Artificial intelligence is technology manifested by artificially intelligent machines, rather than human or animal intelligence, which includes emotion and consciousness. The difference between the latter and the former categories can be revealed by the popular acronym chosen. Alpha is for artificial intelligence, Sigma is for super intelligent robotic systems, Gamma is for highly complex AI systems, rose is for artificially intelligent robotic systems which are very intelligent. So, what does that all mean to us humans interested in advancing Artificial Intelligent Systems? We need a definition!
We might want to consider Artificial Intelligence as "the" form of intelligence, but then we could also take it another way, as only one type fits the bill. Some call it narrow AI, because it mimics human intelligence well enough to mimic human decision making in a narrow range - decision making based on individual outcomes. This narrow AI can be further subdivided into Machine Aided AIs, or Multi-agent systems, and Mobile Aided Humans, or Massive Aided Human. No matter how you want to put it, Artificial Intelligence is a broad term encompassing many different types of artificially intelligent systems.
One example artificial intelligence system is IBM's Watson, the computerized thinking power with human characteristics. Another is the speech recognition software that IBM introduced a few years ago. The Watson system can understand, extract general intelligence and speech from a variety of sources such as audio files, video files and text files. Its creators describe its "general intelligence" as "evolved customer service's intelligence." Its speech recognition is based on knowledge of human speech patterns extracted from a database of real conversations, both live and recorded.
Now let's look at some narrower terms to define Artificial Intelligence. The Brain Research Institute in New York University states that the definition of Artificial Intelligence is "the study of the human brain and its functions." They go on to state, "we now know that the human brain is capable of complex operations beyond the comprehension of most scientists."
The goal of this book is to define Artificial Intelligence in the most simple terms while at the same time describing a very broad area that is the subject of ongoing research and development. The book starts out with an explanation of the need for machine learning and its importance to education, industry and business. It then describes the development of methods and models for learning in a variety of domains like customer experience, manufacturing and service.
Later in the book, the authors examine the application of the machine learning algorithm to various domains, like medical research. They describe what is called supervised artificial intelligence, or supervised learning. In this case, the algorithm is given specific information about the data and the human being who will receive or provide the training. The algorithm can be taught only what it needs to know in order to perform well and without having to make adjustments based on the personal characteristics of the trainer or the patient.
One example is the self-driving car project, which uses a form of artificially intelligent system to allow the control of the car. In the future, self-driving cars will not only be able to negotiate the roads but will also be able to make decisions about the direction of the car based on the data it receives from onboard sensors. These decisions would be made without any intervention by the driver. Self-driving cars will likely be the first of many artificially intelligent systems that use machine learning as part of their operation.
Experts have described Artificial Intelligence as the collection of software, hardware and other resources that enable machines or people to perform given tasks. Machine learning refers to the development of computer systems that allow computers to understand and make decisions about their environment. As we have seen with self-driving cars, the future of artificially intelligent computer systems will enable human experts to oversee their operation. If you are an expert in any field related to manufacturing, healthcare or other fields consider attending one of the AI conferences to get a feel for the changes in the field.