

 Self-correction. This aspect of AI programming is designed to

continually fine-tune algorithms and ensure they provide the most
accurate results possible.

 Creativity. This aspect of AI uses neural networks, rules-based

systems, statistical methods and other AI techniques to generate new
images, new text, new music and new ideas.

Why is artificial intelligence important?

AI is important for its potential to change how we live, work and play. It
has been effectively used in business to automate tasks done by humans,
including customer service work, lead generation, fraud detection and
quality control. In a number of areas, AI can perform tasks much better
than humans. Particularly when it comes to repetitive, detail-oriented
tasks, such as analyzing large numbers of legal documents to ensure
relevant fields are filled in properly, AI tools often complete jobs quickly
and with relatively few errors. Because of the massive data sets it can
process, AI can also give enterprises insights into their operations they
might not have been aware of. The rapidly expanding population
of generative AI tools will be important in fields ranging from education
and marketing to product design.
Indeed, advances in AI techniques have not only helped fuel an explosion
in efficiency, but opened the door to entirely new business opportunities
for some larger enterprises. Prior to the current wave of AI, it would have
been hard to imagine using computer software to connect riders to taxis,
but Uber has become a Fortune 500 company by doing just that.

AI has become central to many of today's largest and most successful

companies, including Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft and Meta, where AI
technologies are used to improve operations and outpace competitors. At
Alphabet subsidiary Google, for example, AI is central to its search
engine, Waymo's self-driving cars and Google Brain, which invented
the transformer neural network architecture that underpins the recent
breakthroughs in natural language processing.

Differences between AI, machine learning and deep learning

AI, machine learning and deep learning are common terms in enterprise IT and sometimes used

interchangeably, especially by companies in their marketing materials. But there are distinctions.

The term AI, coined in the 1950s, refers to the simulation of human intelligence by machines. It

covers an ever-changing set of capabilities as new technologies are developed. Technologies that

come under the umbrella of AI include machine learning and deep learning.

Machine learning enables software applications to become more accurate at predicting outcomes

without being explicitly programmed to do so. Machine learning algorithms use historical data as

input to predict new output values. This approach became vastly more effective with the rise of

large data sets to train on. Deep learning, a subset of machine learning, is based on our

understanding of how the brain is structured. Deep learning's use of artificial neural networks

structure is the underpinning of recent advances in AI, including self-driving cars and ChatGPT.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of artificial
intelligence?
Artificial neural networks and deep learning AI technologies are quickly
evolving, primarily because AI can process large amounts of data much
faster and make predictions more accurately than humanly possible.

While the huge volume of data created on a daily basis would bury a
human researcher, AI applications using machine learning can take that
data and quickly turn it into actionable information. As of this writing, a
primary disadvantage of AI is that it is expensive to process the large
amounts of data AI programming requires. As AI techniques are
incorporated into more products and services, organizations must also be
attuned to AI's potential to create biased and discriminatory systems,
intentionally or inadvertently.

Advantages of AI
The following are some advantages of AI.

 Good at detail-oriented jobs. AI has proven to be as good or better than

doctors at diagnosing certain cancers, including breast
cancer and melanoma.

 Reduced time for data-heavy tasks. AI is widely used in data-heavy

industries, including banking and securities, pharma and insurance, to
reduce the time it takes to analyze big data sets. Financial services, for
example, routinely use AI to process loan applications and detect fraud.
 Saves labor and increases productivity. An example here is the use
of warehouse automation, which grew during the pandemic and is expected
to increase with the integration of AI and machine learning.

 Delivers consistent results. The best AI translation tools deliver high levels of
consistency, offering even small businesses the ability to reach customers in
their native language.

 Can improve customer satisfaction through personalization. AI can

personalize content, messaging, ads, recommendations and websites to
individual customers.

 AI-powered virtual agents are always available. AI programs do not need to

sleep or take breaks, providing 24/7 service.
Disadvantages of AI
The following are some disadvantages of AI.

 Expensive.

 Requires deep technical expertise.

 Limited supply of qualified workers to build AI tools.

 Reflects the biases of its training data, at scale.

 Lack of ability to generalize from one task to another.

 Eliminates human jobs, increasing unemployment rates.

Strong AI vs. weak AI
AI can be categorized as weak or strong.

 Weak AI, also known as narrow AI, is designed and trained to complete a
specific task. Industrial robots and virtual personal assistants, such as Apple's
Siri, use weak AI.

 Strong AI, also known as artificial general intelligence (AGI), describes

programming that can replicate the cognitive abilities of the human brain.
 When presented with an unfamiliar task, a strong AI system can use fuzzy
logic to apply knowledge from one domain to another and find a solution
autonomously. In theory, a strong AI program should be able to pass both
a Turing test and the Chinese Room argument.
What are the 4 types of artificial intelligence?
Arend Hintze, an assistant professor of integrative biology and computer
science and engineering at Michigan State University, explained that AI
can be categorized into four types, beginning with the task-specific
intelligent systems in wide use today and progressing to sentient
systems, which do not yet exist. The categories are as follows.

