TheApolongcanperformdriverlessoperationssuchasobstacleavoidanceandswervingXINHUAInsciencefictionmovieslikeWestworld,robotsareawaking;inBladeRunner,theconsciousnessofrobotsisrising;andinTheMatrix,peoplearetrappedinavirtualworldbyrobots.
Intherealworld,wehaven鈥檛yetreachedtheselevelsofsophisticatedautomation.However,rapidadvancementinthefieldofartificialintelligence(AI)inrecentyearsiscausingsomeconcernthattechnologymayonedaytakecontrolofhumandestiny.AI鈥檚powerhasbeenamplydemonstrated,forexample,bythesuccessivewinsofGoogle鈥檚AlphaGooverthebesthumanGoplayersin2017,whichmadeinternationalheadlines.Goisanabstractstrategyboardgamefortwoplayers.Inthesameyear,SaudiArabiagrantedcitizenshiptoahumanoidrobotcalled鈥淪ophia,鈥漷hatiscapableofdetectingandunderstandingmotion,facialexpressionandspeech,andreactsinhumanfashion.
Onthecompany鈥檚June-18anniversarythisyear,Chinesee-commercegiantJDbroughtitsautonomousdeliveryvehiclestothestreetsofTianjinMunicipalitytobeginautomateddeliveryoperations.It鈥檚hardtoimagineanindustrythatwon鈥檛beimpactedorevendisruptedbyAIinthenextdecade,everythingfromtransportation,real-estateandfinancialservicestoconstruction,fastfoodandcustomerservice.
Withsomuchspeculationandconspiracytheories,thequestionneedstobeasked-canAIreplacehumanbeingsinthefuture?
Extensiveapplication
AIhasbeenrolledoutinvariousareas.Itnotonlyhasliberatedhumansfromtrivialandrepetitivework,butalsocansatisfactorilyaccomplishtasksthatareotherwiseunachievablebyhumanbeings,duetoeitherphysicalorintellectualconstraints.
Computervision,orthescienceandtechnologyofmachinesthatsee,isoneofthemostrapidlydevelopingareasinAI,andresearchershavemadebreakthroughsinrelatedtasks.Forexample,inimageclassificationtasks,themostadvancedneuralnetworkmodelhasreachedabout80percentaccuracy.
Besides,AIiscapableofperformingtaskssuchasspeechrecognitionandtranslationaswellashumans.AImachinescanalsodomanytaskswherelearningandjudgmentisrequired,includingself-drivingcars,insuranceassessment,stocktrading,accountingandhumanresources.
TheAItechnologyemployedbyEqubot,aSanFrancisco-basedcompany,canprocessmoredatathantheportfoliomanagerswhomithas鈥済eneratedunbiaseddecisionsunderasetofinvestmentcriteria,鈥漚ccordingtothecompany.
Soistheworldapproachingajoblessfuture,orwillnewjobsreplacetheonesthatarelost?
Replacementorsupplement
DespiteAI鈥檚rapiddevelopment,thejuryisstilloutonwhetheritwillreplacehumans.
ElonMusk,CEOofbothaerospacemanufacturerSpaceXandelectriccarproducerTesla,haspredictedafuturescenariowhere鈥渟uperAI鈥漺illposerealthreatstotheveryexistenceofmankind,andhumanbeingswillhavetofacethatchallenge.
However,SatyaNadella,CEOofMicrosoft,viewsAIassomethingtobeembracedandnotfeared.
HesaidthatitisuptohumansthemselveswhetherAIwouldprovetobeanaidtohumanityorendupdestroyingit.
LiFeifei,ChiefScientistofGoogleCloudAIandMachineLearning,alsobelievesthathumanshaveultimatecontroloverAIandareabletomakeitworkinharmonywithpeople.鈥淢achinesdon鈥檛haveindependentvalue.Thevalueofmachinesisthevalueofhumanbeings,鈥滾isaidinaninterviewwithXinhuaNewsAgency.
