Volume 24
about modeling a problem with re-
June
2018 Edition
spect to a set of similar
examples.
That is why AI inherently relies on huge
data sets to ensure the best results.
It is also why AI struggles to produce
intelligent answers regarding tasks that
have no statistical representation in the
training data.
Indeed, if the data AI is trained on is too
small, not representative enough, or oth-
erwise biased, then the outcome will be
inherently flawed – in other words, inade-
quate for modeling the real world.
(Learn More. Artificial Intelligence experts gathered in Rome as part of the Allianz
Global Explorer Program. Courtesy of Newsplex Now and YouTube.)
In short, biased or otherwise substandard
or limited data inputs will generate biased
Realizing this vision, however, requires discarding the
“black-box” view of AI – in which humans remain willful- or substandard outputs.
ly ignorant of what goes on inside an AI system, simply
Artificial intelligence, then, is not inherently intelligent.
focusing on its inputs and outputs.
Indeed, as AI pioneer Andrew Ng argues, deep
What is needed instead is a more realistic,
hands-on approach – viewing AI as a highly use- learning algorithms are essentially cartoons – no t
models – of the human brain.
ful technology, albeit with limitations, that can
be applied responsibly when paired with human (Professor Andrew Ng is an adjunct professor at Stanford
University where he led Stanford’s main MOOC platform and
monitoring and accountability.
When pondering how AI can be best developed for the
benefit of humanity and how we can
avoid the pitfalls which some are pre-
dicting, it’s instructive to consider what
AI actually is – something which often
gets clouded by the technology’s cool
but often misleading last name, “intelli-
gence.”
taught an online Machine Learning class that was offered to
over 100,000 students, leading to the founding of Coursera.)
Indeed, Artificial Intelligence is not
intelligence at all, it is simply a way in
which algorithms can model certain phe-
nomena based on a large set of related
phenomena.
In short, it’s not about magic – it’s
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