Ah yes, AI, the acronym that either induces a general sense of fear or paralyzing dread. The acronym that pretentious people use to explain a concept that can otherwise be explained in terms of conditional statements. That exact acronym induces images of human enslavement by advanced aliens or also induces more reasonable fears such as unemployment and potential weaponization in the wrong hands. Thus far, the public opinion of AI has been negative. In response, I am here to shed some light on some of the benefits of AI to both the public and businesses alike. Believe me, there are many unfathomable benefits of AI. But first, let’s debunk some conventions about AI, shall we?

 

First and foremost, when people talk about AI, they are talking about the likes of Terminator, C-3PO (he is quite harmless), Ultron, or Brainiac. AI to these people are some Level 12 intellect machines that are indestructible and can enslave the world in less than a month. This belief is wrong, absurdly wrong. All those characters are fiction, and fiction often exaggerates the features of reality insofar that our imagination permits. The AI of the real world is simpler and certainly incapable of running on its own. Common examples of AI include Autopilot in Airplanes, Chatbots, Google Maps Algorithms, Uber and Lyft, and finally photo sharing apps such as Snapchat and Instagram. AI of the real world use historical (as in, previously recorded) data to provide accurate predictions. They excel in the ability to take in previous data and output predictions with accuracies north of 80%.

 

 

THE BENEFITS:

The main goal of AI is to automate processes so that humans can focus on more important tasks. For example, with AI customer service chatbots, people do not need to waste time waiting on a human to answer their call and can instead spend their time elsewhere. The benefits of automation are enormous. For businesses, this will eliminate the costs of routine maintenance tasks. For people, this will provide them with more time to be more productive. As per this article, Machine Learning based chatbots can exchange information with each other so that the amount of time and developer costs is reduced for building and maintaining these bots. AI is prevalent in the Finance industry. Machine and Deep Learning models are implemented in many tasks such as stock market predictions, fraud preventions, and investment advising and customer service. As per this article, one finance company that implemented automation to its databases saw cost savings up to 60%. AI can help us spend our money and time on more important tasks.

 

Another beneficial application of AI is in the field of medicine. One of the beneficial processes would be in assisting surgeries and other medical procedures. Currently, 250,000 people die from medical mistakes which is the third leading cause of death in America. With AI, systems and robots can prescribe the right amount of dosage and the right diagnosis. Within the next ten years, AI-assisted surgeries are expected to bring in 40 Billion dollars of revenue. With the assistance of AI in surgeries and medication recommendations, people and recover from their ailments faster and enjoy their lives.

Another neat benefit of AI would be the ability to drive safer and faster to your chosen destination. Smart traffic lights use AI to manage its signals in an efficient manner to reduce wait times and emissions. As per this article, the use of smart traffic signals reduced the wait and travel times by more than 20%. This kind of technology will immensely alleviate the traffic jams that so commonly occur in urban areas. Along with smart traffic signals, AI is also used in self-driving cars. Tesla Motors is a famous example that uses assisted driving in their vehicles. Majority of the vehicle accidents are caused by human errors, with percentages going north of 90%. With the help of AI, human errors can be drastically reduced and more lives can be saved.

 

BUT, WHAT ABOUT PITFALLS?

Now, I’m sure stories of Chatbots creating their own languages and Robots doing parkour generates much anxiety in people about the future. AI is very powerful. It can automate processes and make sound decisions at a rate that we can never achieve. This extreme power gives wrong ideas to the wrong people. One of the famous critics of AI, Elon Musk, states, “With Artificial Intelligence, we are summoning the Demon.” Musk is right in his criticism that it can be very, very dangerous if it gets into the wrong hands. However, throughout history, revolutionary inventions were always criticized during its infancy years. The Printing Press was criticized by monks who claimed that printed books would not last as long as handwritten scriptures, but 500 years later, books are the most popular apparatus for accumulating knowledge. Other technologies such as the iPhone, Walkman, and Telephone were at first criticized, for being too disruptive, but as time went on, these technologies were adopted and eventually became the norm.

 

 

CONCLUSION

AI-powered technologies are certainly a real danger if they end up in the wrong hands, but so are other technologies such as cars, trucks, planes, laptops, desktops, and almost any other technology. AI is dangerous, like species-ending dangerous, however, if the technology is used correctly, it can be a species-enhancing technology. Thus far, AI has been used with good intentions, providing tremendous results across many industries and many dimensions of life. With the right intentions, AI can be the next big step for humans.

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REFERENCES:

https://www.businessinsider.com/machine-learning-shows-the-potential-of-cost-cutting-benefits-2016-8

https://ayehu.com/using-intelligent-automation-reduce-operating-costs/

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-america.html

https://hbr.org/2018/05/10-promising-ai-applications-in-health-care

https://www.cmu.edu/homepage/computing/2012/fall/smart-traffic-signals.shtml

http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/blog/2013/12/human-error-cause-vehicle-crashes

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/facebook-artificial-intelligence-ai-chatbot-new-language-research-openai-google-a7869706.html

https://www.wired.com/story/watch-boston-dynamics-humanoid-robot-do-parkour/

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/04/robots-artificial-intelligence-machines-us-survey