Modern Trends of Artificial Intelligence with Regard to Its Application in Day-to-Day Activities - Essay Example

Artificial intelligence has left the perception of fringe research to become part of everyday life with unlimited interactions between humans and machines illustrated in daily activities. Research into artificial intelligence has provided solutions to significant challenges facing various industries such as communication, transport, manufacturing, and the healthcare. This paper seeks to illustrate modern trends of artificial intelligence with regard to its application in day-to-day activities. Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence abbreviated AI, is the study of intelligent behaviour and the attempt to replicate such behaviour in an engineered artefact (Whitby, 2009). This study seeks to understand the behaviour in humans and animals, and the hope to reproduce it after extensive analysis. As such, AI has become a significant subject in computer science owing to numerous studies on intelligent behaviour through computer simulation. The simulations are geared towards influencing similar intelligent traits on to agents that perceive their environment and takes appropriate action to ensure success. The discipline is subdivided into various fields depending on their area of study and application of their product. These fields include statistical analysis, psychology, cognition, biology among others. However, the different fields often fail to communicate with each other owing to social, cultural and ethical factors, which limit the success of artificial intelligence. Although AI research does not aim at wholly imitating human intelligence, evidence exists that suggests human intelligence is a key tacit heuristic to AI researchers and strongly affects AI studies (Prudkov, 2010). In this regard, intelligence is described as a set of properties of mind, which include the ability to plan, solve problems and reason out depending on the presented stimuli. The replication of intelligence based on human and animal behaviour produces intelligent agents, which have the capacity to respond to the environment in natural way. For instance, artificial intelligence in machines coupled with algorithms, enables them to solve complex problems in humanistic fashion. In essence, AI seeks to produce useful machines that are guided by human-like intelligence and behavioural traits. The history of artificial intelligence dates back to mid-1950s where researchers wrote programs that allowed computers to solve algebraic expressions, confirming logical theorems as well as speak English. This application AI holds similar characteristics with the methods used to study cognition in experimental psychology. These methods include the measurement of IQ levels, which requires that the thinking, reasoning and learning skills be gauged to establish the level of perceptual skills.AI and psychology disciplines have naturally interacted with each other to borrow concepts while criticising the weaknesses of the other. However, it is important that psychologist and AI researchers work together as cognitive scientists in order to understand the human cognition and its incorporation into intelligent agents. The success of such research has seen the development of advanced and highly effective technological systems with industrial and social application. These technologies have illustrated the potential within AI research by developing sophisticated methods of solving problems through robust diagnostic and planning systems. Artificial intelligence is housed in sophisticated hardware systems that have evolved over time based on technological advances. Historically, the hardware system was based on vacuum tubes as established with the production of the first generation computers. Over the years, technological advance have seen the vacuum tubes replaced by microchips to build smaller and faster hardware components for artificial intelligence. The hardware is controlled be a set of instruction in the form of software and applications, which perform designated tasks and yield results. The interaction between the hardware and software systems allows the intelligent agents to analyse their effectively environment and produce-desired results. Presently, artificial intelligence has found application in various sectors in the society to enhance efficiency in day-to-day activities. In computer science, technological advances have established an effective means of performing quick statistical analysis, which can be used in the discovery of patterns in areas of study. Such have been employed in metrological facilities to predict accurately weather patterns within a limited period. Similarly, tactical patterns can be formulated using the advancements in AI research during times of war. AI has allowed the use unmanned warfare tactics as evidence by the use of remote controlled drones for surveillance and pacification of an area of interest. Military drones are hardly detected by radar and thus they can fly stealthily over enemy territory to deliver air strikes or gather information (Harris, 2011). In addition, mechanical robots have been developed with the capacity to deliver ground assaults or disarm explosives via remote control. These aim at minimising the number of casualties during the tactical situations. AI systems have also found