Artificial Intelligence: A Friend or Foe

The literal meaning of Artificial Intelligence according to Wikipedia is the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages. But I believe that machines have not only made our day-to-day lives easier and more efficient but also irresistible and more dependent on them. We cannot think of a day without gadgets in our surroundings and computers and robotics gradually replacing them all like E-books, Entertainment devices even electric toothbrushes. So, in this fast pacing influence of machines in our lives let us understand some of its Merits & Demerits of the same.

Application of Artificial Intelligence:-

1. Education: It provides adaptive solutions with personalized experiences as well as home-friendly Internet tutorial sessions.

2. Healthcare: This will benefit by giving diagnostic training with a set of personalized treatments.

3. Agriculture: AI plays a key role by helping check the moisture levels of soil by making precision farming, generating a weather forecast, and ensuring productive crop yields.

4. Infrastructure: By building smart cities, proving better transportation instead of congestion.

5. Data analytics and Research: This can be traced in the Space & Defence sector.

6. National security: Yielding in the, using sensors which help maintain security tracking poaching and border intersessions and also human trafficking.

7. Service Delivery: Like robots providing cyberspace help maintain services to every household and was also helpful during COVID times providing efficient treatment and dealing with communicable disease patients.

8. Environment Sustainability: As door-to-door the usage of E-technology with its Environment-friendly aspects.

Challenges faced by AI:-

1. Manipulation: as in the case of deepfakes

2. Privacy violations

3. Loss of jobs leading to unemployment

4. Transparency: As coding with AI is very difficult it cannot ensure effective transparency.

5. Weapons: The automation of weapons and some auto-generative steps in learning pose a huge threat, to peace & security.

6. Cyber Security.

The issues with AI:-

1. Rise in Inequality

2. Environmental issues with batteries

3. Gender Issues- as this work field has only 22%of its workforce women representative. Even Siri/Alexa has female voice assistance.

4. Unemployment

5. Privacy Issues.

United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisations (UNESCO)'s Recommendations for 2021:-

1. Protecting Data: Individuals should all be able to access or even erase records of their data as they have a Right to Privacy. It also increases the ability of regulatory bodies around the world to enforce this.

2. Banning social scoring and mass surveillance: Member states should consider that ultimate responsibility and accountability must always live with humans and that AI Technologies should not be given legal personality themselves.

3. Helping to monitor and evaluate. Here Ethical Impact assessment can be helpful.

4. Protecting the environment- It incentivizes governments to invest in Green Tech.

-A Blog by Jitisha Shashi Hiremath...