Looking at an interesting survey on what companies management know about Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made some apparent issues emerge. Now given how much has been in the press over the last year this should come as a real surprise. The results were published in an article in Technopedia in their September 21, 2019, article (Technopedia article). Surprisingly this survey showed that those executives surveyed may not really have an understanding of what AI is or is not going to do for their business. This is hardly a surprise given the misunderstanding created through the movies or television programs which may present an entertaining story, but miss reality. We may be led to believe AI is capable of much more than it really is and even be capable of evil.
The reality is AI is being extensively used in the medical profession for helping to diagnose disease and has success in suggesting effective treatment options. As an example, using the most current imaging technology, cancer diagnosis using AI is equally as accurate as a doctor (Sputnik article). AI has been making strides in being able to note minor speech changes that may lead to predetermining dementia in elderly patients using passive sensors (Alzforum article). Certainly a huge plus for patient care.
We experience AI in real life when we open our Smartphone or go online shopping or call our bank. It has become (and will increasingly become) a bigger part of our lives. For repetitive actions AI shines a glowing light. The strides being made in visual identification makes the possibility of autonomous vehicles or security ever closer. As we experience AI more and more we will become more and more comfortable with what benefits we receive from this technology being employed.
A quote from Yolanda Gil, president of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), in an interview by Caitlin Dawson (a writer for USC), “I think humans ascribe intelligence to AI very generously. We interact with an AI system, and we start to imagine that it is really understanding us, just because it said “hello.” But in reality, it didn’t really understand anything. AI systems are often perceived as being more capable than they actually are. So, when you use or interact with an AI system, use some critical thinking about what it is really capable of at this point in time.” Wise words for use to keep in mind when we are dealing with AI.
Perhaps we are learning and so are our computers.
