The Evolution of Artificial Intelligence: From Idea to Reality
Before starting the blog, we want to explain what Artificial Intelligence (AI) is:
"Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science focused on creating systems capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence."
These tasks include, but are not limited to Learning, Reasoning, Problem Solving, Perception, Language Understanding and Motion and Manipulation.AI has a wide range of applications across various industries, including healthcare, finance, transportation, entertainment, and more, transforming the way tasks are performed and enabling new possibilities.
When I graduated in 2003, students were already dabbling in AI projects, often creating small robots using basic AI principles. At that time, many of us, myself included, did not pay much attention to AI's potential. Fast forward to today, and AI has become a central topic of discussion, especially after the advent of tools like ChatGPT. It's astonishing to see how AI has evolved; it can now perform tasks that we never imagined possible back then. Today, AI is a valuable resource for people at all levels, from corporate professionals to university students, who frequently rely on ChatGPT for assistance. It’s incredible to think that you can write anything, and it will provide you with an answer. AI has become powerful in 2024 because of better algorithms, faster computers, more data to learn from, and lots of investment and interest from businesses and researchers.
Global interest in generative artificial intelligence has skyrocketed over the past two years. Searches for the term “generative AI” hit a huge score of 100 index points in mid-February 2023, coinciding with the rise of ChatGPT after its launch in late 2022. ChatGPT is just one example of the groundbreaking innovation in Artificial Intelligence. To put it into perspective, the AI market will show strong growth in the coming decade. Its nearly USD 100 Billion value will grow 20x by 2030, up to nearly USD 2 trillion. The AI market covers various industries, from financial services, supply chains, marketing and product making to education and healthcare. So we can expect more industries to adopt artificial intelligence within their business models
Top Challenges in AI in 2024
- The increase in AI technologies contributes significantly to the creation of electronic waste (E-waste). For business owners, this presents a dual challenge: environmental responsibility and the cost of properly disposing of or recycling obsolete technology.
- AI's carbon footprint is a growing concern due to the extensive energy consumption and high costs required to train models, impacting both finances and the environment.
- AI's impact on the workforce, with up to 30% needing to switch jobs by 2030, and its reliance on large datasets heightens data privacy and security concerns, with breaches costing an average of $4.45 million, according to IBM.
- AI brings ethical challenges like bias and accountability, with legal and public backlash risks; a Capgemini survey shows 62% of consumers trust companies with ethical AI interactions more.
In 2024, AI is expected to improve in several important areas.
AI will enhance interactions, personalization, and automation, integrate with IoT for smarter environments, focus on ethics and regulation, and drive innovations through hardware advances and research.
What are the most pressing AI concerns in 2024?
One of the biggest artificial intelligence challenges in 2024 is around AI systems that leverage personal data raising ethical concerns around consent, data minimisation, and purpose limitation. Strict data governance, audits of bias/ fairness, and robust cybersecurity are needed to build trust and prevent unauthorised access or misuse when handling sensitive user information.
