Artificial Intelligence and its social impact

in the future
You have been using products powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) for a while — perhaps without
even knowing it. For example, email spam is detected by machine learning, a subset of AI. Google
translation, Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Netflix’s recommendations, are all powered by AI. While
AI has been around for decades, it is now gaining popularity in the technology world for two main
reasons: a) large data sets, and b) computational power. To make the most of AI you need both.
We have had an explosion in data; in 2010, at the Techonomy conference, Eric Schmit said:
“[e]very two days now we create as much information as we did from the dawn of civilization up
until 2003”. Today, thanks to mobile phones and the Internet of things(IoT), we are creating
quintillion bytes of data daily. We now also have the computational power to process such large
amounts of data.

I’m excited about AI and the impact it will have in our future, particularly in education, healthcare,
and in tackling climate change. We have been waiting a long time for the education system to be
disrupted. Every child is unique and AI will help tailor courses based on the child’s abilities. AI and
machine learning, in particular, will be the modus operandi through which we will have
individualized syllabi and not just “the same class for all” model that has become so unintelligibly
standard across the globe. Mark Zuckerberg is already testing a software that lets students be in
charge of their learnings. Other tech tycoons are also investing in this direction.

In healthcare, hundreds of people die daily simply because of a wrong diagnosis. With AI, the
accuracy of diagnosis can be enhanced significantly and trends in epidemics mapped and
predicted. For example, deep learning is already on its way to diagnose irregular heart rhythms
from ECG better than a cardiologist. In a recent study, Google’s AI algorithm identified diabetic
blindness slightly better than an ophthalmologist. The good news lies not just in increased
accuracy, but also the broader accessibility that these machines will bring making a higher social
impact.

Climate change is something that will impact all of us, and sadly, it will affect those most who have
done least to cause it. AI will be an important tool here as well. For example, using AI to control
street traffic lights can help reduce car emissions (Spokane, WA is already testing this in their city).
Power usage can be optimized and regulated based on demand. Supplementing computer vision
with AI can map the Earth’s surface to track deforestation, predict water shortages, and warn
about other geographical changes.
When AI is implemented in our day to day activities, not only will our lives get more convenient,
but it will also help preserves our resources. Nothing as radical as the movie A.I. will happen in our
lifetime. I predict that none of these changes will happen suddenly, these integrations will be so
slow that you will not even realize that they are happening.

I acknowledge that AI won’t be perfect. In the end, it is we who design AI and the system behind it.
Our flaws and weaknesses will reflect there as well. The prediction will only be as good as the data
fed to it. The biases in data will show in the output as well. But that is again where we come in. We
can use our understanding and judgment when considering the prediction. We can also build
algorithms that detect bias in the datasets. To tackle biases we can make sure that our engineers
are diverse and so is our data, support open data and transparent policies. There is also a well-
founded fear that AI will take away jobs, which is true, but more jobs will also be created.
Machines took away typewriting jobs, but do we miss them? We shouldn’t fear AI but embrace it.
There is a lot that humanity is yet to achieve. AI may be the new electricity but it won’t go
anywhere until we collaborate and build the pipelines that will power our future.

What's the Difference Between Robotics

and Artificial Intelligence?
Is robotics part of AI? Is AI part of robotics? What is the difference between the two terms? We
answer this fundamental question.

Robotics and artificial intelligence serve very different purposes. However, people often get them
mixed up. A lot of people wonder if robotics is a subset of artificial intelligence or if they are the
same thing.

Let's put things straight.

Are Robotics and Artificial Intelligence the Same Thing?

The first thing to clarify is that robotics and artificial intelligence are not the same thing at all. In
fact, the two fields are almost entirely separate.

I guess that people sometimes confuse the two because of the overlap between them: Artificially
Intelligent Robots.

To understand how these three terms relate to each other, let's look at each of them individually.

What Is Robotics?
Robotics is a branch of technology which deals with robots. Robots are programmable machines
which are usually able to carry out a series of actions autonomously, or semi-autonomously.

In my opinion, there are three important factors which constitute a robot:

Robots interact with the physical world via sensors and actuators.

Robots are programmable.

Robots are usually autonomous or semi-autonomous.

I say that robots are "usually" autonomous because some robots aren't. Telerobots, for example,
are entirely controlled by a human operator but telerobotics is still classed as a branch of robotics.
This is one example where the definition of robotics is not very clear.

It is surprisingly difficult to get experts to agree exactly what constitutes a "robot." Some people
say that a robot must be able to "think" and make decisions. However, there is no standard
definition of "robot thinking." Requiring a robot to "think" suggests that it has some level of
artificial intelligence.

However you choose to define a robot, robotics involves designing, building and programming
physical robots. Only a small part of it involves artificial intelligence.

What Is Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science. It involves developing computer
programs to complete tasks which would otherwise require human intelligence. AI algorithms can
tackle learning, perception, problem-solving, language-understanding and/or logical reasoning.

AI is used in many ways within the modern world. For example, AI algorithms are used in Google
searches, Amazon's recommendation engine and SatNav route finders. Most AI programs are not
used to control robots.

Even when AI is used to control robots, the AI algorithms are only part of the larger robotic
system, which also includes sensors, actuators and non-AI programming.

Often — but not always — AI involves some level of machine learning, where an algorithm is
"trained" to respond to a particular input in a certain way by using known inputs and outputs. We
discuss machine learning in our article Robot Vision vs Computer Vision: What's the Difference?

The key aspect that differentiates AI from more conventional programming is the word
"intelligence." Non-AI programs simply carry out a defined sequence of instructions. AI programs
mimic some level of human intelligence.

What Are Artificially Intelligent Robots?

Artificially intelligent robots are the bridge between robotics and AI. These are robots which are
controlled by AI programs.

Many robots are not artificially intelligent. Up until quite recently, all industrial robots could only
be programmed to carry out a repetitive series of movements. As we have discussed, repetitive
movements do not require artificial intelligence.

Non-intelligent robots are quite limited in their functionality. AI algorithms are often necessary to
allow the robot to perform more complex tasks.

Let's look at some examples.

Example: Non-Artificially Intelligent Cobot

A simple collaborative robot (cobot) is a perfect example of a non-intelligent robot.

For example, you can easily program a cobot to pick up an object and place it elsewhere. The
cobot will then continue to pick and place objects in exactly the same way until you turn it off. This
is an autonomous function because the robot does not require any human input after it has been
programmed. However, the task does not require any intelligence.

Example: Artificially Intelligent Cobot

You could extend the capabilities of the cobot by using AI.

Imagine you wanted to add a camera to your cobot. Robot vision comes under the category of
"perception" and usually requires AI algorithms.

For example, say you wanted the cobot to detect the object it was picking up and place it in a
different location depending on the type of object. This would involve training a specialized vision
program to recognize the different types of object. One way to do this is using an AI algorithm
called Template Matching, which we discuss in our article How Template Matching Works in Robot
Vision.

Conclusion and a Confusion: Software Robots

As you can see, robotics and artificial intelligence are really two separate things. Robotics involves
building robots whereas AI involves programming intelligence.

However, I leave you with one slight confusion: software robots.

"Software robot" is the term given to a type of computer program which autonomously operates
to complete a virtual task. They are not physical robots, as they only exist within a computer. The
classic example is a search engine webcrawler which roams the internet, scanning websites and
categorizing them for search. Some advanced software robots may even include AI algorithms.
However, software robots are not part of robotics.