It is said that human is the most intelligent animal on the planet.

We have elaborate language systems, which include terms to denote abstract ideas and objects; we have a conscience that steers our moral compass; we can plan our future and anticipate something that may or may not happen, and many many more.

Thus it is no surprise that human, being the most intelligent animal, has created something to help itself - artificial intelligence.

If you are new to the world of artificial intelligence, or even if you want a refresher, you have come to the right place.

In this article, we tackle the concept of artificial intelligence by answering the following questions:

What is artificial intelligence?
Where is artificial intelligence used?
What comes next?

Let’s dive in. 🤿

What is artificial intelligence?

As the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary suggests, artificial intelligence, or AI in short, is the “study and development of computer systems that can copy intelligent human behaviour”. In other words, AI is any programme that can mimic what a human would do in a specific given situation.

For example, if you have ever set up a streaming service account, you will remember the programme asking you to insert series and films that you have enjoyed in the past. You might not think anything about this, but by indicating what you like watching, the streaming service is able, by using AI, to recommend something else that you might like. 📽️

The AI combs through all possible variables indicated in your selection - perhaps you like one specific genre, or one particular actor, or maybe you only watch series where episodes are 20 minutes - and gives back the recommendations that you will most probably like, based on the variables. By indicating what you like, you help AI learn. After learning, AI focuses on choosing the best option out of all available. And finally, AI is able to continuously correct itself, to achieve the best results possible.

In such cases, AI acts just like a friend would if they knew what films you liked: “Ooh, I remember some time ago you mentioned that you like fantasy movies - there’s this new movie that just came out, you should definitely watch it, I bet you will LOVE it!”. Of course, not all AIs will talk to you, but all of them will mimic human behaviour to achieve a goal - identify something, recommend something, and so on.

Where is artificial intelligence used?

Apart from the already mentioned streaming service recommendations, you will find AI in many other places, even those that you do not realise are using AI-based programmes.

Recently got some spam email that was sent right to the spam folder? AI.
Asked Alexa this morning to play a song? AI.
Chatted with a bot regarding possible mortgage options? AI.
Scrolled through TikTok, liked a video, and now all you see are similar videos? AI.

You will notice right away that the examples of AI above are not the same, neither in what they do, nor in their complexity. That’s because all artificial intelligence systems can be classified into 4 types:

Reactive AI - like a simple game of tic-tac-toe, for example;
Limited Memory AI - self-driving cars, the spam filter, and TikTok recommendations are a type of this AI;
Theory of Mind AI - AI systems that will be able to, for instance, understand human emotions;
Self-aware AI - no examples available yet, as no such systems have been developed.

What comes next?

So since artificial intelligence is so intelligent, and self-aware AI is in the talks already, will robots eventually take over the world? Will this be some kind of “dawn of the planet of the apes” situation, just with robots? 😱

The short answer is probably no.

The longer version - there is no clear-cut answer. In the first section we said that AI is a computer system that can mimic human behaviour. In the second section you saw that the majority of AI systems we find in our everyday life are of the first two categories - reactive and limited memory AIs.

For AI to be intelligent, extensive work goes into it, done by none other than humans. So in other words - what gives the intelligence to the artificial, is the human. And even though there are talks on self-aware AI with cognitive abilities similar to that of humans, it’s not really clear when (or if) such AI would be created, and if it is, there are some serious ethical concerns that would then come into play. 🧬 All things considered, there will always be people who predict apocalypse - with or without self-aware AI. 😉

Graphs inspired by waitbutwhy.com

We hope you learnt something today! Want to learn more about all things robotics, AI, and machine learning? Then keep your eyes open, as we will be posting more educational content on our blog.

Until next time!👋

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