Artificial Intelligence: Applications, Advantages and Disanvantages

This paper will serve as a brief introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is capable of performing tasks which routinely are done by humans but at a faster and larger rate. AI systems are used in various fields such as finance, medicine, education and the military. AI has also been built into many software applications, video games, smart phones etc. This paper will give a synopsis of artificial intelligence, its use in various careers, advantages and disadvantages, security concerns, its applications in dentistry and how it is being used here in Jamaica. Introduction One’s mental capacity is of much importance as it plays a vital role in giving one their identity of self. The field of artificial intelligence has been around for a while as it seeks to understand and create artificially intelligent entities.

AI is considered to be a branch of computer science, which stands for methods involved for solving super-complex problems that cannot be solved by direct calculations or mathematics methods that is making the computer taking a 'human-like' approach to problems. In particular, the traits an intelligent system should display include:

• Perception
• Knowledge representation
• Deduction, reasoning, problem solving
• Planning
• Social intelligence
• Implementing Human Intelligence in Machines
• Creating Expert Systems
• Natural language processing.

There are two scholarly definitions of artificial intelligence, as well as, one of your own.

Definition 1: “AI (artificial intelligence) is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. These processes include learning (the acquisition of information and rules for using the information), reasoning (using the rules to reach approximate or definite conclusions) and self-correction. Particular applications of AI include expert systems, speech recognition and machine vision.”

Definition 2: “Artificial intelligence is the intelligence which is created by human beings by applying various scientific and engineering techniques. Since ages, man always used his mind and capacity to make others around him his slaves. Human endeavours were directed towards making his tasks simpler by using other means and developing techniques which replace him from performing his duties which required labour and time”.

My definition: “The creation and implementation of intelligent agents i.e smart phones, gadgets and robots, where the intelligent agent is a system that can be programmed to be able to carry out complex series of actions automatically” - Kimberley Oliver (2018) History of AI The term Artificial Intelligence was founded by John McCarthy in 1956.

McCarthy had organized a conference, The Darthmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence. This conference served to recruit talent and expertise of others interested in machine intelligence. In order to consider a machine ‘intelligent’ the machine would have to be able to: solve problems efficiently by limiting the search and create systems that could learn by themselves. Applications of AI In today’s age, they are learning algorithms that are based off the pattern of the human brain which can trade stocks and solve problems at very fast speeds. Many have realized the capabilities of AI and so there is a rapid move to acquire as much of these new technological capabilities as they can. AI has a huge influence in the lives of individuals and is being used in fields such as law, medicine, economics, etc.

Here are a few ways in which AI is being used:

1. Medicine: The whole evolution of artificial intelligence will completely change the game of medicine. The impact seen in medicine includes: The ability to diagnose and treat rare diseases quicker, machines that can now aid doctors with various surgical procedures and also machines/computers that can detect mistakes during surgery. One of the best known healthcare technologies is IBM Watson. It understands natural language and is capable of responding to questions asked of it. The system mines patient data and other available data sources to form a hypothesis, which it then presents with a confidence scoring schema. Other AI applications include chatbots, a computer program used online to answer questions and assist customers, to help schedule follow-up appointments or aiding patients through the billing process, and virtual health assistants that provide basic medical feedback.
2. Law Enforcement Workers: The discovery process, sifting through of documents, in law is often overwhelming for humans. Automating this process is a better use of time and a more efficient process. Various countries have begun experimenting with using artificial intelligence to reduce, prevent and quickly respond to crimes. As this is all based on the fact that crimes are predictive once all the data available is sorted and a pattern is found.
3. Teaching: In the educational space the use of AI has now sped up things like grading homework, evaluating various assignments and measuring student responses in order to see exactly where help is needed. With AI, various tutoring programs have now become more advanced, capable of helping students who are struggling with certain concepts.
4. Farming: Agriculture is both a major industry and foundation of the economy. AI has advanced areas such as crop and soil monitoring and predictive analysis. Crop and soil monitoring processes data consists of algorithms to interpret data collected by various drones in order to monitor the crop and soil health. While predictive analytics has to do with tracking and predicting the environment’s impact on crop production such as changes in the climate.
5. Manufacturing: with the introduction of various machines, this allows production to take place on a greater scale at a faster rate.
6. Fraud Detection: This technology is used to monitor fraudulent practices and to ensure that the true owner of the account approves the purchase before money is sent to any company or before the transaction is completed. In many cases, computers are given a very large sample of fraudulent and non-fraudulent purchases and asked to learn to look for signs that a transaction falls into one category or another. After enough training, the system will be able to spot a fraudulent transaction based on the signs and indications that it learned through the training exercise.
7. Virtual Personal Assistant: Siri and Cortana are both personal assistants on programs such as iOS and Windows. These applications help individuals to find useful information with the use of voice recognition. The application will respond by finding the specific information, relaying the information and sending commands to other applications.
8. Plagiarism Checkers: This type of AI is very popular within many high schools, colleges and university settings. These AI services example Turnitin, is a tool used by teachers/lecturers used to analyze students’ documents for plagiarism. This gives the lecturers the ability to compare the students’ writing with several other scholarly and non-scholarly sources.
9. Music and Movie Recommendation Services: Apps such as Spotify, Pandora, and Netflix accomplish a useful task: recommending music and movies based on the interests one had in the past. By monitoring the choices made and inserting them into a learning algorithm, these apps make recommendations that align with your interests.

