Nicole Laskowski: Can AI replace humans? Sometimes? Yes.
Siri, Alexa Cortana and Google Assistant, these are all
forms of AI or artificial intelligence. But AI extends far
past voice-activated assistants. AI is the simulation of
human intelligence processes by machines, especially
computer systems, and almost all businesses today employ
some type of AI, some more complicated than others. AI can
be categorized as weak or strong. Weak AI is a system
designed and trained for a particular task, like voice
activated assistants. It can maybe answer your question or
obey a programmed command, but can't work without human
interaction. Strong AI is an AI system with generalized
human cognitive abilities, meaning it can solve tasks and
find solutions without human intervention. A self driving
car is an example of strong AI that uses a combination of
computer vision, image recognition and deep learning to
pilot a vehicle while staying in a given lane and avoiding
unexpected obstacles like pedestrians. AI has made its way
into a variety of industries that benefit both businesses
and consumers, like healthcare, education, finance, law and
manufacturing. In fact, many technologies incorporate AI
including automation, machine learning, machine vision,
natural language processing, and robotics. The application
of AI raises legal, ethical and security concerns. For
instance, if an autonomous vehicle is involved in an
accident, liability is unclear. And hackers are using
sophisticated machine learning tools to gain access to
sensitive systems. Despite the risks, there are very few
regulations governing the use of AI tools. But experts
assure us that AI will simply improve products and services
and won't replace us humans anytime soon.
