The economy of the present world is called an industrial economy. And this world economy based on industry has undergone radical changes during each industrial revolution. We are currently going through another new industrial revolution called the Fourth Industrial Revolution. And one of the main driving forces of this technology-based digital revolution is artificial intelligence or artificial intelligence (AI) [Artificial intelligence (AI)].
What is artificial intelligence?
Among all the creatures of the world, man is distinguished by virtue of his intelligence. Now what do we mean by this intelligence? In fact, by intelligence we mean a holistic form of the ability to think about a particular subject, to make decisions, to learn from previous experiences and to use them to create new knowledge. In whom the above characteristics are visible we can call him intelligent.
The topic that continues to be the subject of maximum research effort in the current information technology era is how to impart intelligence to machines. And artificial intelligence is the technology of artificial intelligence. Literally, artificial intelligence is a system of artificially realizing human intelligence and thought through a computer or computer technology-based device. It is a unique branch of computer science in which human thinking and intelligence are simulated and controlled by computer programs.
The beginning of artificial intelligence
Artificial Intelligence has been a hot topic of discussion since the recent launch of the AI-powered sensational app ‘ChatGPT’, but the practice of it started much earlier.
The term artificial intelligence was first used by computer scientist John McCarthy in 1955. That is why he is called the father of artificial intelligence. Before that, in 1950, eminent scientist and mathematician Alan Turing (Alan Turing) invented a method to verify the artificial intelligence of a machine known as ‘Turing Test’.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
The biggest difference between artificial intelligence machines and humans is in their ability to act. Where people get tired after working for a while or doing the same job continuously, a machine needs no break, it can do the same job accurately for hours.
Artificial intelligence technology basically provides various services by analyzing the previous data stored with it. In this field, various algorithms and machine learning methods are used to analyze large data sets and report different results and predictions. In this case, a significant method is the Artificial Neural Network [Artificial Neural Network (ANN)] which simulates the functioning of neurons in the human body by processing existing data to create knowledge-based computation models.
The model is then applied to various unknown data sets. In fact, neural network, machine learning, deep learning, computer vision, natural language processing, cognitive computing, etc. are collectively an artificial Creates intelligent devices.
Application of artificial intelligence
The main goal of artificial intelligence is to make computers or machines adept at making intelligent decisions through technology so that they can perform tasks performed by humans smoothly. Although the discussion of the technological uses of artificial intelligence is recent, its application has started much earlier and its field of use is also ubiquitous.
In fact, the tasks that humans do are being done through artificial intelligence technology, but the tasks that are difficult or impossible to do by humans are being done effortlessly by technology-based machines.
Consider the words of India’s recent mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-3. The data collector sent there is actually an artificial intelligence robot. On the other hand, in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, sophisticated drones are being used to counter the enemy, which are using artificial intelligence to accurately strike the enemy’s borders.
Currently, in medical science, all complex surgeries are being performed by robots with artificial intelligence which are impossible for humans to perform. Machines with artificial intelligence are being used instead of people to bring various products in big factories.
In modern restaurants, everything from taking food orders to delivery is being done through machines. Even in the field of agriculture, there are technological machines that can do everything from sowing seeds to harvesting without any human help. In fact, today, from education to business, there is no field where artificial intelligence is not applied.
Jobs in the age of artificial intelligence
As a result of the continuous development of artificial intelligence technology, the current question is whether unemployment will increase due to artificial intelligence? Some recent statistics are significant in this field, such as – according to a group of researchers at Oxford University, in the next 120 years, people will be able to complete all their daily tasks with artificial intelligence machines.
Japan, Bangladesh, India and other countries of the world have used artificial intelligence robots to present news, which has also gained popularity. According to the information of the famous US magazine Fortune, at present, about five hundred famous companies in the world are resorting to artificial intelligence in recruiting their employees.
According to a recent statistic by the World Economic Forum, about 14 million jobs will be lost from the global labor market in the next five years. The above, data or statistics may sound alarming, but the truth is that as jobs are lost, new jobs will also be created.
In fact, artificial intelligence is going to threaten jobs that require more manual labor and less thinking or intelligence. For example—various types of data entry jobs, call center jobs, script writing, content writing, bookkeeping, etc. and manual labor jobs like—agriculture, transportation, etc.
Today these jobs are slowly being replaced by artificial intelligence machines. Most interestingly, with the increase in the use of these technologies, new jobs have also emerged, although they are all technology dependent.
In the coming days, the jobs I will see dominated by humans are artificial intelligence experts, information security experts, data analysts, big data experts, business technology experts, etc. This means that our manual labor market will gradually shrink and new jobs will open up for people with technical knowledge, creativity and critical thinking.
The threat of artificial intelligence
Along with shrinking the job market as a result of the continuous improvement of artificial intelligence, what everyone is worried about today is whether these artificial intelligence machines created by humans will pose a threat to human civilization in the future?
According to Newton’s third law, every action has an equal or opposite reaction. Likewise, any job has its pros and cons. With the continuous improvement of artificial intelligence technology, we have created machines with human-like thinking, capable of making decisions depending on the environment, but in different ways.
What is currently being worked on is how to make machines have human-like emotions. And when these characteristics are acquired, they will actually be able to make their own decisions. As a result, their dependence on people will also end. And such a machine, if misdirected, can become even more terrifying than an emotionless, intelligent human over whom humans have no control.
For this reason, various scientists and technologists have expressed an opinion to limit its use considering this harmful effect. Scientist Stephen Hawking (Stephen Hawking) has warned about the abuses of artificial intelligence, which can lead to the extinction of human civilization.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai also thinks that we need to think about the abuses of artificial intelligence and adopt the necessary policies to prevent its abuse. According to prominent businessman and CEO of X Elon Musk (Elon Musk), this development of artificial intelligence is like summoning a monster.
The future of artificial intelligence
With the continuous advancement of knowledge and science, people are getting out of manual labor jobs and trying to do these jobs through various technological devices. In the days to come, this technological development of the device will accelerate.
This continued development of artificial intelligence is expected to surpass human capabilities at some point. For this reason, various countries around the world have banned the use of such artificial intelligence technologies, including ChatGPT. Again, many countries have given permission for the use of these technology products in the light of certain policies.
One thing to keep in mind is that trying to control too much can backfire. Because as we have seen, Cryptocurrency has not stopped due to not being integrated into the traditional transaction system but it is being used as a financial currency in Internet based criminal activities.
Whether artificial intelligence is harmful or beneficial to us may decide the future. It goes without saying that it will depend a lot on us because dynamite was invented for mining but used on the battlefield to kill people, to win wars.
So even good technology can become bad if it is operated by bad people with bad intentions. And if something like that happens, then we also have to be prepared to survive fighting artificial intelligence robots like Hollywood, Bollywood movies.
If something like that does not happen, to keep pace with the technology-dependent world of the future, we must focus on acquiring technical skills. Because in reality the world of tomorrow will be a place where only the fit survive.
Dr. Sojeeb Saha || Associate Professor, Jagannath University
