Artificial Intelligence: The Next Big Thing
From enhancing human capital to defeating ISIS
By Harold Miller
hal@cny55.com
Ninety percent of all data collected by mankind since the beginning of time has been done in the last two years and will be doubled in the next five years.
This incredible statement of facts is difficult to absorb even for the highly intelligent mind. Computers and software have made collecting all this data possible but how do we utilize all those data in a way that will serve mankind best?
The answer is artificial intelligence, an advanced technology that utilizes algorithms, which is a sequence of actions that combines calculations, data processing and automated reasoning. In other words, AI allows computers to read, understand and analyze like our minds do.
The human brain is astonishing and once freed from the monotonous task of sorting out trillions of pages of information (created by the computer’s ability to produce them) it can be freed for creative research such as medical science and financial analysis in order to restart our economy. Additionally, Google, Apple and most automobile companies have received permits to test autonomous vehicles. The core of all the challenges to mankind in the 21st Century is AI.
Artificial intelligence will also enhance human productivity growth. The McKinsey Global Institute recently reported that almost half of all paid work can be automated by AI. This would increase human productivity by 0.8 percent to 1.4 percent compounded every year, and will give our country a substantial economic boost.
Artificial Intelligence will soon learn to sort real news from hoaxes and misinformation. However embellishing modern communication might be, it has also empowered a cast of twisted minds, criminals and jihadists to build a worldwide audience and recruit terrorists. AI technicians are already busy creating algorithms that can sweep digital networks and automatically purge incorrect and extremist content.
Amy Hirsh Guarino, an expatriate from Central New York who happens to be my niece, has been living and working in the vicinity of Silicon Valley for several years now. Recently, she was recruited by KYNDI (www.kyndi.com), one of the leading companies in the growing field of artificial intelligence technologists. She is now chief operating officer and considered to be one of the top 100 women technologists in Silicon Valley.
“The time is coming when humans can no longer keep up with the volume of reading needed in our modern age. We foresee a time when every worker must be partnered with an artificial intelligence assistant,” she told me during my interview with her.
Guarino then translated some of the technical jargon of AI to something that the average person such as you and I can understand. She expanded the description of algorithms as being a self-contained sequence of actions that perform calculations, data processing, and automated reasoning that reads and understands like the human mind does. Next, Guarino explains digital forensics as understanding how and why something happens. The television series “Forensic Files” is a dramatized example of digital forensics.
“AI will be able to utilize all the current medical journal information plus medical reports and patient reports to tailor the diagnosis and treatment plans based on individual symptoms, genetics and history,” Guarino said.
The key is being able to process lots of combinations of systems in real time plus being aware of the latest research. I don’t think AI will replace doctors, but it will help them make the right decisions since the systems will be able to recall all known diseases and they don’t have bias. With that said, doctors know their patients and it will help them provide a filter based on that knowledge.
America has entered a new age — call it the information, technology age or digital age. There are plenty of wonderful opportunities for American families and innovators and the key to it all is education.