Tech life: Knowing Artificial Intelligence
W
June 2013 Issue
HAT
IS
ARTIFICIAL
TECHNOLOGY?
towards the accomplishment of
particular applications.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is
technology and a branch of
computer science that studies and
develops intelligent machines and
software. Major AI researchers
and textbooks define the field as
"the
study
and
design
of
intelligent agents" where an
intelligent agent is a system that
perceives its environment and
takes actions that maximize its
chances
of
success
John
McCarthy, who coined the term
in 1955, defines it as "the science
and engineering
of
making
intelligent
machines"
AI
research is highly technical and
specialized, deeply divided into
subfields that often fail to
communicate with each other
.Some of the division is due to
social
and
cultural
factors:
subfields have grown up around
particular institutions and the
work of individual researchers.
AI research is also divided by
several technical issues. There
are subfields which are focused
on the solution of specific
problems on one of several
possible approaches, on the use
of widely differing tools and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artific
Page 1
Source:
ial_intelligence
F
ACTS ABOUT
ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE:
1. In 1637 Rene Descartes,
the French mathematician
and
philosopher,
predicted that it would
never be possible to make
a machine that thinks as
humans do. That was a
rather
astonishing
observation
considering
that the concept of the
analytical machine was
devised
by
Charles
Babbage
only
two
hundred
years
later.
Babbage never completed
his analytical engine but
his theories laid the early
foundation for AI.
2. The father of Artificial
Intelligence
is
British
mathematician
Alan
Matheson
Turing.
In
1950 he declared that in
the future there would be
a machine that would
duplicate
human
intelligence. He devised a
specialized test, known as
the “Turing test”, to be
used to prove artificial
intelligence. In the test, a
human and a computer
hidden from view would
be asked random identical
questions. If the computer
was
successful,
the
questioner
would
be
unable to distinguish the
machine from the human.
3. The first conference on
artificial intelligence was
held
at
Dartmouth
College, New Hampshire
in 1956. It led to the
establishment of the AI
laboratories
at
MIT
(Massachusetts
Institute
of Technology) by Marvin
Minsky
and
John
McCarthy (who invented
the AI computer language
called Lisp) and Stanford
University
by
Edward
Feigenbaum and Joshua
Lederberg. Herbert Simon
and Allen Newell of the
Rand Corporation ran
tests that showed the one
and zeros in computer
language could be used
not only to represent
numbers but also symbols.
Source:
http://didyouknow.org/ai
10
WAYS
HOWWILL
ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE AFFECT
OUR LIVES by: Bambi
Turner
10: Taming the Weather
Meteorologists
analyze
large
volumes of data in order to
predict the weather, and even the
Tech life: Knowing Artificial Intelligence
most experienced weatherman
isn't always accurate.
Soon, scientists may be able to
predict the weather better by
using
artificial
intelligence
software, which can sift through
complex data and spot patterns
missed by the human eye. When
this software sees a big storm
coming, it will automatically
issue alerts to warn residents
and the media, and this may help
save lives.
Source:
Association
Advancement
of
Intelligence].
9:
Tackling
Boring) Tasks
for
the
Artificial
Dangerous
according to schedule, but are
also able to maneuver around
obstacles like stairs, furniture
and even the cat. Facilities with
large turf areas, like golf courses,
rely on similar technology to
mow their lawns without the
need for human intervention.
The same technology may soon
allow robots to perform boring
or repetitive tasks along an
assembly line, or even sort trash
and recycling at waste processing
centers.
Source: Williams.
8: Saving the Planet
(or
If you have a robotic vacuum
cleaner in your home, you're
already taking advantage of
artificial intelligence to tackle
one of life's more tedious tasks.
These devices not only clean your
floor
Page 2
June 2013 Issue
With
artificial
intelligence,
scientists may soon be able to use
robots or other devices to clean
up the environment and reduce
the effects of air and water
pollution.
Advanced
software
programs
will
allow
these
machines to distinguish between
biological
organisms
and
potential pollutants like oil or
hazardous waste. Tiny microbes
will consume waste products and
leave good biological matter
intact, minimizing damage to the
ecosystem.
Source:
U.S.
Environmental
Protection Agency
7: Driverless Transport
Imagine cars that warn you of
potential obstacles to help you
avoid accidents, or even allow
you to sit back and take in the
sites as they drive themselves.
Artificial intelligence may soon
make all this possible, using
cameras, sensors and special
software built into the vehicle.
