Artificial Intelligence has been playing the villain in our narratives for a long time now. It is about time we realized that it can actually emerge as a hero in a world which we have messed up with our thoroughly irresponsible and selfish behaviour. The human race has a long history of destroying other species. In fact more animal species have been completely obliterated from the face of the earth directly or indirectly by the human beings than by all the other animals and natural disasters combined. Now that there are more of us than we could have wished for, we are trying our best to lead ourselves to extinction by emitting unforgivable amounts of greenhouse gases, polluting the oceans with oil and radioactive junk and killing each other. We are in no position to question the ethicality of a fully fledged AI. What we can do is visit the ways in which AI can ease the pain we have been causing as a race.
Cleaning the ocean
The oceanic junk has created riffs at places. It is not good news for us and very bad news for marine life. The oceanic creatures are forced to consume micro plastic and are exposed to crude oil leaked from ships. The industrial garbage that finds the way to the ocean is poisoning the water for everyone. It is difficult to find the junk on the ocean surface and clean it up. AI can help. Powered with computer vision, automatic drones can spot high intensity of junk on the ocean and set a priority list for cleaning expeditors. AI can also be used to find habitats of certain endangered oceanic species and help use protect them. It can also be used to determine fishing areas so that pools of rare and endangered fish can be protected.
Preventing wildfires
It was not long ago that Australia lost almost its entire population of Koala bears to an overwhelming wildfire. It is very difficult to contain or control a wildfire after it has started. But it can be prevented. There are certain conditions that lead to wildfire. Very low relative humidity coupled with high temperatures in the dry seasons make the most ideal conditions for a wildfire. Artificial Intelligence powered heat and humidity sensors installed at different locations in a forest can help the forest departments monitor the conditions and get notified whenever there is a possibility of a wildfire. It is not a full-proof method of completely eliminating the fires, but it will help in reducing the number of cases.
Creating vaccines
We are undergoing the greatest health crisis of this century. We have a new, mutating virus which does not have a cure as yet. Before AI the process of creating a drug for any disease would take 12-15 years. The better part of this time would be spent in examining the drug for its reaction to different protein structures. Now, thanks to AI, the procedure takes much less. AI can process millions of possible structures in moments. Thus AI can significantly decrease the time consumed in creating vaccines and medicines.
Thwarting climate change
Climate change, a product of global warming, affects everyone from the farmers to the doctors. Our system of life is based on a certain climate. Changes in the climate can totally change a place both culturally and financially. Applied artificial intelligence can play a significant role in halting the process of climate change. AI can help us monitor a lot of metrics that change with climate change. It can help attribute pollution to its makers. That is a small number of cities commit the most numerous acts of pollution and they need to be made accountable. Thus certain areas and cities can be controlled to reduce the overall effect.
These are just a few cases of grave magnitude that can stand proof of AI’s power. This also goes to show the wide range of opportunities you might have after completing an Applied Artificial Intelligence course.
There is an insane amount of opportunities for AI professionals and the future holds even better things for you if you are a student right now. The application of AI in different fields is on the rise. This is the perfect time to start your journey. You can start with the basics of data mining and distribution or leap right into technologies like machine learning and neural networks. There is nothing wrong with staying ahead of the curve.
