The somewhat frightening practical application of AI with its risks and rewards struck home when in May 1997 IBM’s super computer “Deep Blue” beat the reigning world champion Garry Kasparov at chess in one hour, after teaching itself for four hours. Up to then the longest chess championship game recorded for humans took four days, while the estimated hours that it takes for training humans to reach grandmaster title was approximately 12,480 hours or, on average, 10 years for players who start preparing at around age 10.
Those with a deep interest in technology might have known that AI saw its genesis back in the 1940s before the invention of the computer.
Curiosity and a quest for a better understanding of human intelligence and how it could be simulated, led to British mathematician and logician Alan Turing making a significant contribution, by introducing what he called the “Universal Machine” concept, which could address this. That bit of innovation gave rise to modern computers and its expanding capabilities.
Turing expounded on this thought process in his 1950 document “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” which questioned if machines could be made to think as intelligently as humans. Researchers like Warren McCulloch and Walter Pitts were fully on board in adding to this by creating neural networks and mathematical models which were inspired by the human brain. This became the practical spring board for the development of AI.
THE INTRODUCTION OF AI STUDY
The introduction to a course of study in AI materialized through the vision of computer scientists John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Nathaniel Rochester and Claude Shannon who coined the term “Artificial Intelligence” and laid out the possibilities of machines being trained to apply the tasks of human intelligence in problem solving at their Dartmouth Conference in 1956.
Like most other innovative ventures, there were apparent limitations, including funding, and AI development was set aside in the 1970s.
AI Resurgence in the 1980s
With the advent of more expert systems in the 1980s AI made its resurgence in continuing on track with programs that could simulate human expert decisions in medicine and finance. This apparently started at Stanford where computers were programmed to diagnose some bacterial infections.
With the help of algorithms which are used to predict system behaviors and automatically adjust controls to optimize performance with increased efficiency, and which allows networks to learn from errors, the development of AI began focusing on solving more practical issues in general intelligence and inventory management.
By 1997 “Deep Blue” was successfully programmed with critical thinking which allowed identification of patterns for predictions and decisions. These advancements also allowed AI to serve in finance, marketing and entertainment.
OUTPACING HUMAN INTELLECT
The “Go” game, also known as “Weigi” which originated in China, has been around for at least 5 centuries BC. “Go” is a board game played with stones, the objective of which is the capturing of territories. It is far more complex and strategic than Chess which may be why Google set their sights for testing the skills of AI through their “AlphaGo” program. AI defeated the champion in 2016.
AI is no longer confined to research labs; it has now become essential in everyday life for those who depend on the source regurgitating additional information structured around input requests. It has become the current online encyclopedia exemplar, despite its shortcomings.
Virtual assistance like Siri and Alexa, facial recognition systems, recommendation algorithms on platforms like Netflix and YouTube, and self-driving cars all rely on AI technologies. Natural Language Processing (NLP) models like GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) have revolutionized how machines interact with human language, powering Chatbots translation services and content generation.
AI has created endless opportunities despite the challenges it confronts. From plagiarism to job displacement, alleged racial bias found in AI modeling, to arguments proffered for strict demarcation lines in the interest of scores affected, to ensure that it aligns with ethical standards and public good.
WHAT OF AI’S FUTURE
Despite its mind boggling advancements, keeping in tandem with global achievements around the world now, means continuing significant growth in Artificial Intelligence.
AI is now being programmed to reason and interact with humans in a more intuitive way and AI is on a path to processing and enabling resolutions for problems previously unsolvable.
From the genesis of thought and ambition, to where AI stands today driving limit-less technology innovation, there has been continued growth. Ethical integration is no doubt in the cards.