 Type 1: Reactive machines. These AI systems have no memory and

are task-specific. An example is Deep Blue, the IBM chess program
that beat Garry Kasparov in the 1990s. Deep Blue can identify pieces
on a chessboard and make predictions, but because it has no
memory, it cannot use past experiences to inform future ones.

 Type 2: Limited memory. These AI systems have memory, so they

can use past experiences to inform future decisions. Some of the
decision-making functions in self-driving cars are designed this way.

 Type 3: Theory of mind. Theory of mind is a psychology term. When

applied to AI, it means the system would have the social intelligence to
understand emotions. This type of AI will be able to infer human
intentions and predict behavior, a necessary skill for AI systems to
become integral members of human teams.

 Type 4: Self-awareness. In this category, AI systems have a sense of

self, which gives them consciousness. Machines with self-awareness
understand their own current state. This type of AI does not yet exist.
What are examples of AI technology and how is it used today?
AI is incorporated into a variety of different types of technology. Here are
seven examples.

Automation. When paired with AI technologies, automation tools can

expand the volume and types of tasks performed. An example is robotic
process automation (RPA), a type of software that automates repetitive,
rules-based data processing tasks traditionally done by humans. When
combined with machine learning and emerging AI tools, RPA can
automate bigger portions of enterprise jobs, enabling RPA's tactical bots
to pass along intelligence from AI and respond to process changes.

Machine learning. This is the science of getting a computer to act

without programming. Deep learning is a subset of machine learning that,
in very simple terms, can be thought of as the automation of predictive
analytics. There are three types of machine learning algorithms:

 Supervised learning. Data sets are labeled so that patterns can be

detected and used to label new data sets.

 Unsupervised learning. Data sets aren't labeled and are sorted

according to similarities or differences.

 Reinforcement learning. Data sets aren't labeled but, after

performing an action or several actions, the AI system is given
feedback.

Machine vision. This technology gives a machine the ability to see.

Machine vision captures and analyzes visual information using a camera,
analog-to-digital conversion and digital signal processing. It is often
compared to human eyesight, but machine vision isn't bound by biology
and can be programmed to see through walls, for example. It is used in a
range of applications from signature identification to medical image
analysis. Computer vision, which is focused on machine-based image
processing, is often conflated with machine vision.

Natural language processing (NLP). This is the processing of human

language by a computer program. One of the older and best-known
examples of NLP is spam detection, which looks at the subject line and
text of an email and decides if it's junk. Current approaches to NLP are
based on machine learning. NLP tasks include text translation, sentiment
analysis and speech recognition.

Robotics. This field of engineering focuses on the design and

manufacturing of robots. Robots are often used to perform tasks that are
difficult for humans to perform or perform consistently. For example,
robots are used in car production assembly lines or by NASA to move
large objects in space. Researchers also use machine learning to build
robots that can interact in social settings.

Self-driving cars. Autonomous vehicles use a combination of computer

vision, image recognition and deep learning to build automated skills to
pilot a vehicle while staying in a given lane and avoiding unexpected
obstructions, such as pedestrians.

Text, image and audio generation. Generative AI techniques, which

create various types of media from text prompts, are being applied
extensively across businesses to create a seemingly limitless range of
content types from photorealistic art to email responses and screenplays.
What are the applications of AI?
Artificial intelligence has made its way into a wide variety of markets.
Here are 11 examples.

AI in healthcare. The biggest bets are on improving patient outcomes

and reducing costs. Companies are applying machine learning to make
better and faster medical diagnoses than humans. One of the best-known
healthcare technologies is IBM Watson. It understands natural language
and can respond to questions asked of it. The system mines patient data
and other available data sources to form a hypothesis, which it then
presents with a confidence scoring schema. Other AI applications include
using online virtual health assistants and chatbots to help patients and
healthcare customers find medical information, schedule appointments,
understand the billing process and complete other administrative
processes. An array of AI technologies is also being used to predict, fight
and understand pandemics such as COVID-19.

AI in business. Machine learning algorithms are being integrated into

analytics and customer relationship management (CRM) platforms to
uncover information on how to better serve customers. Chatbots have
been incorporated into websites to provide immediate service to
customers. The rapid advancement of generative AI technology such
as ChatGPT is expected to have far-reaching consequences: eliminating
jobs, revolutionizing product design and disrupting business models.

AI in education. AI can automate grading, giving educators more time for

other tasks. It can assess students and adapt to their needs, helping them
work at their own pace. AI tutors can provide additional support to
students, ensuring they stay on track. The technology could also change
where and how students learn, perhaps even replacing some teachers.
As demonstrated by ChatGPT, Bard and other large language models,
generative AI can help educators craft course work and other teaching
materials and engage students in new ways. The advent of these tools
also forces educators to rethink student homework and testing and revise
policies on plagiarism.

AI in finance. AI in personal finance applications, such as Intuit Mint or

TurboTax, is disrupting financial institutions. Applications such as these
collect personal data and provide financial advice. Other programs, such
as IBM Watson, have been applied to the process of buying a home.
Today, artificial intelligence software performs much of the trading on
Wall Street.