application in healthcare facilities in diagnosis and treatment of various health conditions. Diagnostic systems are based on AI technology to provide automated diagnosis methods as illustrated by the availability of various equipments such as the MRI, CT, PET and x-ray machines. In addition, medical laboratory equipment heavily relies on automation for analysis of biological samples to render diagnosis results. These systems provide efficiency in the healthcare services by offering quality and accurate diagnosis of different disease condition, which adds value to healthcare. Life support equipment such as ventilators, dialysis machine, heart-lung machines are illustrative of the success in application of AI I the health care sector. Most manufacturing industries rely on automation for their operations and as such, AI technology is employed to handle heavy assembling procedures. This technology is credited for effectively handling highly repetitive procedures, which often lead to mishaps or errors if humans are involved as a result of lapse in concentration.AI technology not only helps in scheduling manufacturing operations but also in performing quality control. Application of AI technology has improved productivity in most industries with large-scale assembly lines. The presence of artificial intelligence systems within the transport and communication industries facilitates smooth operations by handling an enormous number of computations per second. Most telecommunication companies utilise heuristic search systems to manage their workload and create efficient schedules for their workers. In addition, customer service providers have adopted AI technology to respond to numerous calls made to them by customers seeking clarification or new information. The transport industry embraces AI technology to ensure reliability, safety, and a pollution-free environment. This especially so since AI technology addresses most challenges that face the transport industry. As such, AI technology is used in control towers to plot and schedule take offs as well as landings. Automobile traffic has effectively been controlled by AI systems through traffic lights. The technology also allows the mapping of traffic snarl-ups and advice on alternative routes to ease the flow. In addition, most modern electric trains are automated to ease transportation of passengers and improve efficiency of the services rendered. The economic growth of any country requires detailed analysis during the assessment of development potential and evaluation of the social status of its citizens. Such assessment is critical in determination of the gross domestic product to aid in the estimation of the economic growth rates. It is also essential in the formulation of policies that are geared towards the improvement of the economic status of the country. These evaluations are possible through artificial intelligence systems that effectively compute all variables to provide an accurate assessment. Similarly, banks make use of AI systems to process finances, invest and manage stocks on behalf of their clients. Investors in stocks also utilise AI technology to analyse markets and predict future trends. AI researchers have found its application in entertainment where enormous stride have been made to develop interactive entertainment consoles such as the Xbox, PlayStation and Wii consoles. The computer game industry is a major catalyst in the advancements made in computer hardware and software development. The incorporation artificial intelligence facilitates the running of smooth user interface, which enhances the gaming experience (Amanr and Young, n.d). For instance, the utilisation of Kinect in Xbox gaming consoles provides users with a realistic, though virtual, sense of movement where it is detected, processed and analysed to predict the next move. This is further processed and passed on to the AI engine that generates movement inductions to other factors of the game that the user cannot control as evidenced in games titles such as Call of Duty series and Hitman Absolution. Artificial intelligence promises a bright future owing the enormous research within the discipline and the advances made. Presently, AI has become an integral part of everyday life as witnessed by heavy reliance on machines to perform most tasks. Research into intelligence is bound to lead to the development of heavily intelligent robots with the capacity to perform independent actions. The robots would have the capacity to think reason and make independent decisions. In addition, technological advances may lead to the merging of biological beings with machines to create cyborgs. This can be applied in healthcare to provide solutions to ailing persons where mechanical devices are used to replace the defective body organs such as the heart, kidneys, liver among others. References Prudkov, P. (2010). A View on Human Goal-Directed Activity and the Construction of Arti?cial Intelligence. Minds & Machines (2010) 20:363–383. Whitby, B. (2009). Artificial Intelligence. The Rosen Publishing Group Inc, New York. Harris, Michael. (2011). Artificial Intelligence. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish. Amanr, R. and Michael, Y. (n.d). Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Entertainment. Retrieved from http://www4.ncsu.edu/~stamant/papers/links-01-2.pdf.gz Read More