Pixabay Image
Morung Express News
Dimapur | December 27
As 2023 draws to a close, it’s evident that the year has been a path-breaking transformative period for Artificial Intelligence (AI).
From breakthrough in research to practical implementations across industries, AI has continued its ascent reshaping the landscape of technology and society that it feels like the present innovations in the field of artificial intelligence are accelerating at such a blazing-fast pace that it’s tough to keep up.
Indeed, artificial intelligence is shaping the future of humanity across nearly every industry. It is already the main driver of emerging technologies like big data, robotics and IoT. Millions of people now engage with AI-based services like ChatGPT. Copilots—AI that helps with complex tasks ranging from search to security—are being woven into business software and services. Even as advances in AI sparked excitement, fears about impacts on jobs, media, and security also emerged.
According to a report by builtin, roughly 44 percent of companies are looking to make serious investments in AI and integrate it into their businesses. And of the 9,130 patents received by IBM inventors in 2021, 2,300 were AI-related.
It is big round table with companies spending billions of dollars on AI products and services annually and tech giants like Google, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon spending billions to create those products and services while universities around the world are making AI a more prominent part of their curricula.
This year-end-review delves into key developments, challenges and the societal impact of AI in 2023.
Advances in Natural Language Processing (NLP)
NLP, a subfield of AI, saw unprecedented progress in 2023. Language models reached new heights in terms of understanding context, tone, and nuance, making them more adept at tasks such as translation, sentiment analysis, and content creation. Conversational AI platforms became increasingly sophisticated, mimicking human-like interactions and enhancing user experience across various platforms.
According to Dan O’Connell, the Chief Strategy Officer at Dialpad, businesses can leverage natural language processing to enhance a range of industries with the demand for natural language processing (NLP) skills expected to grow rapidly, with the market predicted to be 14 times larger in 2025 than in 2017.
AI in healthcare
The healthcare sector embraces AI with open arms in 2023. From diagnostic tools to personalized treatment plans, AI played a pivotal role in improving patient outcomes. Machine learning algorithms demonstrated their efficacy in early disease detections, drug discovery, and predictive analytics; the integration of AI not only enhanced medical processes but also contributed to the democratization of healthcare services.
According to former Microsoft CEO and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates, AI will reduce the workload on healthcare workers, completing tasks for them like filing insurance claims and drafting notes from doctor’s visits.
Gates sees AI as a way to reduce the death rate for young children—five million children under the age of five die every year—particularly in poor countries, where AI could help patients determine whether they need to seek treatment and AI-linked devices like ultrasound machines could help healthcare workers be more productive.
AI in education
The educational landscape underwent a transformation with the integration of AI tools, personalized learning experiences, intelligent tutoring system, and adaptive assessments became more prevalent. AI helped tailor educational content to individual needs, fostering a more inclusive and effective learning environment, however, concerns were raised regarding data privacy and the need for responsible AI use in educational settings.
A recent article by scroll.in reports that AI tools have ushered in a new way of learning- from helping teach English, to assisting teachers with lesson plans, to identifying pupils at risk of dropping out, such tools are proving useful.
This being evident from a municipal-funded school in Bengaluru among others, where the AI based language device, an Amazon Echo Dot speaker, uses artificial intelligence-enabled voice recognition technology to help the students improve their reading, listening and speaking in English – for some their second language, for others their third.
Ethical consideration and responsible AI
As AI’s influence expanded, so did the scrutiny surrounding its ethical implications, the industry witness a growing emphasis on responsible AI practices, with organizations prioritizing transparency, fairness and accountability, efforts were made to address biases in AI algorithms, and frameworks for ethical AI development gained tractions, reflecting a commitment to creating technology that benefits all of humanity.
This concern on ethics is felt worldwide with the UNESCO and the Slovenian International Research Centre on AI (IRCAI) even calling for papers on exploring the evolving landscape of AI governance scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and students from around the globe for the upcoming Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence which will be convened on February 2024.
Challenges
Despite its positive impact, the rise of AI in 2023 was not without challenges. Ethical concerns, data privacy issues, and the potential for job displacement fueled ongoing debates. Striking a balance between innovation and ethical considerations remains a delicate task, requiring a collaborative effort from industry leaders, policy makers and researchers, technology think tanks has observed.
“I would call this an inflection moment,” pioneering AI scientist Fei-Fei Li said. “2023 is, in history, hopefully going to be remembered for the profound changes of the technology as well as the public awakening. It also shows how messy this technology is.” It was a year for people to figure out “what this is, how to use it, what’s the impact — all the good, the bad and the ugly,” she said.
