5 Ways that AI will transform the World

In a recent article on Forbes, popular keynote speaker and futurist, Bernard Marr recently discussed the 5 reasons why Artificial Intelligence (AI) will change the world.

What is AI?
In computer science, artificial intelligence (AI), sometimes called machine intelligence, is intelligence demonstrated by machines, in contrast to the natural intelligence displayed by humans and animals. Leading AI textbooks define the field as the study of “intelligent agents, basically any device that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chance of successfully achieving its goals. Colloquially, the term “artificial intelligence” is often used to describe machines (or computers) that mimic “cognitive” functions that humans associate with the human mind, such as “learning” and “problem solving.

Although there has been a lot of hype surrounding AI as a gamechanger, he believes that unlike certain technology trends, much of the hype surrounding AI is entirely justified and the technology as a whole will certainly alter our lives in very real ways.

Here are his 5 reasons why:

AI is Ubiquitous
AI is everywhere and you might have likely interacted with it without knowing it. Everyday examples are endless – from using SIRI on your Apple phone to having products recommended to you on an online shopping site based on your browsing history.
A combination of AI and data drives all of these everyday processes and it’s not going anywhere.

AI will transform entire industries
The benefits / impact of AI has been seen across a wide range of industries from healthcare to automotive to the military. Taking healthcare as an example, AI is often used for classification, whether to automate initial evaluation of a CT scan or EKG or to identify high-risk patients for population health. The breadth of applications is rapidly increasing.
AI systems can even outperform human experts when it comes to accuracy. As an example, AI is being applied to the high-cost problem of dosage issues—where findings suggested that AI could save $16 billion. In 2016, a landmark study in California found that a mathematical formula developed with the help of AI correctly determined the accurate dose of immunosuppressant drugs to give to organ patients.

AI will make us more human, not less
Given that the usage of AI will grow and impact more and more industries, there is some concern if they will ‘digitise’ everything, Although certain jobs will be affected due to the implementation of AI, Marr expects that more new jobs will be created, ones that calls on softer skills like creativity and empathy.

AI is becoming more affordable for the masses
There is a general misconception that utilizing AI is expensive and that expensive technology and a huge team of in-house data scientists would be required. However, AI can be used as a ‘Software as a Service’ model which makes it available to more businesses and can be implemented as needed.

AI is a catalyst for other technology trends
AI is expected to be the key driver for other technology trends. Without AI, there would not be the developments in areas such as virtual reality, chatbots, facial recognition, autonomous vehicles, and robotics (and that’s just to name a few).

The future looks exciting with AI set to be a key player.