With the humungous development in science and technology, the human race has seen a lot of advancement in recent years. The recent breakthrough in the field is undeniably the evolution and the widespread use of AI in everything from consumer to enterprise applications and so on. 

What Is AI?

Although AI was founded as an academic discipline way back in the year 1956, the year 2022 brought AI into the mainstream due to its widespread familiarity among people. The most popular application for instance is Open AI’s ChatGPT. 

Basically, AI refers to the simulation or the approximation of human intelligence into machines, including the ability to perceive, synthesize and infer information. This adaptation of human intelligence is done through mapping inputs, speech recognition, computer vision etc. To put simply, AI are systems that act like humans.

HOW DOES AI WORK?

The AI systems work by combining large sets of data with intelligent processing of algorithms to imitate and learn from the patterns in the data that they analyze. AI thrives on data and can manipulate the algorithms by learning the behavior patterns of the data set.    

The first step is inputting the data, where the engineer collects the data needed for the AI to perform efficiently.

Next the data is processed and the AI interprets the pre-programmed data and uses it to recognize similar behavior patterns in real time data. 

After processing the data it predicts the outcomes. The predictions can be a success or a failure. In case of failure the AI repeats the process differently. 

The final stage of assessment allows the technology to analyze the data and make inferences and predictions. 

TYPES

There various types of AI that can be classified on various parameters:

Based on Capabilities:

1. Weak or narrow AI – This type of AI cannot perform task beyond its limitations because it is specially trained for certain particular tasks. Example- Apple Siri.
2. General AI -This can act and think like a human on its own. The developments of such systems are still under research.
3. Super AI -These systems could surpass human intelligence and posses cognitive qualities of judgment, planning, communication etc. This is still a hypothetical concept 

Based on Functionality:

1. Reactive machines – These are the most basic type of AI. They do not store past experiences, future actions and only focus on current scenarios.  EG- IBM’s Deep Blue system. 
2. Limited Memory – They store past experiences and memories only for a short period of time. Examples are Self-driving cars that can store recent speed of nearby cars, speed limit etc. 
3. Theory of mind– These AI systems ought to understand the human emotions, people, beliefs and interact socially. These types of machines are still under development.
4. Self–Awareness– With their own consciousness, sentiments and self- awareness, these machines are supposed to be smarter than the humans. 

APPLICATIONS

AI has brought a huge amount of revolution in every sector with its application becoming quite versatile and wide ranging. To elucidate the point further let’s look at the applications in brief in some important arenas:

• BUSINESS

To facilitate a better relationship with their customers, the business is using AI. Ai is definitely a better option to carry out tasks that could be done by robots faster than humans. To get better insights on the customer requirements, the AI is always exploring vast range of data. The inclusion of chatbots in the business websites ensures immediate basic service to the customers. 

• EDUCATION

The traditional methods of teaching have been largely evolved under the influence of AI. The provision of online study materials, incorporation of digital technologies for grading assignments, e-conferencing have largely assisted learning. There are a large number of intelligent AI tutors, online career counseling websites, virtual facilitators that has made e-learning a lot easier. 

• HEALTHCARE

It has set motion for a wide range of revolution in the healthcare sector with advancement in diagnosis, medical equipment, research etc. More significantly, various complex algorithms can be used to emulate human cognition for the interpretation and the analysis of complicated medical data. Many digital applications have also been developed by medical companies like Lybrate, WebMD etc to provide medical assistance to the patients. 

• BANKING

In the banking sector AI is used to detect frauds related to the activities of credit cards and to facilitate online banking. 

• GAMING

The application in this field is quite prominent, with a phenomenal growth in the industry. By the use of machine learning and algorithms, a surreal gaming environment can be brought forward. Implementation of augmented reality and virtual reality has brought in a real-life experience for gamers.  

LIMITATIONS

Although AI is an efficient and mostly a reliable alternative to human work, it has its own set of limitations that has intrigued the users. 

• Mostly, AI cannot make split-second decisions like a real person would, due its lacking of emotions it can often land a corporation in trouble if not properly regulated. 
• Apart from the initial up-front cost being hefty, the regular upgrades and ongoing maintenance requirements may also come across as being costly. 
• AI lacks creativity and originality, with is the core requirement of a successful marketing.
• A large number of critics express ethical reservations about the application of AI. There is quite frankly, no agreement on the privacy, ethic or safety. 
• Unlike human beings, AI lacks the capacity to adapt to changes. 

While there are huge debates regarding how much and in what ways AI’s influence should be limited, it indeed has come around as a blessing in certain areas by providing safety, making tasks easier and so on.

Also Read: Scope of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning