If we go by the definition on Wikipedia, AI is intelligence demonstrated by machines, as opposed to the natural intelligence displayed by animals including humans.
Founded as an academic discipline in 1956, AI today in the mid of 2022 still feels like a new-age concept to many. Many hollywood movies like Iron Man series, Interstellar, Bumblebee etc have depicted the role of AI, but still this leading-edge technology feels far-fetched for people in their day-to-day lives.
Despite going through a “lack of familiarity” syndrome, AI is making inroads into different spheres of life. From chess-playing computers to self-driving cars, AI is making its presence shown considerably and is altering the world in areas of policy making, education, governance, corporates, economy, health, transport, finance etc. AI has improved the decision making abilities, leading to better results and outcomes.
If we talk about the application of AI and how it is transforming the world, it is about integrating and deploying AI into various sectors and domains. AI is here, present in the reality and not a futuristic vision that is to be achieved at a later stage. It’s about the accumulation of AI to augment human capabilities and reducing possibility or occurrence of risks and errors in everyday lives.
In the meantime, AI is making technological advancements and impacts in the world out there.
Healthcare – Machine learning and its application and analysis on the medical data is bringing advancement in the healthcare domain. From medical diagnosis to predicting particular outcomes, AI is making the healthcare sector more proactive and predictive. Apart from this, many critical surgeries are being performed by specialised robots, downgrading the risk of failure.
Transportation – Major advancements have been made in this domain with the help of AI and its sub-technologies. From self-driving cars to traffic flow analysis to improved road safety, market reach of AI is forecasted to reach $3,870,000,000 by 2026.
Finance – The issue of NPAs in the banking and finance sector has crippled the economy. AI, with help of ML can help predict and assess loan risks and reduce the financial risks that we are facing right now. Analysing the vast amount of data of borrowers based on multiple parameters can help make rightful decisions regarding loans and fraud detection.
Security – From cybersecurity to national security to defence, AI plays a significant role in reducing human intervention and putting less reliance on traditional security approaches. AI, with the help of ML quickly traces the unwanted events and makes the system vigilant to take safety/precautionary actions. Biometrics and Image-recognition keep record of a vast amount of data that can be helpful when dealing with security threats and issues.
Smart Cities – Across the world and in India too, many Smart City projects are taking place.They address multiple areas like local environment, pollution level, resource management, traffic management, planning and development, energy utilisation etc. This will help in development from the grass-root level with the advancement in technology and leveraging the benefits of AI and the related technologies.
Environment – Companies globally are using Artificial Intelligence to increase factory efficiency and lower energy costs. Also the usage of AI can be seen in conserving the flora and the fauna, preventing poachers from hunting, addressing global weather phenomena, sustainable usage of natural resources and much more.
Sports – By doing predictive analysis with the help of AI, players’ performance can be boosted and adequate checks can be ensured on their health. Personalised training and diet plans prove beneficial, giving detailed attention to every player. From the audiences’ point of view, AI will help them give enriching viewing experience, better engagement, eSports etc.
AI in the coming future will make unprecedented opportunities across different areas and sectors, transforming every walk of life. But despite holding the positives, there’s another side to the story. From sidelining human resources to requiring more energy to leverage the benefits of AI, this cutting-edge technology also holds a negative side to it.
In order to bring a balanced approach through innovation, certain areas need to be addressed. From policies to ethical issues, legalities to data transparency, critical points need to be handled in a responsible way. Only then can this revolution have a positive and a substantial impact on the foreseeable future.