Artificial Intelligence

Since the invention of computers or machines, their capability to perform various tasks went on
growing exponentially. Humans have developed the power of computer systems in terms of their
diverse working domains, their increasing speed, and reducing size with respect to time.

A branch of Computer Science named Artificial Intelligence pursues creating the computers or
machines as intelligent as human beings.

What is Artificial Intelligence?

According to the father of Artificial Intelligence, John McCarthy, it is “The science and
engineering of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs”.
Artificial Intelligence is a way of making a computer, a computer-controlled robot, or a
software think intelligently, in the similar manner the intelligent humans think.

AI is accomplished by studying how human brain thinks, and how humans learn, decide, and
work while trying to solve a problem, and then using the outcomes of this study as a basis of
developing intelligent software and systems.

Philosophy of AI
While exploiting the power of the computer systems, the curiosity of human, lead him to wonder,
“Can a machine think and behave like humans do?”
Thus, the development of AI started with the intention of creating similar intelligence in
machines that we find and regard high in humans.

Goals of AI
● To Create Expert Systems − The systems which exhibit intelligent behavior, learn,
demonstrate, explain, and advice its users.
● To Implement Human Intelligence in Machines − Creating systems that understand,
think, learn, and behave like humans.

What Contributes to AI?

Artificial intelligence is a science and technology based on disciplines such as Computer
Science, Biology, Psychology, Linguistics, Mathematics, and Engineering. A major thrust of AI
is in the development of computer functions associated with human intelligence, such as
reasoning, learning, and problem solving.
Out of the following areas, one or multiple areas can contribute to build an intelligent system.
Programming Without and With AI
The programming without and with AI is different in following ways −

Programming Without AI Programming With AI

A computer program without AI can answer the A computer program with AI can answer the generic
specific questions it is meant to solve. questions it is meant to solve.

AI programs can absorb new modifications by

putting highly independent pieces of information
Modification in the program leads to change in its
together. Hence you can modify even a minute
structure.
piece of information of program without affecting
its structure.

Modification is not quick and easy. It may lead to

Quick and Easy program modification.
affecting the program adversely.

What is AI Technique?
In the real world, the knowledge has some unwelcomed properties −
● Its volume is huge, next to unimaginable.
● It is not well-organized or well-formatted.
● It keeps changing constantly.
AI Technique is a manner to organize and use the knowledge efficiently in such a way that −
● It should be perceivable by the people who provide it.
● It should be easily modifiable to correct errors.
● It should be useful in many situations though it is incomplete or inaccurate.
AI techniques elevate the speed of execution of the complex program it is equipped with.

Applications of AI
AI has been dominant in various fields such as −
● Gaming − AI plays crucial role in strategic games such as chess, poker, tic-tac-toe, etc.,
where machine can think of large number of possible positions based on heuristic
knowledge.
● Natural Language Processing − It is possible to interact with the computer that
understands natural language spoken by humans.

● Expert Systems − There are some applications which integrate machine, software, and
special information to impart reasoning and advising. They provide explanation and
advice to the users.

● Vision Systems − These systems understand, interpret, and comprehend visual input on
the computer. For example,
o A spying aeroplane takes photographs, which are used to figure out spatial
information or map of the areas.
o Doctors use clinical expert system to diagnose the patient.
o Police use computer software that can recognize the face of criminal with the
stored portrait made by forensic artist.
● Speech Recognition − Some intelligent systems are capable of hearing and
comprehending the language in terms of sentences and their meanings while a human
talks to it. It can handle different accents, slang words, noise in the background, change
in human’s noise due to cold, etc.
● Handwriting Recognition − The handwriting recognition software reads the text written
on paper by a pen or on screen by a stylus. It can recognize the shapes of the letters and
convert it into editable text.

● Intelligent Robots − Robots are able to perform the tasks given by a human. They have
sensors to detect physical data from the real world such as light, heat, temperature,
movement, sound, bump, and pressure. They have efficient processors, multiple sensors
and huge memory, to exhibit intelligence. In addition, they are capable of learning from
their mistakes and they can adapt to the new environment.
Artificial Intelligence - Intelligent Systems
While studying artificially intelligence, you need to know what intelligence is. This chapter
covers Idea of intelligence, types, and components of intelligence.

What is Intelligence?
The ability of a system to calculate, reason, perceive relationships and analogies, learn from
experience, store and retrieve information from memory, solve problems, comprehend complex
ideas, use natural language fluently, classify, generalize, and adapt new situations.

Types of Intelligence
As described by Howard Gardner, an American developmental psychologist, the Intelligence
comes in multifold −

Intelligence Description Example

The ability to speak, recognize, and use

mechanisms of phonology (speech
Linguistic intelligence Narrators, Orators
sounds), syntax (grammar), and semantics
(meaning).

The ability to create, communicate with,

Musicians, Singers,
Musical intelligence and understand meanings made of sound,
Composers
understanding of pitch, rhythm.

The ability of use and understand

relationships in the absence of action or Mathematicians,
Logical-mathematical intelligence
objects. Understanding complex and Scientists
abstract ideas.

The ability to perceive visual or spatial

information, change it, and re-create Map readers,
Spatial intelligence visual images without reference to the Astronauts,
objects, construct 3D images, and to Physicists
move and rotate them.

The ability to use complete or part of the

body to solve problems or fashion
Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence Players, Dancers
products, control over fine and coarse
motor skills, and manipulate the objects.
 The ability to distinguish among one’s
Intra-personal intelligence Gautam Buddhha
own feelings, intentions, and motivations.

