Title : Artificial Intelligence (AI): Changing Landscape

Date : Dec 07, 2021

Description :

Based on a News Article published in the ‘The Hindu’ on 06^th December 2021 on Page Number 16

 

Useful for UPSC CSE Prelims and Mains (GS Paper III)

 

Context:

 

• Artificial Intelligence (AI), often known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, has made significant advances in scientific and technical innovation in a variety of disciplines.
• It has the potential to significantly alter the way civilian activities and military operations are carried out.
• However, there are concerns about the AI's employment consequences and other ethical difficulties.

 

What is Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how does it work:

 

• It is an area of computer science concerned with the development of computers or machines that are as intelligent as humans.
• It refers to a machine's ability to conduct human cognitive activities such as thinking, perceiving, learning, problem-solving, and making decisions.

• Artificial Intelligence, to put it simply, is the intelligence demonstrated by machines.
• John McCarthy originated the phrase Artificial Intelligence at the Dartmouth Conference, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in 1956. (MIT).
• Under the umbrella term AI, there are two subsets: Machine Learning and Deep Learning.

 

What is the distinction between Deep Learning and Machine Learning:

 

• Machine Learning (ML) is a term that refers to:

• A subset of artificial intelligence concerned with the development of algorithms that can alter themselves without human involvement to produce desired output by feeding themselves structured data.
• Machine learning algorithms are designed to "learn" how to do things by analysing labelled data and then applying what they've learned to create new outputs with new data sets. When the actual output isn't the desired one, they must be retrained through human involvement (errors).

 

• Deep Learning (DL) is a term that refers to:

• A subclass of machine learning in which algorithms are built and work similarly to machine learning algorithms, but there are multiple layers of these algorithms, each providing a distinct interpretation of the data it feeds on.
• Artificial neural networks are a type of network of algorithms that mimic the function of human neural networks in the brain.
• The stacked layers in neural networks put data via hierarchies of diverse concepts, which finally learn from their own faults, therefore deep learning networks do not require human interaction.
• However, if the data quality isn't good enough, even these can produce faulty results.
• Simply defined, the way data is provided to the system is the primary difference between deep learning and machine learning.
• Deep learning networks rely on layers of the ANN, but machine learning techniques nearly usually require structured data (artificial neural networks).
• As a result, Data is in charge. The quality of the data is ultimately what decides the quality of the outcome.

 

What applications/benefits does Artificial Intelligence (AI) have:

 

• Self-driving Cars: AI algorithms are one of the most important components that let self-driving automobiles understand their environment. They use feeds from cameras positioned all around the vehicle to detect items such as roads, traffic signals, other cars, and pedestrians.

• Siri, Alexa, Cortana, and Google Assistant are examples of digital assistants and smart speakers that use artificial intelligence to turn spoken words to text and map the text to specific requests. AI aids digital assistants in deciphering subtleties in spoken language and synthesising human-sounding voices.

• Computers have had a difficult time interpreting text across different languages for decades. Deep learning, on the other hand, has revolutionised services like Google Translate. To be precise, AI still has a long way to go before it can perfect human language, but the progress so far has been remarkable.

• One of the most well-known uses of artificial intelligence is facial recognition. It can unlock your phone, pay with your face, and detect intruders in your house, among other things.

 

• Medicine:

• AI has a wide range of applications in the medical field as well. Doctors use artificial machine intelligence to examine patients and their health hazards. It informs them of the negative consequences of various medications.
• Artificial surgical simulators are frequently used to train medical practitioners. Because it can replicate brain functions, it finds a lot of use in identifying and monitoring neurological problems.
• Robotics is frequently utilised to assist mentally ill persons with overcoming depression and remaining active.
• Radiosurgery is a popular use of artificial intelligence. When operating on tumours, radiosurgery is employed, and it can really aid in the operation without causing damage to the surrounding tissues.

 

• Agriculture Sector:

• AI may be used to anticipate planting advisories, pest control advisories, and input control advisories, resulting in higher income and stability for the agricultural community. In addition to remote and locally sensed data, image classification techniques can bring a revolutionary change in - farm machinery use and efficiency, weed eradication, early disease identification, harvesting, and grading.

