What is the Future of Artificial Intelligence?
Us humans have always worked towards making our lives easier and better, and this constant struggle to achieve something better worked as bliss for humans. Isn't it so fascinating to look back at our cave-devilling ancestors and realise how far we have advanced as humans? We went through various milestones to achieve the technology we have today.
As we further surpassed in technology, we stumbled upon exploring artificial intelligence. The artificial intelligence (AI) we have today is in a golden age right now. Every industry is undergoing a sea change due to AI's inflection point. Specific applications of AI have already been discussed in great detail. Consider this post a complete guide on the practical use and foreseeing of artificial intelligence and how it impacts our lives.
As a starter, I offer five bold predictions about how artificial intelligence will fundamentally alter our economy and society in the next decade.
Where Do We Stand in the World of AI Today?
With artificial intelligence technology constantly developing, we will soon rely heavily on it for our daily tasks. Several everyday tasks, such as getting in touch with friends, using an email service, or renting a car, are now made easier with the help of AI. But summarising its benefits and impacts on our daily lives is not simple. To acknowledge my readers, I have curated these worth-mentioning fields in which AI came and quickly took over.
Let's explore some real-life artificial intelligence applications.
1. Using Artificial Intelligence for Navigation
Several logistics companies— including Uber —rely heavily on artificial intelligence for operational efficiency, traffic analysis, and route optimisation. For example, a study from MIT found that GPS technology can improve safety by providing users with accurate, timely, and detailed information. With this technology, users can automatically detect the number of lanes and road types behind road obstructions using Convolutional Neural Networks and Graph Neural Networks.
2. Marketers Use Artificial Intelligence to Increase Their Efficiency
There are also many AI applications in the marketing sphere. With the help of AI, many marketers can deliver highly targeted and personalised ads using behavioural analysis, pattern recognition, or other methods. It can also help you retarget potential customers at the right time to achieve better results and avoid feelings of distrust and irritation. In addition:
AI for Content Marketing Purposes
Brands can use AI to match their voice and style with content marketing. Reports about campaign performance, etc., can be generated using it. For example, articles, blogs, and other content can be written using Copysmith.ai, which employs artificial intelligence to generate text based on hard stats.
Copysmith.ai and other artificial intelligence tools can write news stories, sports stories—and financial reports. However, they cannot yet grasp the nuances of features and opinion pieces. Despite that, AI-generated content will continue to be used as a major tool for niche marketers like these within their respective fields.
We must also consider the development of Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3, or GPT-3, an artificial neural network that learns to write in ways similar to humans. It is considered "the most powerful and advanced text autocomplete program". It uses a database of all possible phrases (that grows with each use) to perform very fast—almost as if you had typed them yourself!
In fact, Copysmith has announced the application of this revolutionary technology to offer quality content solutions to its customers.
AI Usage for Chatbots and Customer Service
Artificial intelligence-driven chatbots can analyse the user's language and respond similarly to humans. As messaging apps have risen in popularity among younger millennials and Gen Z, brands have begun using chatbots to provide customer service.
Many companies have chatbots on their websites, which answer common customer questions by drawing upon past conversations. As they get more data and learn from every response, these bots continue to grow smarter over time. Zoho's Zobot is an example of an AI-driven chatbot solution for many companies across the world.
AI Developments in Marketing Campaigns
Using AI in marketing campaigns can help local markets understand the needs of their markets and provide users with real-time personalisation based on their behaviour. CleverTap is a great example of AI software offering a suite of analytical tools to help you understand your users, optimise conversions, and measure success.
3. The use of Artificial Intelligence in robotics
Applications of artificial intelligence are also used widely in robotics. Real-time updates enable AI-powered robots to detect obstacles and plan their journeys instantly. For a deep dive into robotics, please check out this article in which I share the most important developments and insights in this regard.