AI in law. The discovery process -- sifting through documents -- in law is

often overwhelming for humans. Using AI to help automate the legal
industry's labor-intensive processes is saving time and improving client
service. Law firms use machine learning to describe data and predict
outcomes, computer vision to classify and extract information from
documents, and NLP to interpret requests for information.

AI in entertainment and media. The entertainment business uses AI

techniques for targeted advertising, recommending content, distribution,
detecting fraud, creating scripts and making movies. Automated
journalism helps newsrooms streamline media workflows reducing time,
costs and complexity. Newsrooms use AI to automate routine tasks, such
as data entry and proofreading; and to research topics and assist with
headlines. How journalism can reliably use ChatGPT and other
generative AI to generate content is open to question.

AI in software coding and IT processes. New generative AI tools can

be used to produce application code based on natural language prompts,
but it is early days for these tools and unlikely they will replace software
engineers soon. AI is also being used to automate many IT processes,
including data entry, fraud detection, customer service, and predictive
maintenance and security.

Security. AI and machine learning are at the top of the buzzword list
security vendors use to market their products, so buyers should approach
with caution. Still, AI techniques are being successfully applied to multiple
aspects of cybersecurity, including anomaly detection, solving the false-
positive problem and conducting behavioral threat analytics.
Organizations use machine learning in security information and event
management (SIEM) software and related areas to detect anomalies and
identify suspicious activities that indicate threats. By analyzing data and
using logic to identify similarities to known malicious code, AI can provide
alerts to new and emerging attacks much sooner than human employees
and previous technology iterations.

AI in manufacturing. Manufacturing has been at the forefront of

incorporating robots into the workflow. For example, the industrial robots
that were at one time programmed to perform single tasks and separated
from human workers, increasingly function as cobots: Smaller,
multitasking robots that collaborate with humans and take on
responsibility for more parts of the job in warehouses, factory floors and
other workspaces.

AI in banking. Banks are successfully employing chatbots to make their

customers aware of services and offerings and to handle transactions that
don't require human intervention. AI virtual assistants are used to improve
and cut the costs of compliance with banking regulations. Banking
organizations use AI to improve their decision-making for loans, set credit
limits and identify investment opportunities.

AI in transportation. In addition to AI's fundamental role in operating

autonomous vehicles, AI technologies are used in transportation to
manage traffic, predict flight delays, and make ocean shipping safer and
more efficient. In supply chains, AI is replacing traditional methods of
forecasting demand and predicting disruptions, a trend accelerated by
COVID-19 when many companies were caught off guard by the effects of
a global pandemic on the supply and demand of goods.

Augmented intelligence vs. artificial intelligence

Some industry experts have argued that the term artificial intelligence is too
closely linked to popular culture, which has caused the general public to have
improbable expectations about how AI will change the workplace and life in
general. They have suggested using the term augmented intelligence to
differentiate between AI systems that act autonomously -- popular culture
examples include Hal 9000 and The Terminator -- and AI tools that support
humans.

 Augmented intelligence. Some researchers and marketers hope the

label augmented intelligence, which has a more neutral connotation, will
help people understand that most implementations of AI will be weak and
simply improve products and services. Examples include automatically
surfacing important information in business intelligence reports or
highlighting important information in legal filings. The rapid adoption of
ChatGPT and Bard across industry indicates a willingness to use AI to support
human decision-making.

 Artificial intelligence. True AI, or AGI, is closely associated with the concept
of the technological singularity -- a future ruled by an artificial
superintelligence that far surpasses the human brain's ability to understand
it or how it is shaping our reality. This remains within the realm of science
fiction, though some developers are working on the problem. Many believe
that technologies such as quantum computing could play an important role
 in making AGI a reality and that we should reserve the use of the term AI for
this kind of general intelligence.
Ethical use of artificial intelligence
While AI tools present a range of new functionality for businesses, the use of AI
also raises ethical questions because, for better or worse, an AI system will
reinforce what it has already learned.

This can be problematic because machine learning algorithms, which underpin

many of the most advanced AI tools, are only as smart as the data they are given
in training. Because a human being selects what data is used to train an AI
program, the potential for machine learning bias is inherent and must be
monitored closely.

Anyone looking to use machine learning as part of real-world, in-production

systems needs to factor ethics into their AI training processes and strive to avoid
bias. This is especially true when using AI algorithms that are inherently
unexplainable in deep learning and generative adversarial network (GAN)
applications.

Explainability is a potential stumbling block to using AI in industries that operate

under strict regulatory compliance requirements. For example, financial
institutions in the United States operate under regulations that require them to
explain their credit-issuing decisions. When a decision to refuse credit is made by
AI programming, however, it can be difficult to explain how the decision was
arrived at because the AI tools used to make such decisions operate by teasing
out subtle correlations between thousands of variables. When the decision-
making process cannot be explained, the program may be referred to as black box
AI.

In summary, AI's ethical challenges include the following: bias, due to

improperly trained algorithms and human bias; misuse, due to deepfakes and
phishing; legal concerns, including AI libel and copyright issues; elimination of
jobs; and data privacy concerns, particularly in the banking, healthcare and
legal fields.