• Usage in Business:

• Robotic automation is used to do highly repetitive activities, and it performs faster, more smoothly, and more ceaselessly than people.
• Furthermore, to improve customer service, machine learning algorithms are being integrated into analytics and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) platforms.
• Chatbots are being utilised on websites to give clients with immediate service.
• Academics and IT consultancies such as Gartner and Forrester have discussed the automation of job positions.

 

• Sector of Education:

• Artificial Intelligence can automate various educational activities such as grading, awarding grades, and so on, freeing up time for educators.
• It can also analyse students and adjust to their needs, allowing them to work at their own pace.

• AI has the potential to revolutionise where and how children study, possibly even displacing certain professors.

 

• Financial Services:

• Personal finance applications could use AI to aggregate personal data and provide financial advise.
• In fact, software currently trades on Wall Street more than humans.
• Artificial intelligence is used in a smart card-based system to detect financial fraud.

 

• Legal Sector:

• Automation can speed up the resolution of ongoing cases by reducing the time spent evaluating them, resulting in better time management and more efficient legal and judicial processes.

• Manufacturing sector:

• While robots have long been used in manufacturing, more advanced exponential technologies such as additive manufacturing (3D printing) have arisen, which, when combined with AI, can transform the entire manufacturing supply chain ecosystem.

 

• Intelligent Robots:

• With the use of sensors that detect physical data from the actual environment such as light, heat, temperature, movement, sound, vibration, and pressure, robots may perform jobs that would normally be performed by humans.
• They also have powerful computers, several sensors, and a large amount of memory to demonstrate intelligence.
• They can also learn from their mistakes and thereby adapt to the new surroundings.

 

• Gaming:

• In strategic games like as chess, poker, tic-tac-toe, and others, AI plays an important role since the machine can consider a large number of probable locations based on heuristic rules (A set of rules intended to increase the probability of solving some problem).

 

• Cybersecurity:

• It was discussed during the 20th conference on e-governance in India that AI has the potential to boost India's cybersecurity ecosystem and should be investigated further.

 

• Smart Cities and Infrastructure:

• AI is used to monitor usage and control associated systems like pavement illumination, park upkeep, and other operational conditions, resulting in cost savings as well as improved safety and accessibility.
• Intelligent robots are fed information and despatched to explore space in the space sector. They are more durable and have a greater ability to withstand the space and hostile atmosphere because they are machines with metal bodies. Because they're built in such a way that they can't be changed, distorted, or destroyed in a hostile environment.

 

• Mining industry:

• Artificial intelligence and robots can be applied to mining and other fuel exploration activities. Not only that, but these sophisticated machines can be utilised to explore the ocean below, circumventing human limits.

 

• Defence Sector:

• AI-based solutions would benefit the defence forces in areas such as decision support, sensor data analysis, predictive maintenance, situational awareness, accurate data extraction, security, and so on. These tools will aid military personnel in improving their operations, maintenance, and logistics support.

 

What are some of the AI's drawbacks:

 

• Loss of employment:

• Humans being replaced by technology may result in widespread unemployment. Unemployment is a socially unwelcome occurrence. People who have nothing to do can employ their creative minds in negative ways.

• If artificial intelligence becomes widely used, humans may become unnecessarily reliant on machines. They will lose their creative ability and become sedentary.

• Furthermore, if humans begin to think destructively, they can wreck havoc with these machines.

• Bosses who are robots:

• If you have a problem with your present human employer, be grateful that he isn't a cold, emotionless machine, because artificial intelligence is already being used to track employee productivity.

• IBM's Watson has been using AI and Watson Analytics to decide if employees are worthy of a pay raise, a bonus, or a promotion by looking at their experience and past projects to judge the qualities and skills that individuals might have to serve the company in the future, in what appears to be the terrifying nightmares of a dystopian future.

