Everyone is talking about this novel technology that has become very popular these days, but do you know what AI is? Although there is no internationally accepted definition, artificial intelligence can be defined in several common ways.
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What is AI according to ChatGPT:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science that seeks to create systems capable of performing tasks that normally require human intelligence. These tasks include learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making.
According to the European Commission:
It defines it as human-designed software (and possibly hardware) systems that, given a complex objective, act in the physical or digital dimension:
- Perceiving their environment, through the acquisition and interpretation of structured or unstructured data.
- Reasoning about knowledge, processing the information derived from this data, and deciding the best actions to achieve the given objective.
- In other words, it is a branch of computer science that creates software capable of mimicking human reasoning, with the intention of solving problems or performing repetitive tasks, automating virtual actions, or analyzing large amounts of data and drawing conclusions.
Types of AI:
There are four types of weak and strong AI:
Weak: also known as narrow AI, it is a type of limited artificial intelligence that can do simple tasks such as repeating actions, translating texts, voice recognition, etc. These require specific programming for each task and do not have the ability to learn and adapt on their own. An example of weak AI is: Siri or Alexa.
Strong: seeks to mimic human reasoning, with the ability to adapt and learn as they interact with their environment. Some artificial intelligences are capable of rewriting their own code to perform more complex tasks.
Machine Learning: Complex algorithms that learn from data without being explicitly programmed. You can learn more about Machine Learning in This article.
Neural Networks: Systems inspired by the human brain that process information in multiple layers.
Superintelligent AI: is a type of conceptual AI capable of surpassing human intellect in every way, such as creativity and decision-making. It can also reason and solve problems that humans could not in very short times, this type of AI does not yet exist.
History and origin of artificial intelligence:
The history of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has its roots in philosophy, mathematics, and computer science. We will take a quick tour of the key moments of artificial intelligence.
We start in the past before the 20th century when Aristotle and Descartes (Philosophers) reflected on human intelligence and logic. Later in the 19th century, George Boole developed Boolean algebra, a key mathematical basis for computing.
But it wasn’t until 1940-1950 when Alan Turing proposed that machines could mimic human intelligence, and in 1950, he presented the Turing test, a criterion to evaluate artificial intelligence.
In the same era, McCulloch and Pitts created the first model of an artificial neuron, and in 1951, the first computer capable of solving mathematical problems was created. We have come a long way since then.
Dartmouth Conference (1956): John McCarthy coined the term “Artificial Intelligence,” formally starting this field.
The first programming languages for AI, such as LISP (1958), were created.
1970-1980 The first AI winter occurred.
The advances did not meet initial expectations, and funding fell. AI stagnated due to the lack of computational power and data. Despite this, progress was made in expert systems, such as DENDRAL (chemical analysis) and MYCIN (medical diagnosis).
In the decades of 1980 and 1990, the resurgence of machine learning arrived, and expert systems appeared, which are systems that make decisions based on rules.
Japan invested in the fifth-generation computer program.
We managed to develop artificial neural networks like backpropagation.
Decade of 2000, the era of Big Data and deep learning.
Technological advances such as the increase in computational power and techniques like deep learning drove the rebirth of AI in the modern era.
- 2011: IBM Watson wins on “Jeopardy!”.
- 2016: AlphaGo beats human champions in Go.
- 2023: Models like ChatGPT demonstrate advances in language processing.
What is artificial intelligence used for:
AI has multiple uses in various fields such as medicine, finance, entertainment, automation. Currently, artificial intelligences are used for:
Health: AI can diagnose diseases, for example, medical image analysis, virtual assistants for patients, and the development of new drugs.
Finance: Used by banks for fraud detection in transactions, and other uses such as the development of investment algorithms and market prediction.
Entertainment and content creation: Many creators use AI to generate content with images and music made by AI. In video games, they are used to create smarter NPCs.
Process texts: Translations and text writing are one of the most common uses of AI, although voice-based language translation is also possible.
Analyze data: In this field, AI plays a fundamental role, due to its ability to analyze large amounts of data in a short time and draw accurate conclusions.
Cybersecurity: It is possible today to recognize cyberattacks based on patterns and data to help fight cybercrime and improve computer security systems. It is also useful in facial recognition and intelligent surveillance.
Autonomous driving: Artificial intelligence models are already used in driving assistance systems such as Tesla Autopilot and Google Waymo Driver.
Electronic commerce: Companies use AI in personalized recommendations on Amazon, Netflix, Spotify, and targeted ads and products (Example: Google Ads and Facebook Ads).
Industry and manufacturing: AI helps in the automation of factories and industrial processes with robots and the optimization of supply chains.
Education: AI can help in education with tutorials and learning personalization. It can also be used in automatic correction of exams and homework.
Environment and sustainability: AI is used for predicting climate and natural disasters, monitoring deforestation and pollution.
In the future, it is expected that AI will surpass human intellect and human reasoning ability. Although we are still far from it, this technology currently allows many tasks in our daily lives to be more efficient, and with creativity, we can find more and more uses for artificial intelligence.
Dangers of AI
There are many challenges to overcome with AI, as well as concerns and fears:
Job displacement: AI replaces very repetitive jobs such as factories, customer service, and transportation.
Bias and discrimination: If the data with which AIs are trained are biased, prejudices can be generated in hiring or loans.
Privacy: AI models can be used to collect data and invade people’s privacy. In addition, governments and companies could use artificial intelligence to monitor citizens without consent.
Cybersecurity: Malicious people can use AI for more advanced attacks such as DeepFake (very realistic fake videos) for disinformation or scams.
Loss of control: The risk that an AI can make dangerous decisions without supervision.
Regulations: There are no global regulations for the development of AI.
How to reduce the negative impact of AI
It is necessary to implement measures to ensure the responsible use of artificial intelligence, for example:
- Regulations for responsible AI development.
- Design fairer and more transparent AI systems to avoid discrimination.
- Invest in highly qualified professionals to develop and manage AI ethically and responsibly.
In summary, artificial intelligence is a great technological advance that can greatly improve the quality of life of people and society. Although it presents dangers such as irresponsible and malicious use, it is also expected that this technology will continue to advance and improve every day, and it is the responsibility of all of us who use AI to educate and promote the correct and responsible use of this technology to achieve the maximum potential it has without harming others. I hope you have learned what AI is in this article. You can leave a comment!