The Influence of Artificial Intelligence on The World

Ever since the dawn of humanity, man has been obsessed with creating machines capable of making our lives easier. Today, we are endlessly surrounded, by machines. We depend on these machines in our everyday life, even if you don’t think you do. All these everyday machines are minor examples of artificial intelligence (AI). From video games to air conditioning to traffic lights, these all work using so-called “smart” technology. Computing science is the sector responsible for the exponential advances in artificial intelligence (AI). Their goal, to create human-like machines capable of making their own decisions and machine learning. Today the human brain has already been overtaken in terms of computational power furthermore computer speeds are now extraordinarily faster than they were 20 years ago. Artificial intelligence is a widely-debated topic and the main fears are that there seems to be no limit in terms of AI’s capabilities.

Most people don’t know the real meaning of artificial intelligence. So, what is the true meaning? Intelligence isn’t solving complex problems. Calculators aren’t intelligent all their “knowledge” has been written and pre-programmed by a human. They are incapable of learning anything new. They are predictable. Intelligence is the ability to think on its own without pre-programmed data. For example, the ability to adapt its procedures by decision making to execute its task better and faster, therefore, making its applications more efficient.

The most well-known application of AI is in robotics. Most people often associate this with many Hollywood films. Which portray a negative perception of AI. from star trek to terminator people engage themselves in science fictional realities with AI-driven robots. In the current world, those robots are still fictional. However, AI robotics are used in countless other applications currently. But every day these machines are evolving. For example, car manufacturers assembly lines are now assisted by robots for jobs that require strength. But this is just the beginning. Soon, we could begin to see AI controlling entire factories. Like one big brain inter-linked by a central computer. Capable of thinking on its own and correcting itself, hugely reducing manufacturing costs, by eliminating the need for human operators.

However, is this a good thing? A study conducted by Frey and Osborne (2013) concluded that 47% of employment in the United States (US) is at risk due to AI-powered automation. So even though the future may look more efficient, almost half of the US could lose their current jobs. Nevertheless, by this point, new jobs and careers will most likely be available to maintain this new era of automation. Many may ask, is this the next step in human evolution or the downfall of civilisation?