AccordingtoLeiYanan,AssociateProfessorofSchoolofPhysicsatPekingUniversity,despitetheastoundingachievementsofAI,forthetimebeing,itsuseisstilllimitedtoisolatedfieldsandlacksuniversalapplicability.Inmostindustries,professionalsarestillneededanddemandfortheseskilledpeopleishigh.TheseprofessionalsareneededtomonitorandmaintaintheoperationofAIsystems.AIwillthereforebeasupplementforhumanskillsratherthanareplacement,saysLei.
**Commentsto
ChineseIndustriesImpactedbyAI
IntelligentrobotsareusedtosortparcelsXINHUARetailandE-Commerce
Al鈥檚applicationinthee-commerceindustrycouldenhancethepersonalizationofproductsandservices,makedemandforecasts,andmanagesupplychains.FashionAI,developedbyChina鈥檚e-commercegiantAlibaba,couldprovidearecognizableinterfaceforcustomerstousewhiletryingonclothes.It鈥檚abasicscreeninterfacethatusesmachine-learningtomakeclothingandaccessorysuggestionstocustomersbasedontheitemstheyaretryingon.There鈥檚nocamera;itusesinformationembeddedintheitem鈥檚tagtomaketherecommendations.Usingthesystem,customerscanvirtuallytryclotheson,receivefashiontipsandsuggestionsfromtheAI,andthenmakechoicesonthescreen.
Transportation
ArecentreportonpublicrecognitionandsocialattitudestowardAItechnology,releasedbyShanghai-basedFudanUniversityinMay,revealsthatautonomouscarsarethebest-knownexampleinChinaofAI鈥檚hugeimpactonlifetoday.ChinesetechgiantBaiduannouncedinJulythatithasbegunvolumeproductionofChina鈥檚firstcommerciallydeployedfully-autonomousbus.PoweredbyApollo3.0,thelatestversionofBaidu鈥檚openautonomousdrivingplatform,theApolongbuswilltaketoroadsinChinaandabroadinthecomingseveralyears.Thebuswillinitiallybeputtouseinlast-miletravelscenariosintouristspots,airportsandotherenclosedareas.
TranslationService
ChineseAIgiantiFLYTEKhasbeenprovidingreal-timeChinese-to-foreign-languagetranslationandinterpretationservicesforgovernmentorganizationsandcompaniesbothinChinaandabroad.Itslatestmachine,whichcantranslateChineseto33languages,andviceversa,usesworldleadingvoicerecognition,machinetranslation,andvoicesynthesistechnologies.
FinancialService
AIcouldpromoteprocessautomationandimprovethesecurityoffinancialindustriesbyidentityauthentication.Onlyou,anenterpriseintelligentserviceproviderestablishedin2013inChinatoprocessfinancialdataanddigitaltaxreportsonlinebyAItoolforsmallbusinesses,hasbecomeoneofthelargestautomaticfinancialandtaxationdataprocessserviceprovidersintheworld.Inaddition,China鈥檚majortechgiantBaiducooperatedwiththeAgriculturalBankofChinaandbuiltanintelligentbankthatusesbigdata,AIandcloudcomputingonfinancialproducts.Thiscouldprovideintelligentservicesincustomerprofiling,evaluationofcustomercredit,riskmonitoring,andintelligentequityfinancingandinvestmentservices.
Healthcare
SpurredonbytheChineseGovernment,AIhasbeenwidelyusedinmedicalcaresectorinChinainrecentyears.BioMind,developedbyresearchersfromtheAIResearchCenterforNeurologicalDiseasesoftheCapitalMedicalUniversity,madecorrectdiagnosesin87percentof225casesinabout15minutes.TheAIsystemalsomadecorrectpredictionsin83percentofbrainhematomaexpansioncases.ThoughtheuseofAIisstillinitsinfancyinthemedicalfield,andtheaccuracyofdiagnosesbyAIstilllagsbehindthatofseniorprofessionalsinmostcasesatthemoment,itcanmakeproposalstoadoctorandhelpthedoctordiagnose.