 

• Errors made by humans:

• Although AI can completely eliminate human error from processes, bias and prejudice can still exist in the code.

• Because technology is mostly algorithm-based, it can be programmed to discriminate against people and have a detrimental influence on specific populations.

• For instance, Microsoft's ill-fated chatbot, Tay Tweets, was forced to be put down after only 16 hours of tweeting racist and incendiary comments — ideas it replicated from other Twitter users.

• Worse, if security isn't perfect, hackers can take advantage of AI's insatiable curiosity.

 

• High Price:

• Artificial intelligence requires a lot of money to develop because it is a very sophisticated machine. Their repair and upkeep are extremely expensive.

• They have software packages that must be updated on a regular basis to meet the demands of a changing environment and the requirement for machines to become smarter by the day.

• In the event of a major failure, recovering lost codes and reinstalling the system could take a long time and cost a lot of money.

 

• Replicating humans is unethical:

• Intelligence is said to be a natural gift. As a result, the debate over whether or not human intelligence should be copied persists.

 

• Humans can't be duplicated:

• Machines are devoid of feelings and moral ideals. They can only do what is programmed for them and cannot make moral judgments. They are unable to make decisions when confronted with a circumstance that is unfamiliar to them. In such situations, they either perform poorly or break down.

• Artificial intelligence, unlike humans, does not improve with practise. It can cause wear and tear over time. It has a lot of data, but it can't be accessed or utilised in the same way that human intelligence can.

• Machines are unable to change their responses in response to changing circumstances.

• Nothing beats working with your whole heart and passion in the field of artificial intelligence. The machine intelligence dictionary does not contain the words "care" or "worry." There is no sense of belonging, community, or personal contact. They can't tell the difference between a hard worker and an inefficient worker.

 

• There isn't any originality:

• While AI can assist you in designing and creating, it cannot equal the human brain's thinking capability or the originality of a creative mind.

• Humans are emotional intellectuals who are highly sensitive. They are aware of what they see, hear, think, and feel. Their minds are guided by sentiments, which robots lack altogether. The human brain's natural intuitive capacities cannot be duplicated.

 

• Security & Privacy:

• Concerns about privacy, security, and civil liberties have grown as facial-recognition technology has become more widely available.

 

What is the current state of AI adoption globally:

 

• China and the United Kingdom anticipate that AI-related activities and firms will account for around 26% and 10% of their GDPs, respectively, by 2030.
• In recent years, there have been several actions in various nations involving AI policy views and the establishment of an AI ecosystem.
• Several governments are planning infrastructure supply-side measures in order to create a broader AI development environment.
• Even local governments are becoming more aware of AI's importance and potential, and have committed public funds to research and development.
• Countries are also dramatically expanding their allocation of resources for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM) talent development by investing in institutions, legislating new courses (e.g., AI and law), and implementing retraining schemes in order to create the future workforce for AI.
• The development and applications of artificial intelligence (AI) are quickly evolving, with significant implications for economies and communities. According to a survey conducted by EY and NASSCOM, around 46% of the workforce will be working in wholly new jobs by 2022.

 

What are the potential applications of AI in Indian conditions:

 

• With its own brand of #AIforAll, India has the potential to become a global leader in artificial intelligence.

• It can support the Digital India Mission by assisting with huge data analysis, which is impossible to do without AI.

• The delivery of targeted services, plans, and subsidies can be fine-tuned even more.

• To improve security, smart border surveillance and monitoring is used.

• Weather forecasting models may become proactive, anticipating future disasters such as floods and droughts and thereby tackling the farming problem, farmer suicides, crop losses, and other issues.

• New policies can be established by evaluating big data on road safety and NCRB (National Crime Record Bureau) data on crimes.

• With the help of robots and intelligent equipment, disaster management may be made more efficient and accessible.

• We frequently hear about the loss of CRPF jawans in counterinsurgency and patrolling activities, which can be reduced by deploying the robotic army and less human people.

• Artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to automate government procedures, reducing human contacts while increasing openness and accountability.

• It can be used to research ancient medical literature and, as a result, aid in modernising health care by combining current machines with ancient practises.