The ability to recognize and make Mass

Interpersonal intelligence distinctions among other people’s Communicators,
feelings, beliefs, and intentions. Interviewers

You can say a machine or a system is artificially intelligent when it is equipped with at least
one and at most all intelligences in it.

What is Intelligence Composed of?

The intelligence is intangible. It is composed of −

● Reasoning
● Learning
● Problem Solving
● Perception
● Linguistic Intelligence

Let us go through all the components briefly −

● Reasoning − It is the set of processes that enables us to provide basis for judgement,
making decisions, and prediction. There are broadly two types −

Inductive Reasoning Deductive Reasoning

It conducts specific observations to makes broad It starts with a general statement and examines the
general statements. possibilities to reach a specific, logical conclusion.
Even if all of the premises are true in a statement,
If something is true of a class of things in general, it
inductive reasoning allows for the conclusion to be
is also true for all members of that class.
false.

Example − "All women of age above 60 years are

Example − "Nita is a teacher. Nita is studious.
grandmothers. Shalini is 65 years. Therefore, Shalini
Therefore, All teachers are studious."
is a grandmother."

● Learning − It is the activity of gaining knowledge or skill by studying, practising, being

taught, or experiencing something. Learning enhances the awareness of the subjects of
the study.
The ability of learning is possessed by humans, some animals, and AI-enabled systems.
Learning is categorized as −
o Auditory Learning − It is learning by listening and hearing. For example,
students listening to recorded audio lectures.
o Episodic Learning − To learn by remembering sequences of events that one has
witnessed or experienced. This is linear and orderly.
o Motor Learning − It is learning by precise movement of muscles. For example,
picking objects, Writing, etc.

o Observational Learning − To learn by watching and imitating others. For

example, child tries to learn by mimicking her parent.
o Perceptual Learning − It is learning to recognize stimuli that one has seen
before. For example, identifying and classifying objects and situations.
o Relational Learning − It involves learning to differentiate among various stimuli
on the basis of relational properties, rather than absolute properties. For Example,
Adding ‘little less’ salt at the time of cooking potatoes that came up salty last
time, when cooked with adding say a tablespoon of salt.

o Spatial Learning − It is learning through visual stimuli such as images, colors,

maps, etc. For Example, A person can create roadmap in mind before actually
following the road.
o Stimulus-Response Learning − It is learning to perform a particular behavior
when a certain stimulus is present. For example, a dog raises its ear on hearing
doorbell.
● Problem Solving − It is the process in which one perceives and tries to arrive at a desired
solution from a present situation by taking some path, which is blocked by known or
unknown hurdles.
Problem solving also includes decision making, which is the process of selecting the best
suitable alternative out of multiple alternatives to reach the desired goal are available.
 ● Perception − It is the process of acquiring, interpreting, selecting, and organizing
sensory information.

Perception presumes sensing. In humans, perception is aided by sensory organs. In the

domain of AI, perception mechanism puts the data acquired by the sensors together in a
meaningful manner.
● Linguistic Intelligence − It is one’s ability to use, comprehend, speak, and write the
verbal and written language. It is important in interpersonal communication.

Difference between Human and Machine Intelligence

● Humans perceive by patterns whereas the machines perceive by set of rules and data.

● Humans store and recall information by patterns, machines do it by searching algorithms.

For example, the number 40404040 is easy to remember, store, and recall as its pattern is
simple.
● Humans can figure out the complete object even if some part of it is missing or distorted;
whereas the machines cannot do it correctly.

Artificial Intelligence - Research Areas

The domain of artificial intelligence is huge in breadth and width. While proceeding, we consider the
broadly common and prospering research areas in the domain of AI –
Speech and Voice Recognition
These both terms are common in robotics, expert systems and natural language processing.
Though these terms are used interchangeably, their objectives are different.

Speech Recognition Voice Recognition

The speech recognition aims at understanding and The objective of voice recognition is to recognize
comprehending WHAT was spoken. WHO is speaking.

It is used in hand-free computing, map, or menu It is used to identify a person by analysing its tone,
navigation. voice pitch, and accent, etc.

Machine does not need training for Speech This recognition system needs training as it is
Recognition as it is not speaker dependent. person oriented.

Speaker independent Speech Recognition systems Speaker dependent Speech Recognition systems
are difficult to develop. are comparatively easy to develop.

Working of Speech and Voice Recognition Systems

The user input spoken at a microphone goes to sound card of the system. The converter turns the
analog signal into equivalent digital signal for the speech processing. The database is used to
compare the sound patterns to recognize the words. Finally, a reverse feedback is given to the
database.
This source-language text becomes input to the Translation Engine, which converts it to the
target language text. They are supported with interactive GUI, large database of vocabulary, etc.

Real Life Applications of AI Research Areas

There is a large array of applications where AI is serving common people in their day-to-day
lives –

Sr.No. Research Areas Example

Expert Systems
1
Examples − Flight-tracking systems, Clinical systems.

Natural Language Processing

Examples: Google Now feature, speech recognition,
2 Automatic voice output.
 Neural Networks
3
Examples − Pattern recognition systems such as face
recognition, character recognition, handwriting recognition.

Robotics
Examples − Industrial robots for moving, spraying,
painting, precision checking, drilling, cleaning, coating,
4
carving, etc.

Fuzzy Logic Systems

5 Examples − Consumer electronics, automobiles, etc.