"I, Robot" was one of the most popular movies in its year of release, and also the terminator was exceptionally impressive. But can those things actually happen in reality? Like An AI-powered robot technology getting more powerful than whole human civilization. Let's think about it more clearly.

What is Artificial Intelligence?

Technically, AI is a technology that can assist humans in many things. Through its knowledge and training, it can do things that only humans can do. You can compare it with a child getting born and learning languages, behaviour, and other stuff with time, analysis, and guidance. At present, AI is just a child, but as time passes, it will grow, maybe with proper research and fast progress, it will advance faster than a human cub.

People often think that in future grown-up AI would be dangerous and can do catastrophic things to humans. But I believe that it is not entirely true. Eating food more than your stomach allows causes stomachache; it applies to AI also. How?

If you are using AI to make your life more comfortable and the world a better place, to that extent it can't harm you. But if you are using AI for misguiding society or making yourself overdependent on AI for daily uses then sorry to say it can be dangerous.

AI: Criminal or Saviour?

In future, with an adequate amount of data, AI would be able to know about humans, more than humans themselves know about themselves. It may sound harmful at first place, but at the same time, it can help doctors to detect diseases like cancer way before it could be diagnosed by the behavioural and nutritional analysis of AI from previously diagnosed patients. It can predict natural disaster and suggest the best way to overcome its consequences, with its learning. Yes, it can work this way too.

It just depends on the use cases. It all depends on how we use it, and how much we use it. A knife can be used to perform crimes or to aid chefs in cutting veggies both. That's how you can decide that AI is criminal or saviour.

Case Studies

Let's study more about how AI has been influencing our lives to understand how much it can affect us in future as well.

Target Retailers Story:

A few years ago, a girl was getting coupons and purchase suggestion of diapers, and other pregnant women stuff from Target Retail store magazine. Target retailers AI made the suggestions itself based on previous purchases of the girl. Her father got angry with it as her daughter was just seventeen and according to him not pregnant also. Although at that time, the store apologized to her father about it and stated that there might be some technical defaults in the suggestion generating system. But then after two months her father called the store manager again and apologized that her daughter is pregnant and she had didn't told about it to him. It didn't tool more than a month for that incident to get viral. But how does the system recognized that the girl was expecting?

After a week of that incident, their data analyst revealed that their system has analyzed that 89% of female buyers consume zinc and magnesium rich food product during pregnancy only. So, it just applied that analysis to her also.

Told you it's just about data and analysis.

Netflix:

Everyone knows that Netflix is word's most viewed paid online streaming platform. But how did they got succeeded at such an excellent level?

Well, you are right; it's because of AI. Netflix's Algorithm analyses every action that a user takes. It counts every second that a user spends on Netflix. Its algorithm analysis every pause, every stop, every scroll, every fast forward. It helped them to suggest the best series and movies to their users as per their interest. They are somewhat able to understand every user of them in context of their psychology. They are so much sure about every content shown on their platform to get "hit" because of their analysis. They are able to quickly figure out which content needs to be promoted and which doesn't need promotions. Ultimately, as of today, they are ruling the kingdom, effortlessly.

Amazon:

No doubt that everyone knows that amazon is word's biggest marketplace. But do you know how AI helped them to achieve that? The concept of marketing was simple for amazon, i.e. show users, what they want to see. Let's give you an example, open amazon app, search for a wireless earphone for a week, but don't click on "Buy Now". Then after a week, open your Amazon app, you will your homepage filled with offers on wireless earphones, offer that you can't be able to resist. And even more astonishing thing would be that most of the offers shown there would be under your budget, and of your interest. It will keep showing those offers until and unless you start showing interest in other product. Even amazon ads that you get to see when you visit other websites will show you those kinds of stuff only that matches with your interest. This is how Amazon algorithm works, technically, it is modern applications of integrated marketing, but with AI powering their marketing techniques. They are getting maximum out of it.

Google & Facebook:

Google & Facebook uses the same techniques and application of AI as other marketers like Amazon and Netflix are using. They are simply powering their marketing skills with AI. The combination of AI with their content marketing and integrated marketing techniques is somehow enabling them to achieve immeasurable success. You may not believe in the first place, that how just by watching something, again and again, influence you to perform something, but practically speaking, "it can".

Yep, "Psychological Hack" is possible.

Conclusion

It is up to you to decide whether AI is good or bad. I just showed you what I have learned about AI. And in my belief that AI or whatever technology that exists can harm us if used with wrong intentions. But yes, if we think about how positively AI can help us, how much lives AI can save, how much AI can better the world, it contradicts a lot of statements like "AI is just an enemy". At the same time, you may question yourself while reading about possible negative consequences of AI that "Is AI really a saviour?".

Quite Confusing.