Artificial Intelligence

The funny thing about technology is that ideas that are only imagined as fantasy and never attainable end up being the norm to a future generation. Back in the day, human flight was only a fantasy with many attempting to be like birds in the sky but with not much success. Fast forward to today we take airplanes for granted because its technology we have grown accustomed to. An interesting trend in today’s world that is still in its infancy but will one day be commonplace technology is Artificial Intelligence (A.I). Put simply, artificial intelligence is the art of making computer systems mimic human intelligence and perform human tasks.  This definition is often what leads to the common fear that machines and robots will take the jobs occupied by humans. Elon Musk at some point mentioned the need to “regulate” artificial intelligence. However, if done right, the benefits A.I brings to the table that can benefit mankind in an immense way are attractive. Some of these benefits are :

Transportation

A.I can help with traffic routing and help decongest routes by directing traffic to alternative roads. It can also help a driver find the shortest route possible to deliver goods on time to waiting customers. A.I can analyze through computer vision real time traffic imagery and alert the police and emergency services in the event of an accident. With A.I, transportation can be fully autonomous (self-driving) and allow the passenger to rest or work on the go. The advantage of the self-driving concept, if done correctly, is that it can help reduce accidents as computers can process data faster and react sooner than humans can. Cars equipped with A.I can also have the ability to detect if the driver is tired and offer corrective action.

Agriculture

Automated systems powered by A.I can help boost agricultural yield. For example, an irrigation system with humidity and temperature sensors alongside a knowledge base of water requirements of the various crops may help in effective watering of the plants. Smart tags can also be placed on livestock so that when the animal approaches the feeding trough it is allocated its daily ration accordingly. These smart tags can also enable location tracking of the livestock. Drone systems powered by A.I can also assist in autonomous pesticide distribution in the field with minimum supervision.

Healthcare

With the advent of smartwatches that have functionality such as heart rate monitor, heart rate data could be sent to a doctor and the doctor alerted if their patient is showing signs of cardiac arrest. AI enabled healthcare systems can also be given access to the patient’s health record and uncover valuable insights that can help with their treatment.

Manufacturing

A.I can help design new products and aid in manufacturing. Think of robotic arms that can work on a car production line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with no downtime. This could increase the number of units produced per unit time and meet customer demands. A.I driven systems can also be tasked with those high risk tasks in manufacturing and humans be allocated a supervisory role of monitoring the machines. This helps reduce the number of factory incidents.

Research and development (R&D)

R&D is a sector full of uncertainly as in most cases the outcome is not known. Using A.I-driven systems with high compute capacity can help make sense of data and develop meaningful insights into the workings of the research topic. These intelligent systems can be given models to work with and suggest new methods or products based on the given models. They can also reduce the time it takes to analyze huge data sets and give conclusive results.

Retail

The retail sector could benefit a lot from A.I.  as drones and driverless cars could be used for door to door deliveries of groceries. More so, clothing can be designed in a custom fashion to fit the needs of a specific customer by allowing a 3D scanner to map the body measurements.

Artificial Intelligence is set to impact and improve our lives significantly.by allowing us to develop new products and services.