Apologists for non-linear growth in the technology sector would better listen to what Gerd Leonhard, futurist and renowned speaker on artificial intelligence (AI), has to say. AI as utility, he contends, will not seek to replace human but augment and empower them instead. He warned that ‘technological unemployment from widespread automation’ has vast consequences.

As a service

Leonhard addressed software architects here and made a presentation on ‘AI as utility – 2020: Observations and foresights,’ hosted by Envestnet India.

It is the offshore centre of Envestnet Inc that provides unified wealth management technology and services to investment advisors in the US.

Leonhard shared his insights into the scope of AI-as-a-service in the future, how it would influence software development and business opportunities, and other related topics.

Analytics techniques are growing in complexity, and companies are applying machine learning and predictive modelling to increasingly massive and complex data sets.

“Artificial intelligence is now a reality. Its more promising application is not replacing workers but augmenting their capabilities – via wearables, visualisation, virtual, or augmented reality.”

When built to enhance and individual’s knowledge and deployed seamlessly at the point of business impact, advanced analytics can help amplify our intelligence for more effective decision-making and more empowered employees, Leonhard said.

Brave new world

Humanity will change more in the next 20 years than in the previous 300 years, he said. For good measure, he made a reference to a Columbia University study.

It suggested that with a fleet of 9,000 autonomous cars, Uber could replace every tax cab in New York City. Passengers would wait an average of 36 seconds for a ride that costs about $0.50 per mile (₹20 per km).

Leonhard also sought to build on computer scientist and inventor Ray Kurzweil’s long-held belief on what the future holds for humans and artificial intelligence - convergence “We are going to directly merge with it; we are going to become AI,” he said. Current exponential growth of computing will continue until human-level intelligence is achieved around year 2029.

Progression of technology (Internet to social, mobile, cloud, to big data analytics) when combined with accelerators (3D printing to renewable energy, Internet of Things, cognitive systems, and robotics) shall provide for a disruptive scenario.

Multiple apps

This opens up a horizon encompassing but not limited to a smart grid, connected car, smart homes, next-generation education, smart cities, next-generation automation, connected healthcare, sharing economy, autonomous vehicles, maker economy (makers instead of consumers), energy Internet (efficient energy network) and logistics Internet (Internet-powered supply chain), leading to an entirely new economic paradigm.

In 2014, Facebook unveiled an algorithm called DeepFace that can recognise specific human faces in images around 97 per cent of the time, even when those faces are partly hidden or poorly lit.

“That is on a par with what people can do. Microsoft object-recognition software for Cortana, a digital personal assistant, can tell its users the difference between two specific dog breeds that look almost identical.”

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