Artificial Intelligence | A man-made brain

Nowadays computer is the basic need of everyone, from our homes to massive industries the computer is there to make our work easy, thinking our lives without computer is almost impossible in today’s modern world. So it became very important for a computer to think and make decisions on its own in order to be more powerful and efficient. Artificial Intelligence or AI can be defined as: “The advanced ability of a computer program to learn and think by itself”. Any machine can be considered as artificially intelligent if it contains a program doing something that we would normally rely on Human Intelligence.

In the first half of 20th century the concept of Artificial Intelligent Robots was familiarized by science fiction, but at that time computers were not that much capable in order to be intelligent like humans. In other words, computers only did what they were told and didn’t remember what they did. In the year 1950, the word “Artificial intelligence” was introduced by John McCarthy. He said, “Every aspect of learning or any other feature of intelligence can in principle be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it”. As computer technology started to develop it became more powerful by the time and this lead the computer to store and execute programs more efficiently and make decisions by themselves. Artificial Intelligence grabbed the attraction of people gradually when a reigning world chess champion loss to a computer in an AI based chess game in 1997, in the same year Windows was also implemented a speech recognition software developed by Dragon Systems which was also based on AI.

Today AI is not just limited to the way it is programmed but it learns by the time this also assures that AI can be implemented anywhere. According to the latest AI Index Report, Adoption of AI in large companies has increased by 47% from 2018 to 2019. AI-Enhanced technology is now widely available across the industry even if it is not very cheap to implement. No doubt Artificial intelligence has bundles of advantages that made our life easier and efficient, even its presence is not always recognized but AI has changed everyone’s life in one form or another. But as everything has its downside so AI has also. Keeping in mind that if a computer can reprogram and improve by itself and became independent, the risk of machines outwitting Humans cannot be simply ignored. Artificial Intelligence is a boon or a bane to the future of human existence is an ongoing debate.

Quality and performance of any machine that is based on AI is incredible today. The time is gone when we used to say that a performance of a computer decreases with the passage of time because now with the help of AI softwares along with the latest ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration) technologies turns out to deliver the best performance. Our smartphones are totally working on AI based operating systems. If today’s smartphone cameras can shoot professional grade photos, or they can easily handle heavy tasks without losing performance this is just because of AI integrated in them. But as said earlier AI is not just limited to that. AI Robots in industries are doing much better work than Humans with almost Zero errors.

Artificial Intelligence is working behind our every day to day tasks. We have our digital assistant in our smartphones like Siri and Google Assistant with us 24x7, they help us making decisions, solving common to very complex calculations, give us the best suggestions and much more. Back in the time when we were planning to go somewhere and we used to ask for the person who already went there for the guidance, but know the only thing we have to do is to say “Ok Google where is Karachi” and it will show you the best path to Karachi’s locations along with the traffic and weather data .When we post pictures on social media, the AI algorithm automatically detects the individual person’s face and tags them. The?keyboard on our smartphone suggest us the next word and corrects the grammar automatically using its AI. There are thousands of examples in which Artificial Intelligence is making our daily life more easy and convenient.?

Unlike Humans, AI based machine can work nonstop repeatedly, it doesn’t need any break or in simple words it doesn’t get tired or bored of the task it is given, until there is any technical fault. For example the big institutes or help centers which get many queries and issues on daily bases can easily be handled using AI softwares. When we are interacting with the computer we are actually interacting with the AI behind it that’s why when we play video games the computer acts as opponent so in this case we can be tired or bored with the game but the computer or the AI behind it will work anytime you open it. AI Robots has also overcome the Human limitations, they are used in mining and fuel exploration doing heavy tasks where Humans cannot reach.

The Decision making capability of Artificial Intelligence makes it stand out from the rest of the technologies. AI can easily take unbiased decisions for what they are programmed irrespective of emotional and practical factors. Because of the fact that AI uses its previous data and algorithms it makes decisions very fast without any error. The word “human error” was born because Humans make mistakes with time to time but computers do not make mistakes if they are programmed properly. For example in weather forecasting AI technology is used in order to make predictions about the upcoming weather. Another common example is that we all have played the chess game in our Windows and it is nearly impossible to win in the hard mode because of the powerful AI behind it which makes the best possible step in order to win.?

Because of the fact that Artificial Intelligence seems to be very powerful it can be used for malicious purpose by human itself. We all know that AI can make decisions on its own but it is made by humans and they can use it for their negative purpose. In our smartphones AI uses our location history, our chats, even our camera and microphone to enhance our experience but this all data is stored somewhere and can be used by any malicious attacks. Although these companies assure the users in their terms and conditions that their data is secured from these attacks but we have seen many cases of data leaks and much more.?

Although AI can think and make better decisions but they are based on the data stored in them or the way they are programmed and this leads to zero creativity, in simple words: Machines can’t be creative like Humans. We Use our senses and think limitless and creative. Even the AI itself is invented by humans so there is no match of a Human brain to a machine’s CPU. Every time a Human thinks creatively he thinks different from the rest of the data he has because our brain can push the boundaries of thoughts, that’s the result of these unbelievable inventions today that were seems almost impossible few years back. In short: Machines lacks out of box thinking.

AI is a complex machine which is very costly. The installation of AI definitely requires large investments. Apart from this, its maintenance and repair is also not a cheap task. Artificial Intelligence is working on softwares which requires upgradation by the time. Due to its complexity if an AI machine has a breakdown it is a very costly and time taking process to recover it.?

As every invention has replaced humans by itself so as the AI does. No doubt Artificial Intelligence is made for the easiness of Human Being, but it is a fact that this luxury is only for the high class people and the rest of the population is ending with unemployment in every sector. As AI is evolving very fast it is falling into more category of tasks that can be automated and as the result, the entire job industry could disappear. AI robots are replacing Humans in almost every industries. A report from World Economic Forum in 2018 estimated that AI will replace 75 million jobs by 2022. This is not a small number to be ignored.

Giant companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft are spending nearly 20 billion dollars every year on AI. Universities are now making AI a proper subject in their curriculum. This indicates that AI is going to be more powerful in the upcoming decade. It will grow exponentially, researches are being made in order to improve the intelligence of machines like Humans. In the upcoming years our life will be totally automated by AI machines, from our homes to every sector, machines will be there to make our work fast, perfect and reliable.

Keeping in mind the pros and cons of Artificially Intelligent Technology we should properly be prepared for the future as this powerful machines. So that they do not become independent and take over the mankind. Is AI a threat for Human existence or not? Is a never ending debate. Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk once said, “Unless we learn how to prepare for, and avoid, the potential risks,” he explained, “AI could be the worst event in the history of our civilization.” Not just one but many tech giant people has warned in the past regarding the robots outwitting Humans, but this is totally in the hand of Humans itself that how to implement AI in machines in order to fulfill their needs only.

Any technology in the world has its Advantages and disadvantages. None of the invention in the world is 100% perfect by Humans. If today cars are our basic needs and used across the whole world we should also not ignore that these cars are one of the major factors of Global Warming. But everything can be controlled, Scientists are working hard on introducing and implementing electric cars throughout the whole world which are more eco-friendly than these normal carbon producing cars. So as the Artificial Intelligence is we can research in AI to make it more intelligent and accurate, but we should keep in mind that these machines cannot became independent by themselves and take over the human existence. In short: Humans should keep control over Artificial Intelligence. Otherwise it is one of the greatest inventions that can change our lives in a positive way.