Category: Data Science

Why is Artificial Intelligence Important?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) basically allows us to give machines intelligence and enable them to do tasks that used to be done by humans. With this comes an unimaginable amount of benefits and drawbacks. I’ll explain some of the important ones here

AI is important because, depending on the work, it helps us to:

  • make smarter decisions
  • make work more efficient
  • cut down the amount of human effort

Examples of Benefits

Technology

  • Allows for better user experiences on applications by making them smarter, more intuitive and more personalized
    • Online shopping websites
    • Netflix
    • Social Media
    • Siri, Alexa, Cortana
  • Helps programmers because the AI models teach themselves and don’t have to be programmed normally
  • Detect and deter security threats
  • Resolve user tech problems
  • Monitor social media comments to, for example, detect people’s thoughts on a brand/company

Healthcare

  • Robots that assist in surgeries
  • Provide personalized medicine
  • Help with diagnosis
  • X-rays

Business

  • Predict fraudulent transactions
  • Quick credit scoring
  • Financial trading
  • Automated call systems

What is Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science that deals with creating “intelligent” machines that can perform human tasks

AI machines “learn” through a process called Machine Learning (ML).

Machine Learning is a subfield of AI which provides machines the ability to learn by discovering patterns in huge volumes of data.

AI has become more popular in recent years because of the availability of much more data, improvements in computer storage/power, and more advanced algorithms.

Subfields of AI

  • Machine Learning – provides machines the ability to learn
  • Deep Learning – provides machines ability to mimic brain’s neural network
  • Cognitive Computing
  • Computer Vision
  • Natural Language Processing (NLP)
  • Data Mining

Types of AI

  • Reactive Machines: AI machines designed to do a specific job. They do not form memories (Ex. automatic coffee maker)
  • Limited memory: AI that uses past experiences and current data to make decisions (Ex. self-driving cars)
  • Theory of mind: AI that can socialize and understand human emotions. They have not been built yet
  • Self awareness: AI that is conscious. These systems are the future of AI and are yet to be built