It’s important for us all to understand artificial intelligence (AI) so we can get the most out of it.
Quality data is essential for training AI, especially machine learning (ML) models.
AI can assist us in our daily lives but can also help solve big problems like climate change.
Everyone is talking about artificial intelligence (AI). What can it do and how can it make our lives easier and more productive?
AI is already all around us – when we log into our phones using face ID, use social media, or spell check an email. Does it matter if most of us are happy to just use AI without understanding it? We think it matters a lot. Understanding how AI works can help us determine how it can best work for us.
Here are four ways to help understand the basics, ask questions, and make informed choices about AI.
AI is mathematics, not magic
AI is an umbrella term that covers a wide range of systems that work in slightly different ways. Machine learning (ML) is a kind of AI that uses models to enable computers to learn from data and perform tasks.
ML uses mathematics to find patterns in data and create models. Often it requires a colossal amount of data to create an AI model. The more data the model is trained on, the better the AI will perform its tasks.
Large language models (LLMs) are a form of AI that recognise, translate, summarise, predict, and generate text. They form the algorithmic core of text-based generative AI, like ChatGPT. They’re designed to use and understand language in a human-like way.
AI builds maps of the world
ML builds maps of the world that can be used to predict possible outcomes, make decisions, or generate new data.
Watch our video for a visual explanation of how these maps work.
While the outputs of AI may be impressive, they are only predictions based on the data used to train the model. If you train your model on the wrong data, you’ll get an unhelpful result!
For example, in February 2024, a passenger took a major airline to court after its chatbot gave him the wrong advice on requesting a refund. It turned out the model the chatbot was using had been trained on out-of-date data.
AI isn’t good at everything
Despite the dystopian futures presented to us in some movies and TV shows, AI is not going to take over the world. It won’t do a better job of being ‘human’ than humans, any time soon.
That’s because human intelligence and artificial intelligence are different things.
Humans can instinctively understand context and apply common sense to decisions. Humans can exercise judgement, feel empathy, and be creative. Humans can have a sense of the past, present and future, and the feelings attached to those times.
So far, AI is based on patterns within trained data. As a result it is significantly limited in what it can produce.
Some researchers say referring to AI as 'intelligence' is misleading, because all it is really doing is pattern-matching. 'Intelligence', as we commonly understand it, is much more than this.
What’s next for AI?
In the right hands, AI systems can be incredibly powerful tools. They can see patterns humans can’t see and automate complex processes.
The potential of AI to help us solve our nation’s greatest challenges, like climate change and the energy transition, is enormous. But it’s up to all of us to ensure AI is used for the right reasons and at the right time.
By understanding the fundamentals of AI and how it works, you can make informed decisions about when to use it in your own life and help to educate others.
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