For years, the idea of artificial intelligence has enamored
writers, researchers and business leaders. Now it’s becoming
reality—and changing the workplace.
Not just another HAL
In the 1968 film, 2001: a Space Odyssey, a devious, malfunctioning
computer named HAL used its sophisticated capabilities to wreak
havoc on a mission to Jupiter. HAL could think, talk and make
decisions that closely paralleled the human mind. The futuristic
story—set in a period that preceded personal computers
and the Internet—captured the public imagination. Scientists,
computer programmers and the public began to speculate on the
future of artificial intelligence (AI).
That excitement built to a crescendo in the 1980s, when some
futurists predicted that computers would assume many human
functions and replace people for many tasks. While today’s
factories often rely on smart robots to manage the assembly
line and computers help make decisions for fast food chains,
traffic engineers and the military, the buzz over AI has clearly
subsided. Not until Steven Spielberg’s 2001 film A.I.
did the public once again begin to ponder the possibilities
of a smarter computer.
Nevertheless, artificial intelligence—typically defined
as the ability of a computer to duplicate or amplify human
thought—has become a reality. Computers are pushing the
boundaries of cognition to new limits and extending and augmenting
human capabilities in ways that wouldn’t have been imaginable
to our parents and grandparents. Computers can monitor how
we work and adapt to our needs and preferences. They can monitor
road conditions and adjust settings on a vehicle to promote
safer driving. And, in some cases, researchers have developed
robotic interfaces that mimic human emotions and can interact
with people with a sense of realism.
AI goes to work
One thing that makes AI so difficult is that it not only
requires millions of data elements, it must incorporate
abstract concepts, including common sense, assumptions
and so called “fuzzy logic.” For example, a
human knows that it’s necessary to hold a tea cup
with the open end up and with fingers on the handle in
order to avoid a burn—but a computer doesn’t.
What’s more, it does not understand what a burn is
and what it feels like. For the last quarter century, researchers
have worked to embed such knowledge into programs and computers.
It’s a task that has taken tens of thousands of person
years.
Bridging the gap between research and reality has been at
the forefront of the AI movement. Today, there’s a
growing attempt to embed AI into information systems and
solve real-world business problems. Although the technology
isn’t ready for prime time in certain situations and
it’s not suitable for all businesses, it’s increasingly
clear that artificial intelligence is opening the door to
new capabilities…and opportunities.
According to consulting firm McKinsey & Company, “the
AI-development community has generated techniques that are
beginning to show promise for real business applications.
Like any information system, AI systems become interesting
to business only when they can perform necessary tasks more
efficiently or more accurately or exploit hitherto untapped
opportunities.” The advent of the Web, it notes, makes
it possible to collect and distribute massive amounts of
data.
In some cases, businesses are now turning to AI to manage
large and complex data sets. In certain instances, according
to McKinsey, they’re looking for patterns and rules
in vast numerical data sets. This is a particularly common
approach for spotting patterns, such as the detection of
fraud, where heavy number crunching is required to distinguish
among different sets of items.
Another area of growing interest is rules-based decision
systems, which incorporate vast data sets and complex variables
to identify potential problems for everything from high-risk
deliveries to fleet management. These systems incorporate
complex checklists. The computer weighs dozens—sometimes
hundreds—of variables to come up with a solution that
provides positive results.
Finally, there are autonomous execution systems, a.k.a. “smart
agents” or “bots” that run continuously
within a system, monitoring information as it arrives and
acting on a set of predetermined variables. Bots are ideal
for situations where a specific response is required for
a task. It’s especially useful where there is shared
data that’s available in a common standard, such as
XML.
For example, a company might set a financial system to monitor
invoices that arrive electronically and find those that are
missing a data element or fall outside an accepted range.
A bot might also notify the sender that the invoice needs
updating before the recipient can order payment. Such a system
automates an entire process that would have previously taken
place manually and required human intervention. Other common
uses for bots include sorting e-mail and checking product
pricing on the Internet.
Getting Smart with AI
At present, one of the problems with artificial intelligence
is that it’s a broad term that can mean a lot of different
things to different people…and businesses. In some
situations, it’s too powerful and costly to implement,
while in other instances it’s not sophisticated enough
to solve complex problems. Nevertheless, AI tools that exist
have matured over the last two decades to the point where
many offer real-world advantages. Bots, for example, are
a common tool used to facilitate workflow within organizations
and monitor the Web for specific information or conditions.
Organizations can put artificial intelligence to work today—despite
the fact that it will become far more powerful and commonplace
tomorrow. Researchers are working on myriad applications that
more closely mirror human thinking and actions. In the future,
many of these AI apps will automate and streamline the workplace
immeasurably.
While the fervor and buzz over artificial intelligence has
subsided, it’s no longer the far-fetched stuff of sci-fi
films. These days, it’s fast becoming part of our workplace
and our world.
Reproduced with permission © 2003
Samuel Greengard. To enquire, please email sam@greengard.com
© Copyright 2003. Galt Western Personnel
Ltd. Unless otherwise specified, you may reprint this article,
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