We are relying on scientists, health care professionals but also world technology leaders to help stop the spread of Covid-19

I hadn’t planned to cover the science or bio medical aspects of AI in this early stage of my blog, however I couldn’t let the week go by without devoting this post to some of the astonishing and scary developments the entire nation has faced at the plight of a virus which started in China in January.

Masks are now widely worn across the globe

In the midst of the Covid-19 outbreak the words leaders in Amazon, Google and Apple met with Downing Street to discuss their role in the outbreak. A World Health Organization report last month said AI and big data were a key part of China’s response to the virus. Technological leaders have already begun to play a vital role by modelling and tracking data to help predict the spread.

AI Could be used to design a drug to fight current and future viral outbreaks

An AI-discovered cure could be quicker than modern medicine but could still take months

The ways it can immediately help the Covid-19 outbreak is develop a vaccine, scan through millions of existing drugs to see if any could be re-purposed or design a drug for current and future viral outbreaks but this could take in the region of 18-24 months.

All we can do is hope that the powerful minds in tech and science teamed with the massive developments in AI can help us through this time of uncertainty and global crisis. Also, reflecting on some of amazing uses of AI that some may thought was never possible has really lifted my mood and given me an optimistic outlook on the possibilities for find a cure that might be nearer that we currently think.

Stephen Hawking was skeptical of “Strong AI” which has similar reasoning capabilities as humans BUT…..

AI gave Stephen Hawking the ability to communicate faster. He wore a device on his glasses that assessed if his cheek was flexed or not. It used the signal as a mouse click to control his computer. This was initially so slow and prone to error as sentences had to be typed letter by letter but with the help of machine learning and AI an algorithm was developed to predict what words he was about to type. As one of the greatest minds of the 21st century the fact that he could live on through such developments displays the sheer impact of how far we have come and what is now possible.

Thank you for following me as I continue this new blogging journey. In my next post I’ll take a closer look at some myths associated with AI to see if they can be busted.

So far, I have covered some of the major accomplishments and advances of AI but there have been more and more concerns around the ethical use and the impact it can have on the workforce.  The reality of AI is also relatively unknown to the public. This teamed with dystopian TV shows such as Black Mirror where each episode covers a digital trend affecting society has left people with mixed views.

Black Mirror Takes Technology To The Extreme!

I’ve watched a handful of Black Mirror episodes and tend to question the use of technology after each one, yet I still go back for more the next week as curiosity gets the better of me. The scary negative uses of AI in this TV show have left people with mixed views on the actual longer term uses and benefits. Will people really feel the need to implant a microchip into their children to trace their whereabouts? Where will the line be drawn on personal space and privacy then?

Technology companies and consumers have a duty to inform themselves

AI in most cases is programmed to do beneficial things that make human life easier and advance technology. It is when and if AI develops a destructive method for achieving its goals like in movies such as the Terminator and the Matrix, when technology turns against humans and good robots turn bad that we should be prepared for. The sheer speed of the developments could result in this happening unless we align AI goals with ours. Take Telsa’s self driving car being asked to take a passenger to the airport as fast as possible, it might get you there but ignore all the speed limits, therefore doing not what you wanted but literally what you asked for. .

At this moment in time I don’t think we have anything to worry about and some of the disadvantages or risks that are being talked about are largely linked to myths circling the internet. In my next blog post I will take a look at some of these myths in more detail and try to assess if we do in fact have anything to worry about.

When I began thinking about what sort of blog I wanted to create I racked my brains on various topics of digital marketing, from social media to content marketing to blogging about blogging. I’ve decided to begin my blogging journey by exploring and sharing with my readers about all things AI (Artificial Intelligence).

I work in a company where AI is at the forefront of what we do. Our mission is to help brands grow in the AI era. I understand it, my co-workers largely understand it, but If I was asked to put AI simply to my mother, for example or conduct an “elevator” pitch, I would probably ramble on and over complicate the most basic premise.

Over the last week I explored various definitions of AI. Here are two that I found most memorable.

Qualcomm have an interesting short video on Youtube that explains AI in 101 seconds. It is described as “Techniques that help machines and computers mimic human behaviour”. I like the comparison they use of thinking about AI like opening the layers in a Russian wedding doll. The highest level is the device being smart. The next is machine learning, which is a variety of techniques that help to make the device smart. At the core, is the deep learning, which holds all the algorithms and complex equations.

Raj Ramesh says the easiest way to understand AI is to think of it in the context of a human. AI is described as a “broad branch of computer science, aimed at creating systems that can function intelligently and independently”. The fact that was driven home is that machines are smart due to AI, but AI still has a dependency on people – we are making it possible. The next stage we will see is AI “walking on its own” and devices that are powered by AI will make our lives easier and more exciting.

I will explore some common examples of how AI is used today in my next post.

I can’t talk about AI without mentioning and recognizing Alan Turing who first posed the question “Can machines think”? in 1950. The term AI hadn’t even been coined, (this was to happen in 1956 by John McCarthy). Not so long after the first computer had been invented, Turing famously introduced the Turing Test, to assess if a computer was capable of thinking. To think that almost 70 years ago these subjects were starting to be explored. It feels like we should be further ahead than we are by now….. but maybe my eyes and ears just haven’t been exposed to all the uses and developments in this area!

In my next post I will see just how far we have come, how AI is being used today and if it really is making human lives easier and more exciting.

If you enjoyed this post, I’d be very grateful if you’d help it spread by emailing it to a friend, or sharing it on Twitter or Facebook. Thank you!

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