Top 5 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Breakthroughs of 2020
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Another post in a series of articles focused on the historic technological and scientific breakthroughs that made 2020 “The Year the Future Arrived.”
It’s been said that the superintelligent computer would be the last invention humans will ever need to make. The idea being that once the computer is invented that is smarter than humans it could be used to advance futuristic technologies at a faster pace than humans could ever dream of achieving.
Although that day is still some decades off, specialized artificial intelligence systems and machine learning techniques are already successfully being applied to all manner of scientific inquiry and invention to greatly speed technological developments such as predicting the weather, mapping the universe, producing abundant clean energy, and greatly advancing biology and material sciences.
Here are five of the top developments in artificial intelligence unveiled in 2020, “The Year the Future Arrived.”
5. Better Weather Predictions With AI
Weathermen don’t forecast the weather. Computers do. Not just any computers, but some of the most powerful computers on the planet are used to model global weather patterns. Now artificial intelligence systems are being fed decades’ worth of weather data to make predictions much more quickly while using about 7,000 times less computing power. The new AI weather prediction technique will need to be refined before it’s ready for primetime. However, superior AI-powered weather forecasting now appears to be inevitable.
4. AI Accelerates Astronomy
Today’s telescopes and sky surveys are producing some of the most massive datasets in human history. It’s all but impossible for humans to dig through the oceans of data. Now AI is being used to dramatically accelerate the rate at which we are mapping the universe. Machine learning models are now being enlisted to undertake tasks that would take many human lifetimes such as identifying and classifying supernovae and mapping galaxies, as well as hunting for exoplanets. One AI astronomer was able to classify 2,315 supernovae with high accuracy. And another is being used to scan massive data sets from astronomical surveys to map and classify thousands of galaxies and stars. The capabilities of these AI astronomy systems are expected to expand exponentially in the coming decades, blazing exciting new trails into the final frontier and opening up new windows onto our universe.
3. AI Brings Fusion Energy Closer To Reality
AI computed algorithms are being used to fine-tune complex parameters involved in controlling thermonuclear fusion reactions and plasma-based particle accelerators much more quickly and effectively than humans. AI is also being used to speed up design iterations of these technologies. Today, with the help of AI systems, accelerators a fraction of the size of conventional accelerators can focus the world’s most powerful lasers down to a pinpoint allowing scientists to probe the atomic structure of materials. AI systems are also being enlisted to help stabilize the plasma used to initiate fusion reactions. At the current pace of advancements, endless clean fusion energy might be right around the corner.
2. AI Solves Quantum Chemistry
AI scientists have developed a method for probing the complex world of quantum chemistry. AI systems are being used to solve Shroedinger’s Equation to predict the chemical and physical properties of atoms and molecules with unprecedented accuracy and efficiency. The development promises to open up thrilling new frontiers in material sciences.
1. AI Solves Protein Folding
An AI network developed by Google offshoot DeepMind has made a giant leap in solving one of biology’s grandest challenges. The system is capable of predicting the 3D shape of a protein from an amino-acid sequence and promises to vastly accelerate efforts to understand the building blocks of cells and enable quicker and more advanced drug discovery. “It’s a game-changer,” says Andrei Lupas, an evolutionary biologist at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology. “This will change medicine. It will change research. It will change bioengineering. It will change everything.”