Advantages

1. Artificial intelligence can be used in mining and other fuel exploration processes. These complex machines can be used to explore the ocean floor hence overcoming the human limitation.
2. With the invention of GPS, it makes routes for long trips and drives more accessible. This technique is effective as it gets one where they need to go in reasonable time and allows rerouting if the driver ever gets lost.
3. Artificial intelligence helps to reduce error and increases accuracy and precision.
4. Continuously performs the same task without getting bored or tired.
5. Perform tasks faster and more efficiently than humans, as machines do not require sleep or breaks, and are able to function without stopping.

Disadvantages

1. Ability to create job redundancies
2. Continuous controversy as to whether or not AI is moral or ethical
3. The high cost of purchase and repair
4. No improvement with the experience of these various machines
5. Machines are not as efficient as humans in altering their responses if there is a change in the situation.

How the impact of Artificial Intelligence on careers will affect the economic growth agenda of the Jamaican government

An analysis conducted by United Kingdom (UK) based software designers, Accenture, which showed that the 12 countries with economies incorporating AI in their engagements analysed could potentially see a double in their annual economic growth rates by 2035. Even though lower end jobs in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector may be potentially threaten by AI such as virtual customer assistant (VCA) which uses data to deliver a higher level of accuracy and customer satisfaction increases productivity, new opportunities would arise since requirements in high skill areas of development and programming would be needed to maintain and help the AI to flourish resulting in higher wages being paid. Jamaica’s economy would also see an increase in growth since the AI would provide an increase in productivity by working at a higher rate without ever being tired and improving from new data collected and government would see a need to invest more in the education (public sector) to produce graduates in the areas such as computer science to maintain and improve the AI resulting in both an increase productive and rise in demand (increase in wages).

Ethical and moral concerns with "Artificial Intelligence" According to Merriam Webster dictionary Ethics is the discipline dealing with what is good and bad while Morals is relating to principles of right and wrong in behaviour. Since Artificial intelligence is man-made it lacks conscience and personality, as machines have to be taught morality in measurable metrics to be able to process information. However in varying situations humans rely on gut-feelings, while machines need clear objectives for example; an artificial intelligent machine can excel in games because of clear rules and boundaries but, in a real life situation an A.I has to be taught to be fair. How Artificial Intelligence will affect non-traditional or new and emerging careers citing example(s) from careers being pursued by your own group members. “Our current economy has been continuously influenced by new and advances in technology such as Artificial Intelligence, which promises to transform the workplace” (Marlin, D. 2008).

Non-traditional careers can be defined as “Any occupation in which women or men make up less than 25 % of the total workforce”. For example, non-traditional careers for women include carpentry, plumbing, civil engineering, electrical and information technology. Non-Traditional careers for men include registered nursing, office administration, early childhood education and dental hygienist (Marlin, D. 2008)

Artificial intelligence can have both a positive and a negative impact on non-traditional careers. Whilst many can argue that the negative impact of artificial intelligence can lead to jobs cuts through redundancy for skilled workers, the positive impact would include job creations, improved productivity, improved efficiency and less man power required through physical labour. With the global economy looking to adopt to artificial intelligence and its impact on technology, employment/job opportunities will increase for skilled workers. The competitiveness of the workforce to manoeuvre, accomplish and work alongside the growing new technological infrastructures will cause many individuals to aspire for improvement and advancement in his or her area of speciality.

For non-Traditional careers, such as real estate, education, legal services and automotive, artificial intelligence has made major transitions as it continues to install new technological growth. For example, an individual searching for a new property can do so electronically, however, the real estate broker can be so equipped to rapidly analyse data obtained and negotiate with the prospective clients. Likewise, for education, artificial intelligence has made major advances that are now more tailored towards not only traditional learners but now includes non-traditional learners where the gathering in a classroom at a specific time and date may not be convenient.

Artificial intelligence on non-traditional employment will in essence down scale an organisation’s employment number, whilst improving quality products at a lower cost and allowing better focus on the intellectual capability of the employees. Artificial intelligence seeks to expand and amplify human capabilities, and this is noted within the emerging careers which recognise the insights and opportunities of artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence (AI) will seek to augment individuals, transform their way of thinking and these individuals will be able to analyse the strengths and weaknesses along with opportunities or threats of AI on the emerging career. Emerging careers will have job functions which will be enhanced and elevated with AI. These include but are not limited to customer-language tone and meaning trainer (where AI can detect sarcasm), automation ethicist, voice of the customer (VoC) analyst and interactive chatbox designer. The members of this group are pursuing careers in Dentistry where, according to the U.S. Department of Labour: Women’s Bureau it is a non-traditional career. With AI already being incorporated and integrated into many individuals everyday live (e.g. Siri and Alexa) its effectiveness and usability is immensely accepted and appreciated. “Dentistry may be the fastest branch of medical science to adapt AI”.

From setting an appointment, to taking a medical and dental history, routine examination and assessment, and carrying out the required dental procedures on each patient, AI can assist with compiling, retrieving and storing patient’s information. Especially with large complex database, AI can assist with formatting and analysing the data as well as also carry out routine task that will aid in the dentist functions. AI can reduce the workload on the dentist and as such allow for stronger patient building. “Using artificial intelligence allows for a large dataset that will include diagnostic results, treatments, and outcomes that evaluates the effectiveness of the different treatment modalities for each patient’s specification”. This can be implemented by each practicing dentist, thus improving the competitiveness of dentistry and leading to more dental professionals remaining abreast of the changes and advancement in technology. Conclusion AI plays a very important role in our daily lives.

The research in Artificial Technology is quickly increasing, it is inevitable that in the future it will become even more complex. Although AI has many benefits, it also has disadvantages such as its ability to create job redundancies, its abuse by cyber criminals and its vulnerability to hackers. On the flip side AI is an exciting and rewarding discipline. We can see where the existence of AI has had a great impact as it enables far more than what was possible before.