The Age of A.I
In the 15th century, the invention of the printing press ushered in a new era for humanity.
In a very short period of time, the production costs of books drove down significantly, allowing for rapid distribution and exchange of ideas between people. At the time, knowledge was generally held by powerful institutions that became the gatekeepers of knowledge for the masses. With the printing press, that changed.
With more individuals having direct access to knowledge, the printing press laid the foundation for what is now known as The Age of Enlightenment, and The Scientific Revolution — forever changing the course of human history.
Artificial Intelligence is today’s printing press. The technology is enabling innovations that are fundamentally changing our lives, our work, and our relationship with the world at large.
A.I is here to stay
“In our business, we talk about emerging technologies and how they impact society. We’ve never seen a technology move as fast as AI has to impact society and technology. This is by far the fastest-moving technology that we’ve ever tracked in terms of its impact and we’re just getting started.” - Richard Socher, former chief scientist, Salesforce
Artificial Intelligence (A.I) is simply defined as the capacity for computers to think and learn on their own. With very limited or no human intervention, A.I is able to process vast amounts of data to recognize patterns and accomplish complex tasks.
As a result, A.I exhibits human-like intelligence, in some cases even surpassing the capabilities of human beings in particular tasks. Here are some noteworthy examples:
These are only a few of the many remarkable applications of Artificial Intelligence. It is important to note, that while these advancements are significant — we are only in the very early days of this technology’s development.
In the near and distant future,?A.I will result in unprecedented possibilities and accomplish what we will simply experience as magic.?We will increasingly grow more dependent on these technologies to perform their super-intelligent functions and provide us with remarkable insights and miraculous results.
A.I is already shaping your life
While there are big and exciting possibilities yet to be developed with A.I, there are many current applications that are already affecting your daily life:
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You are already beginning to outsource your daily perceptions and decision-making to Artificial Intelligence. These algorithms are saving you significant brainpower, time, and energy to provide you with useful information in a variety of ways.
While these applications might seem inconsequential now, as A.I develops and becomes more integrated into our work and life, we will rely on it to make much bigger life decisions (Where should I live? Who should I spend time with? What career path should I pursue? Can I trust person X?)
With great power comes great responsibility
“Machine intelligence is the last invention that humanity will ever need to make.” - Nick Bostrom
Artificial Intelligence will provide us with unprecedented knowledge, capabilities, and power.
It is difficult to predict just how transformative this technology will be for our lives, the future of this planet, and the future of our species. We literally have a technology that can develop increasingly more powerful tools on its own. We have created Artificial Intelligence that has a mind of its own.
But?with the immense capabilities of A.I comes an even bigger responsibility to develop its applications with careful intention.
Like a knife, A.I can be used to kill and destroy — or save a person’s life. It is not the tool that will determine its use, but rather the bearer of the tool.
Stepping Back
Consider the following:
What is your individual responsibility for the ethical use and development of Artificial Intelligence?