What is Artificial Intelligence?

What is artificial intelligence? How does it impact many areas of human activity? What are the ethical, societal and environmental issues of AI?

Definition of artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence or AI is a scientific and technological discipline which involves the execution by machines’ (computers and computer programs) cognitive processes previously reserved for the human brain capacity in areas from:

·         comprehension,

·         communication (dialogue between machines and with the human),

·         the structuring of the memory,

·         critical reasoning,

·         adaptation,

·         learning in autonomy (deep learning)

In the current language, AI also denotes computer or robotic devices implementing these functions.

Two schools stand out in the approach of the objectives of artificial intelligence:

·         The first considers that AI must operate on the same model as human intelligence.

·         The second advocates an ideal model, the rational perfection of which would be dissociated from the criteria and processes of biological intelligence.

AI applications 

Born in the 1950s from the work of Alan Turing, then John McCarthy and Marvin Lee Minsky, the concept of artificial intelligence draws on the resources of mathematical logic, neural network science, quantum physics, and much more. Its various modes of operation all aim at the development of logical methods (or the algorithms have the beautiful part) making it possible to solve problems with ever-increasing levels of complexity.

Today, AI is illustrated in fields as varied as:

·         games of reflection/strategy (chess);

·         mathematical research;

·         finance ;

·         medicine ;

·         personal assistants and home automation;

·         perception/interpretation (facial recognition, comprehension of languages);

·         robotics (industry, transport, armament)

What will our world be like with artificial intelligence?

Like any major technological change, AI raises ethical issues that its promoters, such as Bill Gates, Elon Musk or Stephen Hawking, do not neglect. To avoid excessive drift, they advocate a rigorous control of advances and their potential consequences. AI startup Halfcode advocates a symbiosis of artificial intelligence and machine learning, alongside human interaction.

The positive perspectives of AI, however, are numerous for humanity and the planet. In the field of sustainable development, in particular, advances in artificial intelligence is announcing automation capabilities in the analysis/management of energy consumption which points to optimal use of resources, both at the level of companies and individuals or public services.

Decisive progress is also expected for improved air quality in major cities, as well as for the rationalization and distribution of water resources in sensitive areas.

Another promising direction: highly advanced mathematical modeling of natural processes suggests valuable applications in biomimicry.

How do you know if a device has AI?

Based on what we have explained, it is in the opinion of each one to determine whether something uses Artificial Intelligence or not. In this sense, many devices have emerged that are supposedly intelligent. However, some people question this characteristic.

It is difficult to generalize and establish which devices are and which are not intelligent since the field of AI is very broad. The main idea is that the system acts similarly to the human brain. If it is fulfilled it could be classified as Artificial Intelligence according to the meanings that exist.

If we are a little stricter we can rely on the Turing Test created by Alan Turing in the year 1950. We talk about an ability test to measure whether a machine is intelligent or not.

To do this, a judge is placed in one room and in another sits a person and a machine. The judge must decide through questions which are the human and which is the robot. Both the person and the machine can give false answers; the important thing is to deceive the judge.

According to Turing, if the machine manages to convince the judge that it is a human we will be before an intelligent machine. What happens is that only Eugene Goostman, a chatbot that simulates the personality of a Ukrainian teenager, has successfully passed the test.

The Turing test is a hard test that no one else has managed to pass, so it is difficult to use it as a basis to affirm what is intelligent or not. Despite this, it would not be strange if in the future a large number of devices manage to overcome it. Some industry experts thought Google Duplex would get it; although, for now, nothing has been proven.