The development of artificial intelligence is shrouded in rumors, speculation and fear. How does AI work today and how can the humanity benefit from its application in the future? Let's try to figure it out.

What is artificial intelligence?

Today, Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of machines and programs to analyze the information received, draw conclusions, and make decisions. A key feature of AI devices is the ability to constantly learn, accumulate knowledge and successfully apply them – that is, the ability to perform actions that the human brain does. Simply put, to think and implement what was conceived: for example, prepare certain cocktails, drive vehicles or diagnose people.

Scientists haven’t yet agreed on the nature of the human intellect, as well as haven’t yet stipulated clear requirements for machine intelligence. However, this doesn’t prevent the successful development of AI technologies in two areas:

• Semiotic. Creation of systems that imitate such processes as speech, thinking, expression of emotions.
• Biological. Creation of neural networks, which are built on a biological basis.

Of course, people can do the work for which artificial intelligence is created. So why do we need AI and does it exceed possibilities of the human brain?

AI advantages

The first studies dedicated to artificial intelligence began in the middle of the twentieth century. The concept of AI as a science was formulated by the professor of Dartmouth College John McCarthy in 1956, and the crown of scientific research was the famous Turing test.

Of course, the debate about whether AI can be considered an intellect to the full extent, is still going on. But this doesn’t negate the fact that smart learning systems make life easier for a person, although lagging behind in terms of development level.

Advantages of artificial intelligence:

• accuracy in data processing;
• possibility to analyze large amounts of information at high speed;
• AI doesn’t require sleep and breaks for lunch; it doesn’t make mistakes due to overwork;
• it is possible to use artificial intelligence in dangerous environment for people.

The use of trained machines and programs in work and life can significantly reduce time, financial costs and increase productivity. For example, with the help of artificial intelligence, which can diagnose melanoma, doctors can more accurately make diagnosis and spend less time for each patient. Accordingly, doctors will be able to help more people for same time period.

Where AI is used today

The potential for using artificial intelligence is very wide, it is already used in many spheres of life: medicine, finance, industry, commerce and, of course, daily graft.

One possible example here is Siri and Alexa voice assistants, which can be downloaded to iOS, Android or Windows. There are also bots in video games that are able to behave in a different way. There are also trained automatic translators, as well as complex systems of smart home.

Artificial intelligence plays an important role in the work of enterprises. It helps to automate many labor-intensive process to such an extent that human participation remains minimal. For example, LG plans to open a factory, where everything from purchasing materials to shipment of the finished product will be under the control of smart systems. The company's management is going to start the production in a new format in 2023.

AI is actively used in robotics. For example, Russia developed the children's robot Emelya, which can recognize speech and communicate, and in the Chinese province of Henan there is a patrolling robot that can distinguish and analyze faces. One of the smart robots called Sophia even got citizenship in Saudi Arabia.

Prospects of artificial intelligence are quite promising: increasing efficiency, convenience, getting rid of tedious routine and automating regular processes. While a relatively new industry faces a number of difficulties in solutions implementation. Nevertheless, according to the McKinsey research, in the coming years the production automation will accelerate. For example, in Russia, China and India, 50% of the work processes will be delegated to smart systems.