So what’s all the hype over AI? Hasn’t the tech world been heading towards a time when humans could and would create electronic circuits that mimic the functioning of human brains? The short answer is yes. The longer answer is we mere mortals now need to understand the implications and benefits of having computers more deeply entrenched into our lives.
Enter David Wheeler, an educator whose services are geared towards the senior population, who rolled out his newest SeniorU program on artificial intelligence. On July 18, the Mattapoisett Library hosted a presentation given by Wheeler to expand our understanding of this now fully emerged technology.
Wheeler began by explaining what AI is and how we are already interfacing with it but probably were unaware.
Artificial intelligence, simply put, is a computer program’s ability to act on data through statistical analysis. Through faster-than-lightning processing, it takes the analytics and through specific algorithms, “learns” from the data. It can remember patterns and adapt responses. The most critical aspect of artificial reckoning is its ability to machine learn (ML), conduct deep learning and conduct natural language processing known as NLP.
Confused? Me too. But to clear things up a bit, have you ever used a BOT (as in virtual chatting) to answer questions for you? Maybe you thought live chatting meant you were chatting with a human being – not! Oh no, it was a chatbot able to understand and cognitively interpret your NLP into something it’s running through established algorithms.
When you shop online, it likely is no surprise that somewhere, maybe in a cloud, your buying behaviors are being stored so that the retailer can suggest more items you might want to toss in your shopping cart (virtually, of course.)
The group of about 15 senior citizens attending the July 18 session were amazed to learn from Wheeler the extent to which AI can be used for everyday things like dinner-party planning, construction estimating, or foreign-language translations.
Delving back into the development of artificial reasoning, Wheeler reminded the audience of that time in 1997 when the chess champion Gary Kasparov lost the chess game to IBM’s Deep Blue or when in 2011 IBM’s Watson defeated all the Jeopardy champions.
Fast forward to 2022 and artificial intelligence includes ChatGPT, DeepMind (AI that uses ML or neutral pathways to solve problems as diverse as playing games to mapping the movement of proteins), and DALL-E (computer-generated art from ML directives.)
Wheeler said that AI is highly trainable but only through the use of facts known as prompts and that collected data used stops at the year 2021. Yet, in spite of data limitations, AI can and does help humans with learning, reasoning, problem solving and even decision-making.
Common industry uses for AI include customer service (remember those chatbots), lead generation, fraud detection, quality control and data scraping (think gathering.)
And what about medicine? Wheeler shared that medical-imaging analysis, decision support for diagnostics, remote monitoring and, of course, administrative tasks are all commonly handled by computers.
Other everyday uses for artificial intelligence are virtual assistants like Alexa and Siri, GPS and navigation, facial recognition, in-home smart devices and social-media monitoring.
While we ponder all the ways we use AI, presently there are newer frontiers being forged as I type, I mean key. Wheeler said those frontiers are creativity, empathy, emotions, common-sense reasoning, moral and ethical decision and even sensory experiences.
It seems like a cautionary tale: humankind creating something for the greater good like television, only to have it used for capital gains. So how do we, on the one hand, use and take from AI what helps while, on the other hand, stave off losing our brains to a computer that ultimately controls humans?
Wheeler shared, “From the Center for AI Safety recently released this statement, ‘Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.’”
An audience member worried about her grandchildren’s future ability to earn a living.
”What would you suggest young people should pursue as a career?” she asked.
Answer: “I’d tell them to learn a trade.”
By Marilou Newell