Artificial Intelligence (Research Paper Sample)

Artificial Intelligence Technology Name Institutional Affiliation Artificial Intelligence Technology In Computer Science, the field that specializes in developing Intelligent Agents that cope with real-world problems in the real world environment is called Artificial Intelligence (AI). The concept of developing machines/computers that are intelligent has been one of the main aims of computer development since the inception of the first computer. Understanding intelligence will enable the concept of AI to be understood in detail. Intelligence in machines refers to the mental aptitude to solve problems in a given field, ability to reason and learn from experience or the information in its knowledge base (Grewal, 2014). Therefore, intelligence involves cognitive functions that entail planning, pattern recognition, perception, classification, language learning, memory, attention, and organization (Kok et al., 2015). Intelligence is the highest level that data can achieve after passing through different levels of processing. From the above explanation, Artificial Intelligence can be defined as the branch of Computer Science that deals with the development of machines and software that are intelligent, machines that can think and solve problems that are experienced in the real world (Kok et al., 2015). AI allows development and study of intelligent agents which are capable of taking information concerning their environment and acting on them to take action that will maximize the chances to attain success. It specializes in forming algorithms that can be utilized in software and machine to solve complex problems in a way that will resemble a human's thought process. AI generally involves taking the characteristics that are exhibited in humans and encoding that knowledge in machines as algorithms which will interact with the outside world. The general goals of AI involve developing machines that act rationally and act like humans, and also machines that think like humans and think rationally. Artificial Intelligence is the future of computer development as most machines today have some sort of AI feature to make them more applicable in complex business environments. AI Thoughts Essentially, there are two types of artificially intelligent agents; Strong and weak AI. Strong AI refers to agents that are capable of human intelligence or exceeds it (Armstrong, 2015). The intelligence of these agents has to mimic that of humans regarding performance in intellectual tasks. Strong AI refers to AI that can supersede human intelligence, do typical human tasks, apply background knowledge and attain self-awareness and self-consciousness to some degree. Weak or Soft AI are programs that to some extent use intelligence to accomplish tasks and solve problems but have not incorporated the full extent human cognitive abilities such as self-awareness (Armstrong, 2015). Weak AI involves solving specific problems which require little intelligence to handle. Turing Test To determine whether a machine has achieved intelligence, a Turing test is usually used. It was introduced by Alan Turing who started it as a game. The test involves three participants: a person, an interrogator and a machine capable of intelligence. The interrogator, in a different room, asks the same type of questions to the machine and the person taking their responses in order to differentiate between the machine and person (Kok et al., 2015). If the person manages to fool the interrogator, then the machine is intelligent. To pass the Turing test, a machine has to possess the fundamental intelligent abilities of natural language processing, automated reasoning, knowledge representation and machine learning. Applications of AI 1. Game Playing All games that are computerized have some form of AI in them that enable higher performance. AI is usually embedded in video games especially those that play well against humans. Video games are designed to be utilized by human beings which makes it natural for it to focus on the physical and cognitive abilities (Marr, 2018). The more complex a game becomes, the more human cognitive abilities and skills it requires to complete its challenges. The main objective of adding AI to game playing is to enhance the users' experience by controlling the Non-Player Characters (NPCs) who usually have some sort of intelligence. One of the most widely used techniques that is used to induce intelligence to these NPCs is the Finite State Machine (FSM) which is an algorithm that generalizes all the user's possible encounters then programs a reaction for the possible situations that it will be faced. The reaction will be in accordance with the NPCs' pre-programmed behavior. Such AI algorithms are used in games such as Super Mario and Call of Duty. 2. Speech Recognition This is one of the most sophisticated field of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering which deals with machines recognizing/converting spoken words to digital text that can be understood and processed by the machine. It can also be referred to as speech-to-text or computer speech recognition. Speech recognition also entails voice recognition which is a subset technology that identifies a person by their voice. AI has made this technology possible by allowing computers to handle high-level text mining and natural language processing which enables improved and enhanced customer handling, thus an improvement in customer satisfaction (Alhawiti, 2015). To achieve full speech recognition, the AI that is embedded has to handle challenges such as background noise and accents. Speech recognition is used in a wide range of areas including mobile phones and automated telephony systems. Some of the systems known to recognize speech include Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri. The potential of enhancing speech recognition is limitless with developments that can fully comprehend speech and accents. 3. Natural Language Processing (NLP) This is a sub-discipline of AI which deals with computers being able to understand natural human language. Future technology entails humans and computers interacting with each other without delay in the responses. NLP facilitates this interaction where computers can be able to converse with humans and fully understand its instructions (Garbade, 2015). Reading, understanding, deciphering and making sense of human languages are the ultimate goals of natural language processing. NLP function through an AI subset technology called Machine Learning (ML) which involves storing of words and how they group to form meaning sentences (Bell, 2018). Sentences, phrases and books are fed into the engines of the machines where processing based on grammatical rules and linguistic habit are done. Computers utilize this data to trace patterns in order to form meaningful sentences that it can use as instructions. 4. Expert Systems An expert system is a domain specific system that holds knowledge concerning its application domain and can be used to infer procedures that solve real-world problems that would otherwise require human expertise or competencies (Hadzic, Fetic & Azizovic, 2015). Its ability to function stems from its knowledge base which stores specific knowledge on a narrow domain or field of expertise. Expert systems solve problems which require huge intellectual effort but their knowledge and procedures are derived from the top human professionals who are working in a specific field (domain expert). Therefore, in order to realize a working expert system a domain expert and a knowledge engineer (encodes the domain expert's intellect in a form that is declarative to be used by the system) are required. To cope with the real world environment it employs flexible strategies and human experts for problem-solving. Advantages and Disadvantages of Artificial Intelligence Artificial Intelligence is a technology whose impact can greatly improve the lives of human beings. Through use of cognitive abilities, AI can be used to reduce the various human errors that are usually experienced in day to day activities. AI increases the chances for attaining accuracy which can be applied in space exploration through use of robots (Nadimpalli, 2017). Apart from space exploration, robots with AI can be programmed to perform difficult explor...