Artificial Intelligence: A new paradigm.
A Point of View © 1996
By Paul V. Montesino, PhD, MBA, CSP.
In the late nineteen nineties, as I was finishing my doctoral studies of Computer Technology in Education, a new course in the program with an enigmatic name caught my attention: “Artificial Intelligence.” Read my introduction please, “in the late nineteen nineties.”
It has taken almost thirty years for the term to become the subject of attention of influencers and leaders of governments all over the world. It is time to bring it to our attention as well, all of us, because our natural intelligence is afraid of the new kid on the block, and we still don’t know the consequences and how to deal with them.
Basically, Artificial Intelligence, (AI) for short, is a technology that allows machines to perform tasks that would normally require human intelligence and decision making. It is based on complex algorithms and mathematical calculations and equations that allow the processing of large volumes of data to learn and make decisions based on those calculations. Equations have a particular advantage when it comes time to use them: they don’t change or get upset or sick.
I had met a blind senior technology executive of a well-known company and will remain anonymous, who had a unique skill to move safely around: he made a loud sound with a snap of his fingers producing a loud click, and its reflection on nearby objects and people allowed him to hear who, or what was surrounding him, moving confidently without danger. AI techniques solve specific problems and may be useful in different scenarios. Helping the blind navigate around physical blocks they encounter when they try to move around by replicating the clicks my acquaintance used would be an example. That was the application we saw the first time I took the course. Let me add, just in case you become uncertain of that story, that I am not an expert on Artificial Intelligence. My expertise didn’t go beyond business computer software.
But I will give you a down to earth example that will make it easy to understand if not to blow your mind.
Let’s suppose that your eyesight deviates from what we consider normal, and you must wear eyeglasses in order to read or drive. The eyeglasses are a plastic instrument resting on your ears and nose holding lenses in front of your eyes that help improve vision by correcting refractive errors and other vision issues with the use of lenses adapted to your individual needs.
When you go to see an optometrist or eye doctor, you have to look at certain letters or numbers of varied sizes on a distant screen that they ask you to identify. The person doing the testing uses lenses of different grades of refraction for that purpose and prescribes the ones that allow you to see those letters or numbers clearly. But the test hardware is outside of you as are the glasses that you will eventually wear to correct your vision. I will leave contact lenses for another day.
But, what if? Suppose that you wear eyeglasses that are technically capable of evaluating the eyesight of any person who wears them and can self-adjust its lenses to give you the ability to see normally on the go? This optical wonder would check your vision automatically every time you put on the eyeglasses or by clicking a button on its side to check your vision. And best of all, anybody in your world could wear them. “One- size- fit- all.” Needless to say, these eyeglasses would cost more than the few hundred dollars they cost today, or perhaps be available cheaper at Amazon.
I am not an optometrist and can’t figure out how a lens could reflect vision going through and determine the adjustment necessary to make the viewer see better. I suppose it would need some sort of lens cover that would bounce the eye view and determine the needed lens curvature, but cost is important in any type of artificial intelligence, and this is no different. We now see automobiles that park themselves on narrow street spaces, automatic pilots in airplanes are old news, and manufacturers of all industries are offering countless opportunities to decide the best way to build components and make them work. My refrigerator knows exactly when to make ice… and when not. And there is a well-known Toilet Paper AI replacement known to us all. You know the name. It’s called Bidet. No kidding.
I’ve heard that AI can help create images of political candidates of our like, or dislike. That’s where I stop. I’d rather see a naturally intelligent candidate for any office that requires at least a basic understanding of our needs, don’t you? Even dog catchers have to be able to identify poop and know how to pick it without getting dirty.
And that’s my naturally produced Point of View today. Don’t wait for an AI version. It “ain’t going” to happen. So Long.
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