A few examples of its uses are:
a. Transporting goods in hospitals, factories, and warehouses. For example, Savant Automation is a US-based company providing automatic guided carts, lift trucks, automatic truck loading units, and other AI solutions for important enterprises, including Toyota, Astra Zeneca, and Sears, to name a few.
b. Maintenance of large machinery and offices. On the 3DEXPERIENCE platform from the French software company Dassault Systèmes, manufacturers can take advantage of many AI-driven applications that support predictive maintenance to increase productivity and minimise risks at the workplace.
c. Controlling inventory. FellowAI provides advanced computer vision and robotics systems, which can identify and track objects in real time by using artificial intelligence to constantly improve inventory performance.
4. Gaming and Artificial Intelligence
Gaming is another industry where Artificial Intelligence applications are prominent. AI can be used to make NPCs —which stand for Non-Player Characters— that interact with players in a human-like way. In video games, non-player characters (NPCs) are the characters that are controlled by the game itself rather than by a human being. They differ from other character types in gaming because they're not under the direct control of any person.
Recently, a Disney-backed startup, Inworld, closed a $50 million Series A funding round to develop realistic non-playable virtual characters (NPCs) driven by AI.
Game designers and testers can use it to improve game design and testing by predicting human behaviour. A game released in 2014 called Alien Isolation uses AI to stalk the player's every move. Artificial intelligence is used in the game in two ways: the "Director AI," which frequently tracks your location, and the "Alien AI," which constantly hunts you down with sensors and behaviours.
Artificial Intelligence in gaming is meant to provide players with a realistic experience—with an opponent who plays as a real human would, think the movie Free Guy. In addition, AI helps increase player interest and satisfaction over the long term by increasing the level of challenge present in each game.
5. Incorporating Artificial Intelligence into Lifestyles
In today's world, artificial intelligence is everywhere already. Several of these applications deserve our attention, and here are a few examples of how AI has intervened in our lives without us realising it.
Art, Images, and Video
Artificial Intelligence is shaping how images and videos are produced, analysed, labelled, and visualised. These synthetic media have been used to enhance user experience in several areas, such as image search, video visualisation, image/video editing, and machine learning for image classification.
In a breakthrough announcement, Google scientists revealed the creation of Transframer, a new technology that can generate short videos based on singular image inputs. The new technology could someday serve as a complementary or alternative method of creating virtual environments, allowing developers to create them with machine-learning algorithms.
The framework is a huge step in video technology—it provides the ability to generate reasonably accurate video based on only limited data. Additionally, Transframer models showed high accuracy on other video-related tasks and benchmarks, such as semantic segmentation, image classification and optical flow predictions.
Self-driving vehicles
The artificial intelligence our cars has today is just a glimpse of how much it can advance in the future. We can take it as the tip of the iceberg. Machine learning is used by manufacturers like Toyota, Audi, Volvo, and Tesla to train their computers to drive in any environment and detect objects to avoid accidents by learning from accidents.
Facial Recognition
The devices we use daily, including our phones, laptops, and PCs, use facial recognition techniques called face filters to identify and verify us and provide us with secure access. Artificial intelligence is widely used in several fields, including high-security areas.
Executive Boards Members: CEOs
One of the most surprising developments in the field of AI is undoubtedly CEO robots. Tang Yu, a humanoid robot, has been given an executive role at NetDragon Websoft—the first time a machine has held such a position in business history.
In a press statement, the China-based online gaming and technology company announced that its new CEO would speed up decision-making and increase efficiency by improving workflow. In addition, Tang Yu will help the company improve its risk management system by acting as a real-time data hub and analytical tool in the company that is almost worth $10 billion.
The Future of AI in the workplace and Our Daily Lives
A new report by Grand View Research projects that the global artificial intelligence market will reach USD 390.9 billion by 2025. According to the forecast, the market will grow at a CAGR of 46.2% by the year 2025. Integrating artificial intelligence across various applications is a significant market driver.
The development of voice and image recognition contributes to the worldwide market's growth, as they represent the most common applications of AI in our daily lives, being used in a variety of devices and for many purposes. Also, robotics, drones, and self-driving cars all need better image recognition technology.