• AI can help in the most remote locations, when the last link in the governance chain is virtually severed. In the tribal areas and steep areas of the northeast, for example.

 

 

What policies does the Indian government have in place to foster AI:

 

• On August 24, 2017, a Task Force on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for India's Economic Transformation was established. On January 19, 2018, the Task Force released its report.

• It has proposed the establishment of an Inter-Ministerial National Artificial Intelligence Mission to serve as a central agency for AI-related activities in India.

• The National Institute of Technology Aayog (NITI Aayog) has released a discussion paper on a national AI strategy, which aims to steer research and development in new and emerging technologies.

• NITI has designated five sectors on which it would concentrate its AI efforts:

• Healthcare, agriculture, education, smart cities and infrastructure, and transportation.
• The study examines how India may use transformational technology to promote social and equitable growth.

• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has formed four committees to provide a policy framework and promote the Artificial Intelligence ecosystem. These are the committees:

• The Committee on AI Platforms and Data is a group of people that work on AI platforms and data.

• Committee on Using Artificial Intelligence to Identify National Missions in Key Sectors, Technical Capabilities, Key Policy Enablers, Skilling, Re-Skilling, and R&D Committee

• Cybersecurity, safety, legal, and ethical issues committee.

• The Ministry of Defence's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Task Force analysed research and innovation in AI and outlined its acceptance in the defence industry, including a future roadmap on how to integrate and embed AI plan with a core defence policy.

• A roadmap for creating AI-enabled goods has also been assigned to the Defence Public Sector Undertakings and Ordnance Factories.

• The Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR) in Bangalore is the DRDO's principal laboratory for research and development in many fields of defence and information and communication technology (ICT). It works on high-quality secure communication, command and control, and intelligent systems research and development.

• Projects include NETRA, which is software that can intercept online communication, and SECOS, which is a secure operating system.

• India has joined a group of world leaders that includes the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore in launching the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI or Gee-Pay).

• GPAI is a multi-stakeholder international project that aims to lead the responsible development and use of artificial intelligence in accordance with human rights, inclusiveness, diversity, innovation, and economic progress.

 

What are India's Artificial Intelligence Development Challenges:

 

• Data gathering and utilisation are not supported by enabling ecosystems.

• AI research is rather low-intensity.

• Insufficient AI expertise, personnel, and skilling possibilities are available.

• Adoption of AI in corporate operations has a high cost of resources and a low level of awareness.

• Uncertainty about privacy, security, and ethical standards.

• To encourage AI development and deployment, an unappealing intellectual property framework is in place.

 

What should be done:

 

• Incentivizing the growth of jobs in AI-related disciplines, which could become the new service industry.

• Institutions of informal education should be recognised and standardised.

• Open learning systems and financial incentives for employee reskilling are being developed.

• The current situation's acute shortage of qualified instructors can be solved by creative techniques such as MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses).

• Prescribed certification in partnership with the commercial sector and educational institutions can assure acceptance and use of these decentralised teaching modalities.

• In order to meet market demand, additional investment and engagement with the commercial sector and educational institutions are required.

• A level playing field must be established and an enabling environment must be developed for all participants in the value chain to support the development of sustainable AI solutions at an appropriate price point for sectors such as health, education, and agriculture.

• Because AI is a very collaborative domain, any framework aiming at advancing AI must reflect this. For fostering the development of AI tools as well as the application of AI in diverse domains of activity, a multi­pronged approach involving various stakeholders and promoting a collaborative approach is essential.

 

A path forward:

 

• Despite the risks and hurdles, it would be stupid to claim that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not the way of the future, and that computers will eventually replace the majority of occupations.

• Because we have a history of technological revolutions resulting in beneficial social and political developments in society, such as steam engines, industrial revolutions, and, most recently, computers and the internet, AI is not the end of the road for humanity.

• Nonetheless, there will be more chances in previously unknown industries, as well as more occupations to meet human needs.

Tags : Smart Cities, Cybersecurity, Gaming