Features of Artificial Intelligence: Complete Beginner Guide

All of us have, at some point, accomplished a certain task just because we had to do it, not because we enjoyed doing it. We found that task to be boring or dull. However, with a machine, you never have to experience similar boredness.

An artificially intelligent system will do and continue doing the task as commanded, no matter how many times it has to do it. Also, such systems make tedious, vast tasks easier for the users.

Example: Dialogflow, a subsidiary company of Google that created Google Assistant. We give so many commands to this assistant in a single day! From "Ok Google, call mom" to "Ok Google, order sandwiches" - the assistant has it all covered. We can also send numerous calendar invitations using this assistant by choosing the time of an event and typing in the guest list.

Data ingestion is one of the most important features of artificial intelligence. Artificially intelligent systems deal with huge amounts of data. Even a small company of about 50 employees has huge chunks of data to analyze.

An artificially intelligent system stores multiple information about multiple entities from multiple sources. All of this appears on the system in a synchronous, or simultaneous manner. The data we are producing is growing exponentially, which is where AI steps in. Such data is dynamically updated and it becomes difficult for regular database systems to ingest it all.

Example: Elucify, which is basically a database of multiple business contacts. Elucify works on a basic principle - give, to receive. The user creates an account and signs in, after which the information of the user's contacts is accessible and shareable by the system. In return, the user gets relevant business contacts, which might be potential customers.

We call it an artificially intelligent system because it essentially imitates or mimics the way the human mind thinks and solves problems. This is what makes AI unique.

Like humans study their environment, draw inferences, and then interact with it accordingly, an AI also successfully attempts to interpret the environment and act suitably. However, it is not entirely possible as of today, but developers and scientists are working on systems that cater to the theory of mind and self-awareness of artificially intelligent systems.

Example: Baidu, a Chinese tech giant which is a search engine that works in the Chinese language, primarily for citizens of China. Baidu also has a voice cloning tool, which can now clone human voice with the help of just 3-4 seconds of audio, as opposed to the previously taken 30 minutes.

AI-enabled systems are designed to observe and react to their surroundings. They not only perceive the environment and take actions accordingly but also keep in mind the situations that might come up in the near future.

The classic example of this characteristic would be a self-driven car. It notes the speed of the cars that are driving around and tries implementing similar speed patterns in traffic, also known as neural networks. Simultaneously, it feeds data into the machine learning algorithms and observes when and how a car is changing lanes.

Example: BMW, a leading German multinational automobile manufacturer, is developing self-driven cars that have fully automated driving. However, the driver can still request control from the vehicle at times. This car will be able to handle most driving situations on its own, giving the driver a break.

We are all familiar with using AI for our businesses, gaming profiles, and more such purposes. Now it is time to take AI one step ahead and hone it, so that governments can use it in disaster management.

Artificially intelligent systems, when fed with data about thousands of previous disasters, AI can accurately predict the future relating to disasters that might occur. Scientists are studying more than a lac of previously occurred earthquakes and similar disasters like tremors and volcanic eruptions, to create a neural network.

Example: Cyclone Fani hit Bangladesh and India in May 2019. The Indian Meteorological Department predicted and tracked this storm beforehand and evacuated about 1.2 million residents of Odisha on time. This helped save numerous lives, and the death toll due to the cyclone was reduced to mere 72 people.

Facial Recognition: Facial recognition systems enable a machine to unlock or provide authorized access to an individual, by verifying or identifying a person's face. A camera fitted into the machine senses the face, and it is compared to a previously stored face in its memory. Most smartphones these days provide facial recognition to unlock the phone.

Chatbots: Chatbots are software that enables a conversation with the user to solve any issues they are facing, via auditory methods or texting. These software simulate human behavior while talking to a human over an application. Many companies have started using chatbots as a means of customer service, like Swiggy and Nykaa.

Example: Swiggy chatbots offer services revolving around issues that customers face when their food is stuck in traffic, or items they ordered are unavailable. The Nykaa chatbot exists to provide product suggestions to users.