What good will come from AI?
Almost anything to solve that involves huge amounts of data to mine for the answer has an automatic advantage when combined with machine learning algorithms.
That is what AI is doing and it already affects our daily lives. It improves our problem-solving exponentially by finding associations and patterns from large amounts of data.
Medicine?
Imagine how much more efficient and accurate a doctor can diagnose human conditions with the aid of AI’s ability to mine data for answers. A drug company may have thousands of chemical compound candidates for a new drug. It might take years of trials and studies to come up with a list. Then, even more years and trials to actually get to human use. AI could speed up this process by many, many years. One of the many side effects of AI’s use in the drug business is it has already shown the ability to connect the dots between taking one drug for one condition and find out it helps with other conditions. Drug companies call this repurposing. Thalidomide was originally developed for morning sickness and now it has been found effective in treating multiple myeloma. Minoxidil was originally developed for hypertension now it is the basis for hair loss drugs (Rogaine).
The pace and the discoveries of repurposing will go much faster while aided by AI.
Education?
The ability of AI to help personalize pupils learning, with instruction that fits the individual rather than the standard classrooms conformity learning is a much more efficient and effective way to teach. AI can develop a tutoring program based on a student’s weaknesses. AI can provide instant feedback about answers to help guide students in problem solving. There is also the misuse of AI to get answers and write papers for students that want to take short cuts. There has been and always will be the temptation to cheat. There is no doubt about it AI has provided a better platform to use when cheating.
Fight Hunger and Climate Change?
The ability to decipher large amounts of data and view millions of videos and photos to look for issues which would affect agriculture is a huge deal. Things such as temperature and dryness at certain points in the year and patterns that can predict future conditions can be invaluable when making crop and harvest decisions. Finding a better more efficient way to fight climate change could be the result of AI’s ability to scan billions of imputes.
Cybersecurity?
Almost all our critical infrastructure relies of computers and high tech to keep running. Seems like more and more we have problems with hackers from foreign places shutting down governmental and private systems for ransom. AI can detect unusual activity in computer systems, and it is always running behind the scenes to shut down threats, and it is getting better. I got a phone call last year about a charge on my card, that was AI alerting the card company.
Anytime humans figure out a better way to do something we do it. Starting with the wheel right up to today’s AI, that is just the way it is. Here is hoping that AI proves to not be pandora and is a great force for good.
Thanks, Andy McClung CFP ®
Sopohs.com; HSE.Harvard,edu.com; Researchgate.net; Dreamanart/linkedin.com
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Source Wall Street Journal 03/28/24