Artificial Intelligence, or AI, often feels like something out of a science fiction movie. But in reality, it’s all around us and has been in a some sort of form for a few decades. It touches our everyday lives in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. In this post, I will try to demystify AI and explore what it really is, how it works, and why it matters to you.

What is AI?
AI is about creating machines or software that can perform a range of tasks typically requiring human intelligence. These tasks might include understanding language, recognizing patterns, making decisions, or learning from experience.

Types of AI
AI comes in various flavors, but I will focus on two main types:

• Narrow AI: This is AI designed for a specific task. Here we can think of virtual assistants like Siri or Alexa, or recommendation algorithms on Netflix or Spotify, or even the software that powers self-driving cars like Tesla. It’s very good at what it does but can’t do anything else.
• General AI: This is the kind of AI that you see in movies – a system that can understand and perform any number of intellectual tasks as good as a human can.

How does AI work?
AI uses techniques from fields like computer science, mathematics, and neuroscience. Here’s a simple way to think about it:

• Data: AI systems need a an enormous amount of data to learn from. This data can come from text, images, videos, or other sources.
• Algorithms: These are the rules or steps that tell the AI how to process the data provided. One common type is machine learning, where the AI system “learns” patterns from data to make predictions or decisions.
• Training and Testing: AI systems are trained on a portion of the data to understand patterns. Then they are tested with new data to see how well they perform. This process helps improve their accuracy.

Why does AI matter?
AI is much more than just a cool tech trend as it has real-world implications. It can help doctors diagnose diseases, make cars safer, personalize education, and even help to combat climate change. At the same time, AI raises questions about privacy, job displacement, and ethical use. As AI becomes more integrated into our lives, it is crucial to understand its impact.

What is next for AI?
Even with all the recent developments, the future of AI holds very exciting possibilities.
We will see more advanced AI in healthcare, personalized experiences in entertainment and gaming, and smarter systems in our cities. But it’s also a future that requires careful thought and responsible development to ensure AI benefits everyone.

In short, AI is a powerful tool with the potential to change our world. By understanding what it is and how it works, you can better navigate the AI-driven future ahead.

There has been a lot of buzz and hype about Artificial Intelligence (AI), but what exactly is it and is it really all that it is made out to be.

Lets start by looking into what AI actually is. Artificial intelligence is a simulation of human intelligence in machines that are specially programmed to think like humans and even mimic their actions. The AI term may also be used to describe a machine that displays human like traits such as learning and problem-solving.

There are three basic AI concepts: machine learning, deep learning, and neural networks and AI is currently being used in a number of areas such as.

• Maps and Navigation. For voice assistants and self-driving cars
• Facial Detection and Recognition for security related situations
• Text Editors or Autocorrect.
• Search and Recommendation Algorithms.
• Chatbots.
• Digital Assistants.
• Social Media.
• E-Payments.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) could help to do the following.

• Promote creativity.
• Help disease diagnosis
• Achieve general intelligence.
• Encourage social Intelligence.
• Develop problem-solving ability.
• Incorporate knowledge representation.
• Promote synergy between humans and AI.
• Facilitate planning.
• Allow and improve continuous learning.

Is AI good or bad? This is one of the questions being asked. This article from Forbes tries to address this.

Another question addressed here is what will be the impact of AI on society?

I will be delving deeper into the topic of whether AI will replace humans in my next post.

There is a lot of discussion now about how or when AI will replace Humans. Well if we take a step back and review the chain of events over the decades, we will remember that Technology replacing certain humans in jobs is nothing new.

First let us review the history.

Industrial Revolution – 1760

This was when technology started replacing manual human labour. Machines started replacing some tasks in agriculture, manufacturing and skilled crafts like hand weaving.

Office Automation and Computers – Mid 1900s

Advancements of mainframe and personal computers in offices started automating clerical and repetitive tasks.

Post World War 2 – 1945 to 1980

Major developments in farm technologies replaced manual human labour with significant agricultural changes.

Modern Robotics and Automation – 1950s to Present Day

Starting with the first programmable arms, followed by advancements in AI and computer technology then the rise of machine learning.

With advancements come changes and these changes should be seen as progress. Just like with the Internet, we should all embrace AI and the changes that come with it. This article from 2016 looked at where machines could and couldn’t replace humans.

AI will be perfect for the repetitive tasks which would free people to work on strategic problem solving activities. Just like Doctors experienced with voice dictation helping to reduce reporting time.

Another article, this time from HBR describes how we should see it. AI should be seen as augmenting not replacing humans. There are many things that AI cannot do, well currently anyway. AI lacks social skills and adaptability to be able to replace humans in areas requiring empathy or interaction.

We should all pay attention to AI developments and see how we can “adjust and retrain” accordingly to the new world.

I am currently working on a Predictive Analytics Project so uncovered some facts that you may find useful.

Let me start by explaining what Predictive Analytics is.

It is a field of data analytics that uses sophisticated algorithms, machine learning and artificial intelligence to analyze vast amounts of data to make predictions about trends or future events.

In a healthcare setting since the institutions have access to and can use data from Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Insurance claims, they can use real-time and historical data to forecast future heath trends and patient needs which would help the organization run more efficiently.

So how exactly does Predictive Analytics benefit the institution.

Prediction or Early Detection

The models can analyze patient data, lab results and risk factors which can help to identify individuals at risk of developing specific diseases. Their providers are notified and can intervene with preventative measures.

Personalization

The models can help develop treatment plans specific to the patients needs based on the medical and genetic data.

Resource Planning

Analytics can help the organizations predict and plan for a surge in demand for specific services and develop plans to resource as required allowing for more efficient resource utilization.

Readmission Reduction

By reviewing patterns, it can be used to identify patients more likely to be readmitted. Clinicians can then intervene and implement programs to avoid this happening.

Operational Benefits

It can be used to predict systems failures, allowing the maintenance teams to address issues early.

Seems like a win win for all doesn’t it.