Manufacturers already rely on
this technology to make backing
up and parking safer, while both
the Toyota Prius and certain
Lexus models can self-park at the
touch of a button
6: Pushing the Limits of Space
Exploration
In the near future, advances in
artificial intelligence will allow
scientists to travel well beyond
the limits of 20th-century space
travel and explore more of the
universe
beyond
our
solar
system. Today, NASA relies on
unmanned shuttles to explore
distant galaxies that would take
years for humans to reach.
Driverless land rovers also allow
researchers
to
explore
and
photograph Mars and other
planets,
where
inhospitable
conditions
make
human
exploration impossible. These
smart vehicles sense obstacles,
like craters, and find safe paths
of travel around them before
returning to the shuttle
Source: NASA
Laboratory
Jet
Propulsion
5: Protect Your Finances
As of 2010, roughly half of world
stock trades are driven by
artificial
intelligence-based
software. These programs rely on
algorithms to spot patterns in the
market and predict price changes
based on these patterns.
Source:
Association
Advancement
of
Intelligence
for
the
Artificial
4: Staying Safe
Artificial intelligence technology
will soon help keep your family
safe by protecting it from
international threats as well as
home
burglaries.
The
U.S.
Department
of
Homeland
Security relies on virtual smart
Tech life: Knowing Artificial Intelligence
June 2013 Issue
agents to supplement its human
workforce, or to replace an agent
when he or she is unavailable.
The agency also incorporates
artificial intelligence software
into its monitoring systems,
which scan phone calls and other
communications. These programs
can sift through large volumes of
data quickly and are even
capable of distinguishing between
casual conversation and potential
threats.
Source: Chang
Source: U.S. Department
Homeland Security
Source:
Center
of
2: Space-Age Medicine
While robotic servants and
driverless cars offer a certain
wow factor, artificial intelligence
in medicine is already helping
doctors detect diseases and save
lives.
Cedars-Sinai
Medical
Center relies on special software
to examine the heart and stop
heart attacks before they occur.
Cedars-Sinai
Medical
3: A Little Help Please
1: The Robot-Human Species
While the world may not be
ready for flying cars, families
may soon enjoy the perks of
robotic
servants
to
handle
housekeeping
tasks.
These
intelligent robots will not only
clean your living room and do
the dishes, but may also tackle
jobs like assembling furniture or
caring for kids and pets. Through
the use of artificial intelligence
software, these machines will be
able to recognize and sort
objects, and even learn to
minimize future mistakes as they
work.
Tran humanism represents the
ultimate application of artificial
intelligence
to
human
life.
Proponents of Tran’s humanism
believe that artificial intelligence
can improve the overall human
experience by expanding the
limits of the mind and body. As
humans incorporate more and
more
technology
into
their
everyday lives, Tran’s humanism
offers
the
opportunity
to
eliminate disabilities, slow aging
and even stop death. Source:
Page 3
World Tran humanism.
AI
IN SCIENCE
FICTION
A truly intelligent computer
remains
in
the
realm
of
speculation. Though researchers
have continually projected that
intelligent
computers
are
imminent, progress in AI has
been limited. Computers with
intentionality
and
self
consciousness, with fully human
reasoning skills, or the ability to
be in relationship, exist only in
the realm of dreams and desires,
a realm explored in fiction and
fantasy.
The
artificially
intelligent computer in science
fiction story and film is not a
prop, but a character, one that
has become a staple since the
mid-1950s. These characters are
embodied in a variety of physical
forms, ranging from the wholly
mechanical
(computers
and
robots)
to
the
partially
mechanical (cyborgs) and the
completely biological (androids).
A general trend from the 1950s
to the 1990s has been to depict
intelligent computers in an
increasingly
anthropomorphic
way. The robots and computers
of early films, such as Maria in
Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1926),
Robby
in
Fred
Wilcox's
Forbidden Planet (1956), Hal in
Stanley
Kubrick's
2001:
A
Space Odyssey (1968), or R2D2
and C3PO in George Lucas's Star
Wars
(1977),
were
clearly
constructs of metal. On the other
hand,
early
science
fiction
stories, such as Isaac Asimov's I,
Robot (1950), explored the
question of how one might
distinguish between robots that
looked human and actual human
beings. Films and stories from
the 1980s through the early
2000s, including Ridley Scott's
Blade
Runner
(1982)
and
Stephen Spielberg's A.I. (2001),
pick up this question, depicting
machines with both mechanical
and biological parts that are far
less easily distinguished from
human beings. Fiction that
features AI can be classified in
two
general
categories:
cautionary tales (A.I., 2001) or
tales of wish fulfillment (Star
Wars; I, Robot). These present
two differing visions of the
artificially intelligent being, as a
rival to be feared or as a friendly
and
helpful
companion.
June 2013 Issue