AI Is Closer Than We Know…

Artificial intelligence is one of the hottest subjects these days, and recent advances in technology make AI even closer to reality than most of us can imagine.

The subject really got traction when Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk and more than 1,000 AI and robotics researchers signed an open letter issuing a warning regarding the use of AI in weapons development last year. The following month, BAE Systems unveiled Taranis, the most advanced autonomous UAV ever created; there are currently 40 countries working on the deployment of AI in weapons development.

Those in the defense industry are not the only ones engaging in an arms race to create advanced AI. Tech giants Facebook, Google, Microsoft and IBM are all engaging in various AI-initiatives, as well as competing on developing digital personal assistants like Facebook’s M, Cortana from Microsoft and Apple’ Siri.

Mark Zuckerberg even wants to create his own version of Jarvis from Iron Man to run his home. At this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos it was stated that artificial intelligence is ushering in the fourth industrial revolution, which will change society as we know it and cost five million jobs by 2020.

Robots are no longer limited to traditional blue-collar jobs, fully automated assembly lines and high-frequency trading algorithms. White-collar jobs are ripe for automation, and robots are replacing bank tellers, mortgage brokers and loan officers in the financial industry. These examples follow strict repetitive rule-based routines, and a machine easily can perform them without any human interaction.

However, a recent development is the beginning of a new era of AI, in which AI can perform complex tasks and must no longer rely on pre-programmed rules for decision-making. Robo-advisor services like Betterment and Wealthfront are rising in popularity, and the hedge fund industry is launching AI-controlled funds that operate completely without human interaction. The co-head of one of these funds predicts that the time will come that no human investment manager will be able to beat the computer. But how is it possible for AI to operate autonomously without any human interaction?

Machine Learning is one of the fundamentals behind AI, was defined by Arthur Samuel in 1959 as the science of getting computers to learn and act without being explicitly programmed. This technology is integral in the development of self-driving cars, IBM Watson and speech and image recognition, as well as solving some of our most challenging tasks, like making sense of the human genome.

Machine Learning has its roots in statistical pattern recognition, and is fundamental in many everyday applications and services, like spam filters and web search algorithms. The fundamental aspect of machine learning is letting the computer program learn from examples. To accelerate Machine Learning development, Google released its machine learning system, TensorFlow, on GitHub, which led to Microsoft following up shortly thereafter.

Deep learning takes the concept of machine learning even deeper (pun intended), and can model complex non-linear relationships consisting of many layers. Deep learning is often mentioned interchangeably together with artificial/deep neural networks, which can be viewed as a biologically inspired programming paradigm that enables a computer to learn from observational data. Deep learning is considered the technique we apply to learn in neural networks.

Quantum computing is the latest and hottest in AI development. Google states they have in collaboration with NASA a quantum computer that is 100 million times faster than a traditional computer. The D-Wave 2X could theoretically complete calculations within seconds to a problem that might take a digital computer 10,000 years to calculate. However, Google states that quantum computing might not be suitable for deep learning.

While traditional computers rely on bits that are either 1 or 0, a quantum computer is based on qubits that can hold a superposition and be both 1 and 0 simultaneously. This state enables quantum computers to crunch data at an exponential rate. While quantum computing may not be suited for deep learning, it could revolutionize the field of optimization in logistics, investment strategies and energy production and consumption.

The road to true artificial intelligence is not paved with a single discipline, but rather a collection of specialized subject matters, techniques and theories that together interact to create some form of intelligence.

I have limited this post to include only a selection of the technologies and techniques applied in AI research and development. For further insight, I recommend looking into evolutionary computing and logic programming (even though I still hold a grudge against Prolog for making me feel too stupid to really understand how it works when I played around with it many years ago).

TechCrunch: 

« The Vocabularist: How We Use The Word ‘Cyber’
The Future Of Big Data – Some Predictions »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

The PC Support Group

The PC Support Group

A partnership with The PC Support Group delivers improved productivity, reduced costs and protects your business through exceptional IT, telecoms and cybersecurity services.

Clayden Law

Clayden Law

Clayden Law advise global businesses that buy and sell technology products and services. We are experts in information technology, data privacy and cybersecurity law.

XYPRO Technology

XYPRO Technology

XYPRO is the market leader in HPE Non-Stop Security, Risk Management and Compliance.

CYRIN

CYRIN

CYRIN® Cyber Range. Real Tools, Real Attacks, Real Scenarios. See why leading educational institutions and companies in the U.S. have begun to adopt the CYRIN® system.

Syxsense

Syxsense

Syxsense brings together endpoint management and security for greater efficiency and collaboration between IT management and security teams.

Guardtime

Guardtime

Guardtime's Black Lantern platform provides real-time cybersecurity and data-centric asset protection.

Cato Networks

Cato Networks

Cato connects your branch locations, physical and cloud datacenters, and mobile users into a secure and optimized global network in the cloud.

Digital Infrastructure Association (DINL)

Digital Infrastructure Association (DINL)

DINL is the leading representative for companies and organisations which are active within the Dutch digital infrastructure sector.

DG Technology

DG Technology

DG Technology is a customer-centric technology expert and business consultant that delivers services and products to minimize your information security, compliance, and business risks.

BlueFiles

BlueFiles

BlueFiles enables users to send encrypted files securely while maintaining full control over recipients, access periods, downloads, and printing.

Cryptshare

Cryptshare

Cryptshare is a communication solution that enables you to share e-mails and files of any size securely.

ProSearch Partners

ProSearch Partners

ProSearch Partners are national talent acquisition specialists exclusively focussing on Technology and Digital talent including Cybersecurity, Data Analytics and Execs.

Intrinium

Intrinium

Intrinium is an Information Technology and Security Solutions company, providing comprehensive consulting and managed services to businesses of all sizes.

Intechtel

Intechtel

Intechtel is a cyber security company, in addition to providing other internet, technology and telephone services.

Moviri

Moviri

Moviri combines security technology engineering, intelligence expertise and our data science DNA to help companies manage digital risk end-to-end.

Swiss Cyber Forum (SCF)

Swiss Cyber Forum (SCF)

The Swiss Cyber Forum (SCF) builds competences and helps its members to mitigate the cyber risks associated with digitalisation.

8com

8com

8com is an established Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) with over 75 employees and customers in over 40 countries.

ShellBoxes

ShellBoxes

ShellBoxes are a leading Web3 company focused on providing top-notch blockchain security and development services.

Theori

Theori

Theori tackles the most difficult cybersecurity challenges from an attacker’s perspective and conquers them as the best strategic security experts.

Bearer

Bearer

Bearer helps modern teams ship trustworthy products with the help of our code security solution built for security, privacy and engineering teams.

Oasis Security

Oasis Security

Oasis is the market leading platform for non-human identity management. Our mission is to fortify cybersecurity defenses by enabling enterprises to efficiently secure non-human identities.