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AI: A Beginner’s Guide

July 31, 2024 /

By Mark McNease
with an assist from … you guessed it … AI

For the past few years now we’ve all heard about the dreaded AI and how it is going to replace human life on the planet, or at least put most people out of work. As someone who has never been afraid of technology, though often wary of it, I’ve mostly welcomed the possibilities. Whether it’s designing a book cover, or quickly creating images for blog posts, or using synthetic narration for this website, I’ve welcome the challenges and done my best to stay on top of what’s going on.

AI, broadly speaking, has been in our lives for a very long time. Everything from self-checkout kiosks at the grocery store, to Google maps, to auto-correct, it’s a part of our lives that isn’t going away. It can certainly be used for nefarious purposes, but it’s incumbent on all of us who are able to stay very aware of what we see, read, and hear. AI  in and of itself is not evil, but there are people who can and do use it for evil ends. So let’s take a deeper dive into what it is …

What is AI and How Can It Benefit You?

A beginner’s guide to understanding artificial intelligence and its applications

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is a term that refers to the ability of machines to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as understanding language, recognizing images, solving problems, and learning from data. AI is not a single technology, but a broad field that encompasses many subfields and applications, such as computer vision, natural language processing, machine learning, robotics, and more.

AI is not a new concept, but it has gained a lot of attention and popularity in recent years, thanks to the advances in computing power, data availability, and algorithm development. AI is now used in many aspects of our daily lives, from personal assistants like Siri and Alexa, to social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter (now X), to online services like Netflix and Amazon, to healthcare, education, entertainment, and more. Despite its possible abuses, AI has the potential to improve the quality of life, enhance productivity, and create new opportunities for individuals and businesses.

Among the possible downsides to AI: this broad  technology also poses some challenges and risks, such as ethical, social, legal, and security issues, that need to be addressed and regulated. AI is not a magic solution that can solve all the problems in the world, but a powerful tool that can be used for good or evil, depending on how we use it and what we value. Let’s take a look at what AI actually is and what it can do.

What is AI?

AI is a broad and complex field that can be defined in different ways, depending on the perspective and the goal. One common way to define AI is by comparing it to human intelligence and abilities. For example, John McCarthy, one of the pioneers of AI, defined it as “the science and engineering of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs”.

Another way to define AI is by describing the tasks and functions that it can perform, such as reasoning, learning, planning, decision making, perception, and communication. For example, Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig, two leading AI researchers, defined it as “the study of agents that receive percepts from the environment and take actions that affect that environment”.

How does AI work?

AI works by using different methods and techniques to process data, extract knowledge, and generate outputs, depending on the type and the goal of the AI system. Some of the most common and popular methods and techniques in AI are:

  • Machine learning: Machine learning is the process of enabling machines to learn from data, without being explicitly programmed. Machine learning uses algorithms and models to find patterns, make predictions, and optimize outcomes, based on the data and the feedback.
  • Deep learning: Deep learning is a subset of machine learning that uses artificial neural networks to learn from data. Artificial neural networks are composed of layers of interconnected nodes that mimic the structure and the function of the biological neurons in the brain. Deep learning can handle large and complex data, such as images, videos, audio, and text, and perform tasks such as classification, recognition, generation, and translation.
  • Natural language processing: Natural language processing, or NLP, is the process of enabling machines to understand, analyze, generate, and interact with natural language, such as speech and text. NLP uses techniques such as tokenization, parsing, stemming, lemmatization, sentiment analysis, named entity recognition, and more, to process and extract information from natural language. NLP also uses techniques such as language modeling, word embedding, attention mechanism, and more, to generate and interact with natural language.
  • Computer vision: Computer vision is the process of enabling machines to see, understand, and manipulate visual information, such as images and videos. Computer vision uses techniques such as image processing, feature extraction, object detection, face recognition, scene understanding, and more, to process and extract information from visual information. Computer vision also uses techniques such as image synthesis, style transfer, generative adversarial networks, and more, to generate and manipulate visual information.
  • Robotics: Robotics is the process of enabling machines to move and act in the physical world, using sensors, actuators, and controllers. Robotics uses techniques such as kinematics, dynamics, control, planning, navigation, and more, to design and operate robots that can perform tasks such as manipulation, locomotion, exploration, and interaction.

How can AI benefit you?

AI can benefit you in many ways, depending on your needs, interests, and goals. Some of the benefits of AI are:

  • AI can help you save time, money, and resources, by automating tasks, optimizing processes, and enhancing efficiency.
  • AI can help you improve your quality of life, by providing personalized services, recommendations, and experiences, based on your preferences, behavior, and feedback.
  • AI can help you increase your knowledge, skills, and creativity, by providing access to information, education, and entertainment, and by enabling new forms of expression and communication.
  • AI can help you solve problems, overcome challenges, and achieve goals, by providing insights, solutions, and opportunities, and by supporting decision making and collaboration.
  • AI can help you make a positive impact, by contributing to social good, environmental sustainability, and human development, and by empowering individuals and communities.

That was a lot to digest, and probably caused a few eyes to glaze over, but it’s a comprehensive look at AI, what it is, what it’s not, and how it can be used to benefit our lives and tasks. It’s also  something we can embrace, ignore, or adapt to in this ever-changing world.