Artificial Intelligence

There are many definitions of artificial intelligence (AI). Essentially, AI is a
machine or application which carries out a task that requires some degree of
intelligence. 

For example:
– the use of language
– recognising a person’s face
– the ability to operate machinery, such as a car, aeroplane, train, and so on
– analysing data to predict the outcome of a future event, for example
weather forecasting.

AI duplicates human tasks which require decision-making and problem-solving
skills. Eventually, many tasks presently done by humans will be replaced by
robots or computers, which could lead to unemployment. However, the positive
side includes improvements in safety and quality of services and products. Some
examples are detailed below.

The impact of AI on everyday life

Whenever AI is mentioned, people usually think of science fiction fantasies and
think of robots. The science fiction writer Isaac Asimov even went as far as
producing his three laws of robotics:

» robots may not injure a human through action or inaction

» robots must obey order given by humans without question

» a robot must protect itself unless it conflicts with the two laws above.

Many science fiction movies continue to fuel people’s imagination with
slightly sinister interactions between humans and machines. However, AI
goes way beyond robotics and covers many areas,

1) An autonomous (driverless) vehicle – we already have driverless trains and autopilots on aeroplanes, but future developments include driverless cars.

2) Robotic research is leading to improvements in technology to help amputees and people with disabilities.

3) Robots are used to help people carry out dangerous or unpleasant tasks – for example, bomb disposal, welding of car bodies, entering nuclear disaster areas (such as Chernobyl or

Fukushima) where the radiation would kill a human in under two minutes.

There are many more examples and the list becomes longer and longer with time.

Negative impacts of AI

All of the above examples give a very favourable view of the effect of AI on our
everyday lives. However, in any balanced argument, we should also consider the
drawbacks of the new technology:

» could lead to many job losses in a number of areas (although it is true to say
that new technical jobs would also be created); many jobs could be lost in
manufacturing, but other roles are likely to be affected (such as bus, taxi,
lorry and train drivers)

» dependency on technology and the inability to carry out tasks done by robots,
for example, could be an issue in the future

» loss of skills – even now, skills from previous generations have been lost as
humans have been replaced by machines and software applications.