In recent years, artificial intelligence has impacted many industries. Enterprises adopting machine learning and deep learning algorithms have disrupted many existing sectors.
Let's take a look at some predictions of how several prominent industries will get disrupted by AI the most.
AI and Healthcare
Adopting AI in the healthcare sector is expected to bring many benefits. A key objective of the healthcare sector has been to collect relevant and accurate data on patients and those seeking treatment. Healthcare is a data-rich industry, so AI is well suited to it. Secondarily, AI can be applied to many healthcare solutions and improve the lives of patients living with many types of conditions.
By introducing AI into healthcare, predictive and personalised healthcare can be widely deployed. Artificial Intelligence can assist doctors in making proactive decisions regarding the health of their patients by using predictive analytics. Healthcare needs to be viewed differently than it is now, with a proactive and personalised approach rather than a reactive generic one. In addition to monitoring patients' health remotely, doctors can also get alerts if a patient needs emergency treatment through IoT-enabled embedded devices.
AI can also efficiently analyse scan results through image recognition and predict healthcare. As AI can process multiple scans much faster than humans, doctors are already using this technology to diagnose symptoms more quickly. There is also a growing trend of developing health chatbots, enabling doctors to obtain preliminary information about patients' symptoms using these bots.
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have developed an artificial intelligence model to help clarify the many possibilities for treating a disease. They reported that they had created an AI model capable of predicting in real-time whether a pregnant woman will have a successful vaginal delivery with positive health outcomes for both mother and child.
However, according to a Mayo Clinic news release, researchers are now testing the model in actual labour units and expect to learn more about birth outcomes. These groundbreaking advances show us the potential of artificial intelligence to improve people's quality of life.
Overall, artificial intelligence can significantly improve healthcare, allowing better monitoring and diagnostic capabilities. AI can help reduce operating costs and save financial resources in healthcare facilities and medical organisations. According to McKinsey, big data can save medicine and pharmaceuticals up to $100 billion annually. In a strict sense, ultimately, one of the most important impacts of AI will be felt in patient care. As providers gain a better understanding of information across medical facilities, personalised treatment plans and drug protocols will revolutionise the delivery of patient care.
AI and Logistics
The different applications of artificial intelligence in logistics can have a profound impact on operations. Analysing predictive data can aid in predicting the inventory requirements of vendors and reducing overhead costs through optimal routes.
To a great extent, Ab InBev, the world's largest beer company, has used artificial intelligence to optimise logistics. By utilising predictive analytics, the organisation could accurately predict demand for specific drinks and brew the best amount of them. By doing so, they significantly reduced warehousing costs and overhead expenses.
A lot of benefits will also accrue to shipping companies if AI is implemented. At customs stations, document checks typically slow down shipping. Getting clearance to ship all of a ship's cargo takes multiple working days. A digital transformation of paper documents into a digital form can help customs officials conduct checks more efficiently by leveraging image recognition algorithms and sophisticated automation.
The transformation of documents into digital form can be achieved by using blockchain technology. Blockchain offers a transparent, efficient way to verify the validity of digital assets such as electronic bills of lading and contracts without relying on an intermediary.
With this data, shipments can be tracked accurately, and time spent at ports can be reduced, thereby optimising supply chain economics and benefitting the global shipping industry.
AI and Fashion
We are witnessing a virtual revolution in marketing campaigns and fashion shows. In the wake of COVID-19, the shift is occurring faster than expected. For example, Mckinsey's 2019 Apparel CPO survey found that 83% of respondents thought physical samples would become less popular by 2025 than virtual samples. 2025 came early as many fashion shows have already gone virtual and digital fashion is the new hype.
Moschino used marionette dolls to showcase doll-sized garments to save resources and materials. Using AI, fashion brands can make 3D digital fashion models. Despite not using AI, even luxury brands are willing to shift to the virtual world and do more with less, even if their brand value has historically been built on customer experience and prestigious runway shows. Of course, to simulate digital fashion's movements correctly, AI is crucial.
