By: Kavya Pothapragada and Abhinav Kotta, 11A

One of the most thrown around words in today’s world is Artificial intelligence - more commonly known as AI.

What exactly is it?

In the simplest of terms, it is the ability of a machine or a computer program to think and learn. Basically, if a programmer were to create a program for certain outcomes, the computer would be able to learn from new experiences just like humans. This makes AI extremely valuable to businesses and that’s why it is taking over the world with such a storm.

So, how does a machine think and learn like a human?

To make a system learn something, the programmer has to feed it some algorithms and some preset data before sending the computer out into the real world to be used. As it encounters new situations that it is unfamiliar with, it finds patterns using its algorithms in these cases and becomes faster at dealing with these types of situations.

Uh oh...does this mean that it will be harder for you to get a job in the future because you would have to battle against computers? No. Even though computers will be able to learn, the world will always need people to verify everything that the computer learns (as well as to make them). For example, commercial airplanes use AI autopilots. If anything were ever to go wrong, everyone would crash and die, but the pilot checks to make sure that the autopilot does not go wrong. Like this, AI can be used in any field from journalism to surgical technicians with experts constantly working with these machines.

 

Explain more...

One example of active AI participation in expert fields is the media. Even though the incorporation of AI into the media began recently, the two areas complement each other nicely. For example, Heliograph and the AI system in Washington Post create numerous articles for the Washington Post in a matter of minutes. Before publishing the article, a journalist proofreads the article and corrects any mistakes that Heliograph may have made.

AI, though just emerging, has become essential for our survival: Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and the Siri on your phone are all examples of AI that you use in everyday life. The incorporation of AI in media is only the start of a truly digitalized world.