Artificial intelligence ( artificial intelligence - AI, in English) is a branch of Computer Science research that deals with developing technological mechanisms and devices that can simulate human reasoning, that is, the intelligence that is characteristic of human beings.
The central objective of research related to artificial intelligence is based on the idea of making computers can "think" exactly like humans, creating analyses, reasoning, understanding and getting answers to different situations.
Not only solving problems rationally, but the big "step" within the studies of artificial intelligence is the development of systems that can learn and self-develop. In other words, it means creating new deductions from the joining of various fragmented information, just as happens within the neurological system of human beings.
Going beyond the cognitive point of view, another great ambition of research involving artificial intelligence technologies is the possibility of making creativity, human emotions and feelings can also be reproduced by the machines.
The idea of artificial intelligence might seem like a science fiction storyline. But thanks to advances in research in the area, significant results are already beginning to appear and become part of people's daily lives.
How does artificial intelligence work?
The union of several technologies is necessary for the development of artificial intelligence, highlighting three important factors:
- machines with great processing power;
- optimized data models (capable of intelligently analyzing and processing information);
- constant amount of information to feed the models.
There are also some laws that developers of softwares artificial intelligence must follow to prevent the technology from taking unexpected actions.
These parameters were created based on the Laws of Robotics or "Asimov's Laws" (named after Isaac Asimov, one of the most important science fiction writers in history). Among some of the principles, highlight on:
- Knowledge restriction: imposes a limit on what artificial intelligence can learn and perform.
- Prohibited to self-replicate: prevents the AI from reproducing, that is, from generating copies of its software independently.
- Interaction prohibition: prevents artificial intelligence from contacting unauthorized people to communicate with them.
- Order: artificial intelligence must obey all orders its programmer enters into the system, even if that includes self-destructing the device.
These "barriers" are useful to limit the scope and participation of artificial intelligence, preventing her from being able to perform actions that were learned but that do not fit with her purpose.
See also the meaning of cyborg.
Examples of artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is present in most people's daily lives, even if they don't realize it. Some basic examples are:
- The technologies that provide the easy recognition in photographs which are available on major social networks, such as Facebook, for example. They consist of forms of artificial intelligence, as the system is able to virtually recognize features of the person's physiognomy and associate it with that individual's profile.
- The ability of some software to "learn" your users' preferences through the experiences obtained it can also be considered a prime example of artificial intelligence.
- Devices using the voice processing to perform tasks, like the Siri on the iPhone, is another example of how A.A is present in people's daily lives.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Artificial Intelligence
Positive aspects
With the use of artificial intelligence, machines can help humans solve problems and enhance searches faster and with fewer errors.
AI can make everyday life more practical, as it would be programmed to interpret different situations and adapt answers or solutions according to each particularity, for example.
Artificial intelligence devices would also be useful to replace the human presence in hard-to-reach places, such as deep-ocean or space explorations.
Negative aspects
Even though there is still a long way to go for the machines to reach the concept as close as possible to what would be the human intelligence, scientists already consider the hypothesis that, in the distant future, artificial intelligence come to be a threat to humanity.
According to researchers and renowned personalities within science such as Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk, the emergence of a technology with the ability to act and "think" autonomously, could mean the overcoming and domination of people, putting at risk the existence of a civilization ruled by human beings.
In addition to this fear, artificial intelligence may still have other disadvantages in the future, such as the replacement of professionals in some areas by machines.
Ethical issues can also be a problem if artificial intelligence technology becomes too similar to the mental processes of human beings in the future.
See also the meaning of Intelligence and types of intelligence.