If you're interested in learning more about digital fashion and the role of technology in this industry, make sure to check out this article with the most recent insights on the fashion industry's future.
One example is The Fabricant, which reports that digital samples have dramatically reduced the brand's carbon footprint by up to 30% by replacing physical garments during the design and development phases. The production of clothes for advertisement, which in traditional practices would not be resold to customers, could be reduced by collaborating with well-known brands like Puma, Adidas, Aape, and Deepgears. The latter transforms an image into a digital version of the real-world item users can try on before they buy it online, helping reduce CO2, water, and toxic chemical pollution.
AI and Robotics
Robotics and AI will always be fully intertwined. According to research done by Huawei, our quality of life will be improved in a major way by increasingly smart, sophisticated, and versatile robots. The same report states that as of 2025, 14% of families worldwide will own a smart domestic robot.
The main question is: In what ways will these robots help us?
The work could be housework, helping our children with their education, or providing physical and mental health care to family members, including the elderly.
Let’s break down these points.
Home robots
As robots become more capable, beneficial, and ubiquitous, they are gaining various benefits. Their roles will include teaching, nursing, butlering, and providing comfort and companionship.
Robots have the potential to significantly improve elderly care in many countries due to the aging population and the shortage of healthcare professionals. As Huawei predicted, by 2025, nursing homes in G8 nations will have an average of ten robots each.
Industrial robots
According to the same report, manufacturing industry workers will be surrounded by 103 robots by 2025. The use of robots can reduce workplace injuries and deaths by working remotely in hazardous environments, saving time, increasing productivity, and giving people more time to focus on creative and high-value tasks.
For high-precision tasks like medical surgery and the manufacture and placement of tiny components, such as in nanoelectronics, robots can improve productivity by performing repetitive tasks with diligence. None of these robots could work without AI.
Can Artificial Intelligence Become Strong AI?
There have been many exaggerated claims of success in the popular press and professional journals. There is, however, controversy regarding strong AI, which aims to duplicate human intellectual abilities. We just cannot emphasise enough how difficult it is to scale up AI's modest achievements.
As of now, even embodied systems that can equal cockroach intelligence are proving elusive, let alone systems that are intelligent enough to compete with humans. In the following sections, I will describe how AI and cognitive simulations will continue to be successful in the future.
There has been no conclusive proof that symbol systems— representing the world around us and enabling us to interact more effectively with it - can be replaced by AI. To understand this concept: humans understand the world around them through languages that are spoken by people and in computer language by creating and using software.
Therefore, symbol systems can manifest human levels of general intelligence after more than approximately five decades of research in symbolic AI. Nouvelle AI— an academic approach that emerged in the 1980s— focuses on creating robots with intelligence levels similar to those of insects. Nouvelle AI advocates believe that intelligence can emerge in a machine when simple behaviours are combined into complex ones and allowed to interact with the "real world."
Critics of nouvelle AI see it as just mystical, the idea that the interaction between basic behaviour such as obstacle avoidance, gaze control, and object manipulation will somehow produce high-level behaviours such as language understanding, planning, and reasoning. Technology experts are still unable to model the nervous systems of even the simplest invertebrates.
Although no substantial progress has been made on strong AI, this could reflect its difficulty, not its impossibility. Taking a closer look at artificial intelligence in general, let's examine its very concept.
What is the Possibility of Computer Thinking?
There is no point in debating this issue because extending the standard definition of the word to include machines is an arbitrary decision. World-renowned mathematical linguist Noam Chomsky is responsible, among other things, for developing the algorithm known as "context-free grammar," which is part of most computer programming languages and many so-called artificial intelligence applications, including Siri.
As with the decision to say aeroplanes fly, Chomsky claims there is no factual question as to whether it is correct or incorrect to say ships swim. Nevertheless, this seems overly simplistic.
If computers think, what conditions must they fulfil to qualify, and can they ever be told to think?
