Ideas Behind Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is one of the most recent and growing concepts. The concept of AI is the concept of developing computer systems to complete tasks which normally could only be done with human intelligence. The concept of computer software being able to think like humans is an unthinkable accomplishment in the world of technology.
After watching the documentary, “In the Age of AI”, I was able to witness the major outbreak in creating machine learning programs. In 2016, Google created an AI program to play the world famous game of “Go”. A game was set up between AlphaGo and world champion Lee Sedol and was watched worldwide by over 200 million people. In the end, AlphaGo won the game after coming up with moves no human has ever thought of in the game. This was the first major step and opened the door for machine learning for years to come.
For the years following AlphaGo, companies around the world have put AI technology into their own companies. Companies such as Google have created divisions within the company dedicated to artificial intelligence. Google uses AI as a way to track people’s searches, what websites they visit, which leads to Google’s AI programs to learn about you and your habits. This is a scary concept knowing that large tech companies are learning about each of us individually even from a young age. Children using the internet, social media platforms, and other sites have allowed the world to track their own habits. This has always been an issue when discussion concepts such as privacy rights in America. Are these tech companies violating our rights to privacy by tracking all this information about us through internet usage? We have already seen numerous actions begin to take place because of these privacy issues such as Bill 686 which will allow the government to get rid of American TikTok users because of the privacy issues that the government is concerned with. The power behind artificial intelligence in this day and age is beyond our knowledge. Artificial intelligence engineers and programmers will continue to make advancements within the technology world but there is always going to be dangers when using and discussing the advancements of this technology.
Although AI has loads of benefits, the harsh reality is that we still do not know the full powers of machine learning. In 2019, the US created a blacklisted 8 Chinese companies for having been implicated in human rights violations. The US saw these companies and the AI technology they developed as a national security threat. We are surrounded by the technology of AI in our everyday lives whether you know it or not and the fact is these companies know more about you than you would like them to know.
