Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) may sound like something that could only be seen in sci-fi novels, Hollywood movies and in the far future but we are living in a time where the field of A.I. has taken center-stage. Experts warn that the growth of A.I. is rapid and in 100 years, it will dominate the industry and maybe the planet.
The speaker at Coimbatore Management Association (CMA) was Prof. S.T. Nambi from D.J. Academy of Managerial Excellence. He illuminated the gathering about the most innovative, futuristic and feared topic, ‘Artificial Intelligence’. Humans are the dominant species in the world and what makes us maintain that title is our ability to learn from our mistakes and transfer the solutions to our problems to posterity. The A.I., in this regard is similar to humans. The chess computer ‘Deep Blue’ which was defeated by Garry Kasparov in 1996, after getting upgraded, dethroned Kasparov at ease in 1997.
Today we have the first absolute human like A.I. powered robot that works as a news reader in China’s Xinhua News Channel that made everyone’s jaw drop. We have Sophia, an A.I. robot that can socialize with humans. Though all seem to be endearing, the speculations and unnecessary paranoia about A.I. at present is high and the speaker did his best to erase the doubts. A.I. is already in effect in various forms we encounter. For instance, the CAPTCHA test we face is an A.I., testing us. The security and authentication features like Facial and Speech recognition are also A.I. Our SIRI, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa are A.I. as well. If we use it for betterment, then it will be there to better our lives, said Nambi.
He said the world is investing around $ 39 Billion in A.I and the investment keeps growing. He cited a survey taken by Deloitte and stated that 51% of the companies use A.I. to enhance the features, functions and performance of their product while only 22% have willed to use it to reduce head count. The rest of the companies use it for optimizing business operations.
Nambi mentioned that India’s best brains have already honed their skills in A.I. Management and Development; they now stand 3rd in the world. He proudly stated that the penetration of A.I.in India is higher than most of the countries in the world. He said Boston Consulting Group has ranked India as the World’s top third nation (behind US and China) that uses A.I. prowess in industrial process.
He also highlighted that India extends great financial support to its people whose startups are A.I. centric. The speaker said through Atal Innovation Scheme, a seed capital of Rs. 10 crore will be sanctioned to those said entrepreneurs. He however suggested the gathering that the adoption to A.I. in business should be on an incremental basis (Gradual) and not an immediate transformational basis. The former approach will bring success to the organization and act like a catalyst while the latter is sure to wreak havoc.
He, nonetheless, cautioned that though at present the A.I. doesn’t cause an existential risk to humanity, in time it could be so, as the possibilities are really high. The stated that the survey made by Deloitte also stated that in the near future, cooks, servers, cleaners, movers, warehouse workers and construction laborers will lose their job as employers are considering that A.I. can do these works efficiently and reduce error and expenditure of time. ‘If we use A.I. to augment the human potential instead of replacing them, we can achieve the apex of excellence in all fields’ assured Nambi’. He said greater minds like Stephen Hawkings, Bill Gates and Elon Musk have warned us of A.I. While concluding he assured that if we keep the A.I. to align its goals with ours, there won’t be a time for chaos.