Breaking down the advantages and disadvantages of artificial

intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the convergent fields of computer and

data science focused on building machines with human intelligence to
perform tasks that would previously have required a human being. For
example, learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, language
understanding and more. Instead of relying on explicit instructions from a
programmer, AI systems can learn from data, allowing them to handle
complex problems (as well as simple-but-repetitive tasks) and improve
over time.

Today’s AI technology has a range of use cases across various

industries; businesses use AI to minimize human error, reduce high costs
of operations, provide real-time data insights and improve the customer
experience, among many other applications. As such, it represents a
significant shift in the way we approach computing, creating systems that
can improve workflows and enhance elements of everyday life.

But even with the myriad benefits of AI, it does have noteworthy
disadvantages when compared to traditional programming methods. AI
development and deployment can come with data privacy concerns, job
displacements and cybersecurity risks, not to mention the massive
technical undertaking of ensuring AI systems behave as intended.

In this article, we’ll discuss how AI technology functions and lay out the
advantages and disadvantages of artificial intelligence as they compare
to traditional computing methods.

What is artificial intelligence and how does it work?

AI operates on three fundamental components: data, algorithms and

computing power.

 Data: AI systems learn and make decisions based on data, and

they require large quantities of data to train effectively, especially in
the case of machine learning (ML) models. Data is often divided
into three categories: training data (helps the model learn),
validation data (tunes the model) and test data (assesses the
model’s performance). For optimal performance, AI models should
receive data from a diverse datasets (e.g., text, images, audio and
more), which enables the system to generalize its learning to new,
unseen data.
  Algorithms: Algorithms are the sets of rules AI systems use to
process data and make decisions. The category of AI algorithms
includes ML algorithms, which learn and make predictions and
decisions without explicit programming. AI can also work from deep
learning algorithms, a subset of ML that uses multi-layered artificial
neural networks (ANNs)—hence the “deep” descriptor—to model
high-level abstractions within big data infrastructures. And
reinforcement learning algorithms enable an agent to learn
behavior by performing functions and receiving punishments and
rewards based on their correctness, iteratively adjusting the model
until it’s fully trained.
 Computing power: AI algorithms often necessitate significant
computing resources to process such large quantities of data and
run complex algorithms, especially in the case of deep learning.
Many organizations rely on specialized hardware, like graphic
processing units (GPUs), to streamline these processes.

AI systems also tend to fall in two broad categories:

 Artificial Narrow Intelligence, also called narrow AI or weak AI,

performs specific tasks like image or voice recognition. Virtual
assistants like Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, IBM watsonx and
even OpenAI’s ChatGPT are examples of narrow AI systems.
 Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), or Strong AI, can perform any
intellectual task a human can perform; it can understand, learn,
adapt and work from knowledge across domains. AGI, however, is
still just a theoretical concept.
How does traditional programming work?

Unlike AI programming, traditional programming requires the

programmer to write explicit instructions for the computer to follow in
every possible scenario; the computer then executes the instructions to
solve a problem or perform a task. It’s a deterministic approach, akin to a
recipe, where the computer executes step-by-step instructions to achieve
the desired result.

The traditional approach is well-suited for clearly defined problems with a

limited number of possible outcomes, but it’s often impossible to write
rules for every single scenario when tasks are complex or demand
human-like perception (as in image recognition, natural language
processing, etc.). This is where AI programming offers a clear edge over
rules-based programming methods.
What are the pros and cons of AI (compared to traditional
computing)?

The real-world potential of AI is immense. Applications of AI include

diagnosing diseases, personalizing social media feeds, executing
sophisticated data analyses for weather modeling and powering the
chatbots that handle our customer support requests. AI-powered robots
can even assemble cars and minimize radiation from wildfires.

As with any technology, there are advantages and disadvantages of AI,

when compared to traditional programing technologies. Aside from
foundational differences in how they function, AI and traditional
programming also differ significantly in terms of programmer control, data
handling, scalability and availability.

 Control and transparency

Traditional programming offers developers full control over the logic and
behavior of software, allowing for precise customization and predictable,
consistent outcomes. And if a program doesn’t behave as expected,
developers can trace back through the codebase to identify and correct
the issue. AI systems, particularly complex models like deep neural
networks, can be hard to control and interpret. They often work like
“black boxes,” where the input and output are known, but the process the
model uses to get from one to the other is unclear. This lack of
transparency can be problematic in industries that prioritize process and
decision-making explainability (like healthcare and finance).

 Learning and data handling

Traditional programming is rigid; it relies on structured data to execute
programs and typically struggles to process unstructured data. In order to
“teach” a program new information, the programmer must manually add
new data or adjust processes. Traditionally coded programs also struggle
with independent iteration. In other words, they may not be able to
accommodate unforeseen scenarios without explicit programming for
those cases. Because AI systems learn from vast amounts of data,
they’re better suited for processing unstructured data like images, videos
and natural language text. AI systems can also learn continually from
new data and experiences (as in machine learning), allowing them to
improve their performance over time and making them especially useful
in dynamic environments where the best possible solution can evolve
over time.
 Stability and scalability
Traditional programming is stable. Once a program is written and
debugged, it will perform operations the exact same way, every single
time. However, the stability of rules-based programs comes at the
expense of scalability. Because traditional programs can only learn
through explicit programming interventions, they require programmers to
write code at scale in order to scale up operations. This process can
prove unmanageable, if not impossible, for many organizations. AI
programs offer more scalability than traditional programs but with less
stability. The automation and continuous learning features of AI-based
programs enable developers to scale processes quickly and with relative
ease, representing one of the key advantages of ai. However, the
improvisational nature of AI systems means that programs may not
always provide consistent, appropriate responses.

 Efficiency and availability

Rules-based computer programs can provide 24/7 availability, but
sometimes only if they have human workers to operate them around the
clock.

AI technologies can run 24/7 without human intervention so that

business operations can run continuously. Another of the benefits of
artificial intelligence is that AI systems can automate boring or repetitive
jobs (like data entry), freeing up employees’ bandwidth for higher-value
work tasks and lowering the company’s payroll costs. It’s worth
mentioning, however, that automation can have significant job loss
implications for the workforce. For instance, some companies have
transitioned to using digital assistants to triage employee reports, instead
of delegating such tasks to a human resources department.
Organizations will need to find ways to incorporate their existing
workforce into new workflows enabled by productivity gains from the
incorporation of AI into operations.

Maximize the advantages of artificial intelligence with IBM Watson

Omdia projects that the global AI market will be worth USD 200 billion by
2028.¹ That means businesses should expect dependency on AI
technologies to increase, with the complexity of enterprise IT systems
increasing in kind. But with the IBM watsonx portfolio of AI products,
organizations have a powerful tool in their toolbox for scaling AI.

IBM watsonx enables teams to manage data sources, accelerate

responsible AI workflows, and easily deploy and embed AI across the
business—all on one place. watsonx offers a range of advanced
features, including comprehensive workload management and real-time
data monitoring, designed to help you scale and accelerate AI-powered
IT infrastructures with trusted data across the enterprise.

Conclusion

Though not without its complications, the use of AI represents an

opportunity for businesses to keep pace with an increasingly complex
and dynamic world by meeting it with sophisticated technologies that can
handle that complexity.