AI on Azure
Microsoft have Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a big bet and it is only right that we understand exactly what AI is and what it can do for you!
Share that Intelligence
AI takes what we believe requires an intelligent decision-making process and replicates it using a machine rather than requiring human interaction.
John McCarthy coined the term in 1955 at the Dartmouth Conference stating:
“Every aspect of learning or any other features of intelligence can in principle be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it. An attempt will be made to find out how to make machines, use language, form abstractions and concepts, solve kinds of problems now reserved for humans, and improve themselves.”
As John McCarthy rightly predicted AI is no longer a thought, it is being used actively in the world today!
Forget being Artificial this is real!
The world of AI has caused divided opinions on a global scale with industry power houses like Elon Musk, slamming AI saying it is probably humanity’s “biggest existential threat”!
Surely AI is not the end of humanity? Let’s look at some examples of AI in the world today and decide if it really is the end of life as we know it.
- Virtual Personal Assistants
Yes, that’s right our virtual friends like Microsoft’s Cortana, uses AI within our everyday personal devices. Speaking to your device and asking for information such as “Where is the nearest train station?” or “Remind me to pick up Ben from school at 2pm” will get the device to find/relay information or send commands to other applications.
Using many data sources, the Virtual Assistant uses AI to collect information about your requests to better recognise your speech and provide customised responses tailored to you.
- Facial Recognition
Already in use within Surface Pro 4 and above Windows devices is Windows Hello.
Windows Hello asks users to look into the camera and then logs the user into the device if it recognises the users face.
Setting up Windows Hello takes about a minute when you first power up your device and you are then asked to stare at the camera. Windows Hello then scans your face and creates a data representation of your face rather than storing an image.
Microsoft have opened up its facial recognition service within its Face API on Azure. Using the Face API, you can take advantage of Microsoft’s AI platform in terms of cognitive services and bring these services to your own applications. Take Uber’s recent update where drivers must sign in using facial recognition which is an added verification steps for customers safety.
So, do the above AI services look like the end of the world as we know it to you?
What has Machine Learning got to do with AI?
While they are not the same thing they are very closely related.
As mentioned above AI is how you make a machine capable of intelligent behaviour such as speech recognition.
Machine Learning differs as it’s the implementation of compute methods to support intelligence or as Stanford University defines it “the science of getting computers to act without being explicitly programmed”
The fact is you can get AI without the need for Machine Learning — if you build millions of lines of code with decision tree’s and a long list of software rules.
Instead of spending days/weeks coding your software with specific instructions to accomplish one task, Machine Learning is a way of training a machine/algorithm so that it can learn itself.
Training involves feeding vast amounts of data to the algorithm and allowing the algorithm to adjust itself and improve.
The result — a proactive machine/algorithm that can learn on the go
Can Microsoft Azure bring that Intelligence to my business?
As I tell many IT teams, Azure is so much more than virtual machines and storage. Embedded at the heart of Azure is AI.
Microsoft is using AI to improve its own products and services in areas like security, Microsoft Office and the voice assistant, however the vast majority will still TYPE to — Cortana!
The great news is they make these services available for you to enhance your products and services that inevitability will boost your customers experience.
The graphic above shows Microsoft’s AI capabilities — not just in terms of AI Services themselves but other elements of the Azure portfolio including the necessary tools and infrastructure to support you— a superb line up if you ask me!
Some of the most exciting services include:
- LUIS API — no not a friend of mine but rather Language Understanding — it allows end users to talk or type in their own language and receive the best response to questions.
- Data Lake Store — essentially a data repository that doesn’t particularly care about the type or format of the data but allows you to perform fast searches and analytics on huge data volumes from kilobytes to petabytes. (Aimed at big data workloads and utilises the Hadoop ecosystem)
- Azure Bot Service — ever wanted to make communication with your site or service interactive? The Bot Service gives you all the tools to achieve it through voice-based or text-based conversations. You can even get away without the knowledge of coding!
- Computer Vision API — allowing you to compare text, images and video in real time. Particularly useful when looking for irregularities hence many are using it for detection services.
The above services are only a flavour of what the Azure AI Platform offers today. It’s important to note that AI is just one part of the platform imagine using AI with Internet of Things (IoT) device data or with platform services such as Azure Logic Apps — the possibilities are endless!
Review with a view
While this is a brief overview of AI I firmly believe it is game changer. Every business wants speed to market, great customer service and proactive security (to name a few topics). With AI you have the chance to enhance services as well as automate manual processes and become more proactive.
Some will argue that AI will cause redundancies (or as Elon Musk stated, ‘the end of the human race’) but for businesses this is about eliminating those timely repetitive prescriptive processes that a machine can do instead. Does this give us the opportunity to test and push ourselves to take on the more challenging and interesting tasks?!
Others will argue that security is a massive concern with AI posing a real threat. Security will always be an issue in the world we live in today but it’s down to the technology providers to be ensuring security is built into the software from the start.
AI provides an exciting entry to the market for new businesses but also poses a threat to those who wish to “continue as they are” or those that say, “we have always done it this way”
MyMateTech’s Conclusion
With the economy we live in today I believe that everyone wants to make whatever they purchase easily consumable. Making it easy requires automation from within the applications that we use and this comes in the form of AI.
AI is changing the world we live in today with additions such as Self Driving cars, forward thinking thermostats and predictive shopping patterns to name a few already in existence.
It is important that we as humans never feel that machines and robots will rule the world. Instead of resisting them we should look to embrace AI and understand where it can assist us. If it’s a repeatable process then that is where AI can assist, if it is spotting patterns or bringing us suggestions quickly versus us wasting hours trawling through data or products on sites then we must be all for it.
Consumers today want things to be easy and the acquisition and retention of customers will be seen in the businesses which look to adopt AI. After many hours spent on the motorway if there is one thing I am really looking forward to its the self-driving cars!
Looking at the companies in the examples above they are enterprise power houses but the key for smaller businesses is how they can adopt AI — AI is not a one size fits all and that’s why the Microsoft AI Platform has a variety of products and services you can call upon to enhance your offerings.
Let me leave you with this — are you a change resistor or a change instigator? — don’t let AI decide for you!
