Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a sector of computer programming in which one engineers an intelligent machine. With AI, a machine has the capabilities to imitate human thinking or learning. Merriam-Webster defines the word “think” as to form or have in mind, to have as an intention, to have as an opinion, to consider, to ponder, to determine by reflecting, or to remember (Merriam-Webster).
AI, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning are terms that are sometimes used interchangeably because they all describe intelligent machines; however, they have slightly different meanings. Machine Learning and Deep Learning fall under the broader category of Artificial Intelligence. Machine Learning means the machine can “learn” something on its own without explicitly being programmed to do so. The machine is able to optimize its functionality as it is learning from huge data sets. It continues to get more and more intelligent at is learns new things. And Deep Learning is based on the concept of a brain’s neural network; Deep Learning in an artificial representation of this neural network and of learning, thinking, understanding, storage and retrieval of information, and beliefs. Deep Learning is very interesting and creates amazing new possibilities. Deep Learning is applied to popular fields such as computer vision and speech recognition. If we are able to program a machine to master computer vision and speech recognition in a way that mimics humans, we can create a very intelligent machine that is capable of so much.
It is amazing what has been developed in the AI field over the last 50 years, and the expected growth for AI over the next decade is huge. AI is expected to create millions of new jobs in the coming year. High-performance computing is becoming much more affordable, which paves the way for advances in AI and makes it more accessible to the general public.
More and more companies are expected to implement some form of AI into their software, making their lives easier by handing off repetitive intelligent tasks to these machines, and making their company more profitable with faster performance. AI software can do so many things that are beneficial for humans. For example, it can help save lives by screening for cancer. AI programs have the ability to detect cancer in patients where sometimes doctors might miss based on advanced AI algorithms; however, best scenario as of now, is still having both the doctor and the AI software scan the patient to determine cancer risk. But likely in the near future, AI will out perform doctors in scanning for things like cancer because of the vast amount of examples a program can save, manipulate, and understand in its comparison.
AI will continue to grow and develop, creating countless new jobs and opportunities and saving people time and money. Get involved in AI - there are tons of meet-ups and forums online where you can read about cutting edge technology in the AI sector and the limitless possibilites created by AI.
