Technology & Innovation

Artificial Intelligence and the Human Condition

January 20, 2017

Global

January 20, 2017

Global
Anonymous Writer

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Thinking machines are not just for labs or factory floors. How might the next generation of AI change your life? Read this article, written by The EIU, sponsored by IBM.

For most people, Artificial Intelligence is associated with factory robots and machines that can outplay chess Grandmasters. But AI is also being rapidly adopted and used by everyday individuals – for example, self-learning digital assistants were the hit technology gift in the 2016 holiday season.

Two trends will drive a further expansion of AI into our everyday lives. The first is the digitisation of consumer products – e.g., sensors in home appliances or the ongoing spread of wearable technologies such as fitness monitors. The second is the capture of data from these devices within cloud computing networks. This cloud platform enables analysts to understand the habits of an individual, or to aggregate the patterns of a million users.

This networking of personal devices is not without risk. Like all connected technologies, AI-enabled networks will demand higher levels of security and privacy protection than exist today.

But it is also likely that humankind will see many benefits. The data from millions of wearable technologies could become a global lab test on how to prevent heart attacks. Sensors in millions of cars could create algorithms to end traffic jams. Some believe that cloud-connected sensors will one day allow us to predict some of mankind’s greatest challenges – epidemics, hurricanes, famine, and earthquakes.

Cloud computing is enabling AI to fully emerge from factories and laboratories to become part of human society. What role do you think AI will play in your home, your work and your life?

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