Artificial Intelligence: the pros and cons of an increasingly used technology
Artificial intelligence, or AI, is a computer system that learns from the experiences it encounters. It can adapt itself to new inputs, performing tasks in a way similar to what a human being would adopt. The way AI has been defined over the years has changed, as have the activities that we have implemented with this technology.
The term Artificial Intelligence was born in 1956: over the years, through increasing levels of processed data, improved storage capacity and the development of advanced algorithms, AI can now imitate human reasoning. Personal assistants with artificial intelligence such as Siri or Alexa have been around to serve military purposes since 2003.
Sometimes you can think about this sinister technology, and the fiction has accustomed us to believe it could subjugate humanity (and industry!. Nothing far from reality: it is a completely innocuous innovation, with its advantages and disadvantages. Let’s see the numbers.
5 pro of artificial intelligence
• Artificial intelligence completes routine tasks with ease.
Many of the activities we complete every day are repetitive. This repetition helps us to begin a positive routine workflow, but it often also takes a long time. With AI, repetitive tasks can be automated, perfecting precisely the equipment in order to operate for long periods of time to complete the job.
• Artificial intelligence can function indefinitely.
Human workers are generally operational for 8-10 hours of production each day, while artificial intelligence can continue to function for an indefinite period of time. As long as an energy resource is available and the equipment is properly maintained, artificial intelligence machines do not experience the same declines in productivity as human workers suffer when they get tired at the end of the day.
• Artificial intelligence makes fewer mistakes.
Artificial intelligence is important in areas where accuracy and precision are the top priority. When there is no margin for error, these machines are able to break down complicated mathematical constructs into practical actions more quickly and more accurately than human workers.
• Artificial intelligence helps us to explore.
There are many places in our universe where it would be dangerous, if not impossible, to seek a path of exploration. Artificial intelligence allows us to learn more about these places, facilitating our species knowledge database. We can explore the deepest parts of the ocean, travel to inhospitable planets and even find new resources to consume with this technology.
• Artificial intelligence can be used by anyone.
There are several ways in which the average person can take advantage of the benefits of AI day by day. In smart homes powered by artificial intelligence, the thermostat and energy regulation help reduce the monthly bill. Augmented reality allows consumers to view items in their homes without first purchasing them. Properly applied AI allows our perception of reality to be improved, creating a positive personal experience.
5 Cons of Artificial Intelligence
• Artificial intelligence has a high cost.
New artificial intelligence is expensive to build. Even if the costs are decreasing, for an individual development you can still reach 200,000 euros for an artificial intelligence base. For small businesses that operate on tight margins or with low initial capital, it may be difficult to find the funds needed to benefit from the benefits of the AI. For larger companies, the cost of this technology can be even higher depending on the scope of the project.
• Artificial intelligence will reduce job opportunities.
If there are jobs earned by artificial intelligence, there will also be jobs lost because of it. Any occupation with repetitive tasks as part of its functions is at risk of replacement by artificial intelligence in the future.
• Artificial intelligence will be responsible for making its own decisions.
One of the biggest threats we face with AI is its decision-making mechanism. An artificial intelligence is as intelligent and reasoned as the people responsible for its initial programming. This means that there may be some prejudice within the mechanisms when it is time to take an important decision. For example, in 2014, a shooting in the US led people threatened to call Uber to flee the area. Instead of recognizing the dangerous situation, the algorithm used by Uber saw a peak in demand, thus deciding to increase prices.
• Artificial intelligence lacks creativity.
We can program robots to perform creative tasks, but these are not able to program original systems themselves.
Our present artificial intelligence corresponds to the creativity of its creator and, since creativity is lacking, empathy tends to be lacking. This means that the decision of an artificial intelligence is based on what is the best possible analytical solution, which may not always be the correct one to take.
All this leads to various dilemmas encountered, for example, in self-driving vehicles: if a pedestrian decides to cross suddenly, the car does not have the power to decide what would be the best solution between braking (damaging the occupants), steer (endangering both sides) or continue (threatening the pedestrian).
• Artificial intelligence may lack improvement.
An artificial intelligence may be able to change the way it reacts in certain situations just as a child stops touching a hot stove after taking a sunburn. What it does not do is alter its perceptions, responses or reactions in the event of a change in an environment. There is an inability in the AI to distinguish certain types of observed information beyond the data generated by such direct observation.
Implement AI in your company thanks to Techmakers
Artificial Intelligence, with all its advantages and disadvantages, remains one of the most innovative technologies of our time.
Adopt it in their own company means taking advantage of a precise and efficient means, and Techmakers, a company specialized in the IT sector, knows well how to implement it in all production processes that need to better manage repetitive functions such as filling and warehouse management.
For this reason Techmakers is the ideal partner of any company that wants to enter the world of technologies related to Industry 4.0, with particular attention to systems of AI that, processing data of different types through accurate analysis, can make business forecasts of great effectiveness.
