BrittanyHuman evolution is the product of creativity and execution. We first imagine the future, come up with a creative idea, and transform it into something tangible. Decades ago, Sci-fi movies and novels showed us what the future holds in terms of technology. Those ideas were the seeds from which we started working, and today, we have reached the culmination of them. All the technological innovations finally ended with the advent of Artificial Intelligence. It is one of the most fascinating inventions we have ever created, wherein the line between natural and artificial has become blurred.
The evolution of machines has come a long way in the past couple of centuries. From mechanical machines like printing presses and steam engines, to the most sophisticated machines running on Artificial Intelligence, machines have only become closer to matching human intelligence. The purpose of all technological inventions was to outsource our repetitive and laborious tasks, or the kinds where they could augment our physical strengths. But Artificial Intelligence has reached that level of sophistication, where it could not only mimic human intelligence but can also surpass it. Let’s explore in detail to understand the various forms it has taken to infuse itself in our daily lives today.
From Human Intelligence to Artificial Intelligence
Before we dive into Artificial Intelligence, let’s absorb a few thoughts on what intelligence fundamentally means. It is the capability of a living organism to interact with its environment for various purposes, the most basic of which is survival. We first developed intelligence thousands of years ago to overcome our survival issues. Once that was achieved, the intelligence kept on evolving to progressively refine our lives in every possible way.
Invention of Software
Our series of creative endeavours brought us to a pivotal moment in history when we first invented electricity and electric circuits. The flip-flop circuits were like the DNA of machines that were supposed to become alive in the future. A greater sophistication in their arrangements came with the invention of processing chips. These chips became the heart of computers that were initially designed to perform complex calculations and statistical analysis.
As we proceeded, each cluster of functionalities was to be encapsulated in distinct entities running on a computer. And that’s how the concept of software was conceived. These software were designed to fulfill distinct objectives that a company or a person would need. Software for financial analysis, running videos, audios, games, browsing the internet, and so much more, became the lifeline of modern society.
AI as an Abstraction Layer on Software
While software has quickly dominated the modern world over a few decades, there was one essential power still missing in them – decision-making. They had not yet achieved autonomy, based on which they could perform human-like activities. They still needed human supervision to make complex choices and decide which way to run.
That’s when the need for an artificial intelligence arose. This came as the most advanced level of abstraction for the software operations and a significant development that gave machines the power of autonomy. They can perform vast amounts of complex tasks, research, and analysis to produce useful results as per human needs. No wonder they have become an irreplaceable asset in modern lives.
Impact of AI on Modern Lives
The magnitude to which AI has been infused in our lives is difficult to quantify in just one article. The list is endless. Hence, it is wiser to speak in terms of various categories of modern lives in which AI has permeated. Our lives are shaped by the manifestations of three major forces of human intellect – creativity, analysis, and knowledge. Let’s explore the impact of AI on these forces.
AI in Creativity
For centuries, creativity has been one of the most precious human faculties. The task of creative humans was to generate novel ideas and transform them into tangible products like texts, paintings, music, videos, and even code. As machines became more advanced, they acquired this power to generate similar results, though their inner mechanisms differ significantly from ours. But who cares about the inner workings of creative software as long as it can produce assets at par with humans, and sometimes even surpass the quality?
That’s what Generative AI has been able to achieve. It can generate texts, images, videos, audios, and code with enhanced quality that is consumable in modern society. Tools like ChatGPT can generate texts, and DALL-E can generate images. GenAI is also becoming useful in enhancing the software professional’s capabilities, where testRigor, as an AI tool for software testing, can generate test cases automatically based on human prompts.
AI in Analysis
Software were long used for performing complex calculations and analysis. But they still needed static data to perform those tasks. AI has taken this feature to a whole new level, where it can perform live analysis based on real-time data streams. The social media reels you are scrolling, the Netflix suggestions, and the product recommendations on e-commerce websites are all using the predictive analysis feature of AI in the background. These systems study consumer behaviours in real-time and generate content and suggestions to match their preferences. If a human connection of yours knows you well, they can suggest what movies you would like or what product you should buy. The same function is being performed by AI algorithms, with the only difference in scale.
AI in Knowledge
AI is not only enhancing our productivity and consumption patterns but also contributing significantly to making us wiser. It is a knowledge-generating machine where students, professors, and researchers can access a vast amount of knowledge on any field instantly. While the same results could be achieved through Google in the past, users still needed to go through static websites relevant to their search. But today, GenAI tools like ChatGPT or Copilot can produce curated information for the users. We can specifically ask what topic we are looking for, and the tool instantly generates text on that. No need to browse through different websites to collect all the required information. Hence, AI is prominently accelerating our research capabilities and making us wiser.
Should We Blindly Trust AI?
We must learn from the past that all the major advancements in technology come with both positive and negative sides. The invention of nuclear power is a major example of this. While AI is turning out to be immensely useful in augmenting human intelligence and capabilities to a whole new level, we should also be aware of its drawbacks. This awareness would help us make informed decisions and responsibly use AI.
Biased Responses
One of the major side effects of AI in modern society is cultural, political, and moral bias. We don’t know who is behind all the AI tools that are widespread in use today. What data has been used to train these models? What was the precision level of that data? And what were the inherent biases in them? The AI systems are not self-aware and have no moral values of their own. They cannot judge what is right and wrong by themselves. They are only as good as the training data they have been fed. Hence, it is important to have a critical mindset while consuming AI-generated outputs. And when it comes to using AI tools in professional environments, it is important to validate the AI Models’ results.
Social Isolation
Another implication it leaves on modern society is isolation. People are finding it easier to interact with AI therapists and mentors than the real ones. The obvious reason is that it generates responses based on what gives comfort rather than what is true. AI companions are good as long as we keep them at bay for our objective inquiries. But to replace them with real-life human connections would risk us forming a disillusioned reality of our own and the world.
Closing Reflection: The Path Ahead
No matter how much we try to shield ourselves from this technology, Artificial Intelligence is no longer a choice in modern lives. It has already infused in all aspects of our lives before we can even imagine. Whether you are using a Google Map for navigation, working in the tech or financial industry, or just casually browsing social media, AI is the background force behind all of them. But so far, it is only confined to the digital devices we use – mostly smartphones and laptops. The path ahead from hereon is that it will dominate all the devices we use in our common lives. Our AI-powered cars, electronic gadgets, and even autonomous robots are on their way to collaborate with us in all our endeavours. We are not far from the future where machines will have self-awareness and will become a new species that works for us – hopefully. Once the alignment problem is solved, where we can be sure that a more powerful tool than us acts as our servant, we cannot imagine the future we could shape through it.
