You’ve heard about ChatGPT and AI, which have becoming increasingly prevalent in our daily lives. But what exactly is AI? Simply put, Artificial Intelligence is a whole bunch of code put together to try to make machines think and learn like humans. We are seeing a lot more now with Google’s Gemini or OpenAI or even now iPhone which will release its new Apple Intelligence. It’s important to understand the basics of what AI is and how it works.
So, there are two main types of AI, general AI and weak AI. Weak AI, also known as Simple/Narrow AI, is our current Alexa and Google Assistant. These types of AI are good at working on a specific task. They already have a set role and domain and cannot think outside that domain. They are only good for the task they were created for. General AI is AI that thinks outside those domains and tasks set for them. We see these kinds of things in futuristic movies. This type of AI can think and act like a human. General AI is something we haven’t quite reached yet. Companies like OpenAI are working towards it, but it is still under progress and will take quite a while to reach that level.
So, how come? It’s because it takes a lot (and I do mean a lot) of information and data to teach the AI. AI learns from data. For example, take a chocolate bar. You will need more than 1,000 photo samples of the chocolate bar in different areas for the AI to start learning and recognizing the chocolate bar. Now say you did that with a Hershey’s Chocolate Bar and showed the AI a Cadbury Chocolate Bar. It’s still going to think it’s a Hershey bar rather than a Cadbury one. So you will need even more photo samples for the AI to learn the differences between the two chocolate bars. This kind of process is called Machine Learning. This can be a long and tedious process hence why we haven’t reached the level of creating general AI. Machine Learning can also go deeper and learn speech patterns and recognition, and process different languages. It takes tons of coding and machine learning for that though.
AI is important to know about, not because it’s coming on our smartphones and laptops, but it can also help save lives. AI is now slowly becoming to be integrated into healthcare. Using data and records, the AI can improve diagnostic accuracy, help detect early signs of diseases such as cancer, and help personalize a patient’s treatment. While this is already being used right now, a lot of companies, both retail and entertainment, also use AI to help recommend and personalize the website to the user’s preferences. It can suggest new products or the best deal and assist as a chatbot, providing immediate customer support. Self-driving cars such as Tesla, also use AI to accurately track a vehicle ahead and adjust speed according to the speed limit and the traffic surrounding it. These AIs have done a whole bunch of machine learning to learn how to navigate roads and avoid any accidents from occurring
AI is no longer a far-away dream or an imaginary concept from movies. It’s real and it’s rapidly growing, becoming a significant part of our lives. It’s not only affecting our devices but also our transportation, healthcare, and entertainment. That said, we don’t have to worry about robots taking over the world as artificial intelligence is pretty weak and will be weak for a long while. Still, the fascinating wonders of technology are amazing, and with AI's power, we can make a much more significant impact on everyone’s lives. Whether it's helping us navigate the internet, drive safer cars, or receive better medical care, AI is here to stay, and its influence will only grow in the coming years.
By Diya Nair
@diyanair07 on insta
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