It is believed that the Turing test defines intelligence in some cases. Turing, however, pointed out that a computer that should be considered intelligent might fail its test if incapable of imitating a human.
How can a robot overseeing mining on the Moon pass itself off as a human in conversation, for example? The test cannot define intelligence if an intelligent entity can fail it. In 1956, information theorist Claude Shannon and AI pioneer John McCarthy questioned whether passing the test would demonstrate a computer's intelligence.
There is a theoretical possibility of designing a device containing canned responses to all questions that an interrogator might ask. Shannon and McCarthy argue that this is possible in principle. By looking up appropriate responses on a giant table, this machine would respond to the interviewer's questions. As a result of this objection, a system with no intelligence is capable of passing the Turing test in principle.
A few months ago, a debate arose about the possibility of artificial intelligence becoming sentient. This followed statements that this was possible by a Google engineer after interacting with LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications) and working on its development for many months. However, critics of Lemoine have disputed his statements and found them inaccurate. While LaMDA seemed capable of intelligent conversations, it was certainly not intelligent.
Even in the case of subhumans—meaning something that is not quite human—AI lacks any definition of intelligence. Artificial intelligence has not yet reached this level of sophistication, but what must it achieve before researchers can claim this accomplishment? AI research programs cannot be objectively judged successful or unsuccessful without a reasonably precise standard for whether an artificial system is intelligent.
Since AI has failed to produce a satisfactory standard of intelligence, critics can claim that any time researchers succeed in achieving one of AI's goals— for example, a program that summarises newspaper articles or beats the world chess champion— this is not intelligence.
To resolve the problem of defining intelligence, AI pioneer and American cognitive and computer scientist, Marvin Minsky, whose work has been fundamental for the development of AI, maintained that intelligence is simply a term we use to refer to problem-solving mental processes that are still unknown to humankind. The idea of intelligence can be compared to that of "unexplored regions of Africa": they disappear as soon as they are discovered.
Positive Impacts of Artificial Intelligence on Human Society
In the workplace, artificial intelligence can boost efficiency and increase humans' capacity to perform certain tasks. AI frees humans to do work they are better equipped for, such as creative and empathic tasks, by taking over repetitive or dangerous tasks.
In a broader sense, the result of using artificial intelligence will simply be that people will be happier and more satisfied if they do more engaging work, which generates a domino effect of greater productivity, effectiveness, and eventually, greater economic growth from the different industries that make up the economic engine of a nation and its society in general.
It Will Increase Our Global Efficiency Threshold
AI will save our society countless hours of productivity just by introducing autonomous transportation and artificial intelligence to address our traffic congestion issues, not to mention the many other ways that it will enhance productivity on the job. Freed from stressful commutes, humans can spend their time in various ways.
Artificial intelligence will facilitate uncovering criminal activity and solving crimes as fingerprints and facial recognition technology are becoming more common. There are also many opportunities in the justice system to figure out how to use AI efficiently and without violating individuals' privacy.
Let’s also consider that a remote lifestyle that provides different ways to interact with the modern world will significantly impact your life through artificial intelligence. Fortunately, while there will be many challenges and learning experiences as AI expands into new applications, it is expected to positively impact society rather than negatively.
Final Thoughts
This article covered all the possible aspects AI can have on our future. As usual, I seek to take data and research from verified sources and proceed with ground facts. We started with how AI currently impacts our lives and then discussed the possibilities it can have in the future.
Of course, the future of AI is so bright. There are increasing challenges, including figuring out who is at fault when an autonomous vehicle hits a pedestrian and managing a global independent arms race. There is no doubt about the transformational impact of artificial intelligence on the economy, legal system, political system, and regulatory system; however, attaining all the benefits from AI at the global scale we are getting in today's age will have far-reaching implications for discussion and preparation.
Many people affirm machines will inevitably become super-intelligent, and humans will eventually lose control. The likelihood of this scenario is debated, but we know new technology has always had unintended consequences. We will likely face challenges related to artificial intelligence's unintended outcomes, but AI will significantly shape our future.