samarparhar.com

Introduction

In today’s world the artificial intelligence, 'AI' is rapidly evolving. Apple introduced iPhone in 2007; although it was a unique smart phone but it was not the first personal smart phone. The first smart phone was IBM’s Simon Personal Communicator. It had a touchscreen and had the ability to make and receive phone calls, send fax and manage contacts and calendar. But it was designed mostly for the businesses whereas Apple targeted consumers which was a game changer move. After the introduction of iPhone there was a new wave and the way how phone operates completely changed. But there was another wave that also took place; the rise of social media and technology companies’ ability to collect personal data of the consumers. There are people who don’t see AI as a threat and are enthusiastic about constant AI developments and there are also people who have concerns about AI. In this blog I will share a brief background of AI and it’s pros and cons.

Background

John McCarthy in 1956 coined the term “artificial intelligence”. He is considered to be one of the fathers of AI. McCarthy developed programming language and significantly influenced ALGOL- Algorithmic Language. His definition of AI was “science and engineering of making intelligent machines.” However the concept of AI has been around much longer than that.

Highlights Of Some Of The Events In The History Of AI

A novelist, Samuel Butler argued in 1872 that machine life “artificial intelligence” will take over the human dominance on earth.
In 1950, Alan Turing embraced the first modern vision of computer and gave predictions of AI. He developed the Turing test which was originally called the imitation game. It was designed to show the machine’s ability to display intelligent behavior which is either equivalent to human intelligence or indistinguishable from a human behavior.
Christopher Strachey was a computer scientist and in 1951 he developed a program that could play draught which is also known as checkers.
Computer and thought was a book originally published in 1963. That book was composition of different articles which showcased the significant progress of AI and the contribution of different scientist towards the development of AI. It covered progress from AI playing chess and checkers to solve calculus problems to recognizing temporal patterns and communication in natural language to name a few of the progresses described in that book.
By 1970 there was an increased competition in the industrial robotic market.
In 1996, IBM’s deep blue was the first computer to win a chess game against a human and it was the first computer to win a match against Russian origin then world champion of chess Gary Kasparov.
In 1999, Sony introduced robotic pets and in 2005 Honda introduced ASIMO the world’s most advanced humanoid robot.

Pros Of AI

AI definitely has many benefits, to name a few of them, with the facial recognition feature we can prevent theft and on a larger scale in institutes such as banks and law enforcement agencies we can use AI to control access. AI is also more accurate and it can eliminate the chances of human error. For instance, in health care system devices such as the heart monitor can track more accurate date which can be used to develop more accurate patient care plan. If we look at another example of AI, the self-driven cars can reduce driver’s workload. The self-driven truck can provide relief to the truck drivers.

Cons Of AI

AI is like a double edge sword. While it has it's benefits there are also many dangerous consequences. One of the biggest threats of AI to us humans is the lack of control and creativity. The facial recognition feature for example, while it is a powerful feature to not think of a strong password and then protect that password, it is a real threat to security. Hackers can not only target institutes such as banks or police departments, they can also use facial recognition for identity theft and harass and stalk their victims.

The other biggest threat is privacy violation. Social media is just one example. With smart devices technology companies are constantly collecting information and the biggest question that needs to be answered is what are they going to do with this data apart from the given answers such as the data is used to improve service and understand consumer needs. Sometime companies disclose they will share data with third parties but they don’t disclose anything further than that. Who are these third parties and what are they going to do with these information?

Conclusion

At the end of the day it is a personal decision to support AI or not to support it. Back in the day we were told not to share any personal information in an email. Nowadays there are a lot of people who have no problem sharing their personal information with strangers on platforms such as Facebook. Personally when it comes to AI I get more amazed and stunned by the power of the human brain itself and the abilities that it has to accomplish things such as AI. However I also recognize the danger that AI poses to everyday people and the society as whole.