Anyway back to the future present!
Who is Ben? He is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Western Australia, researching "the development of trustworthy machine learning systems in infection science”, and is part of the Tim Inglis translational research group at the Harry Perkins Institute. He has 5 years' experience working at applying artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques in the infection science domain. He also operates as an independent consultant working on solving problems using and analysing data and developing software.
In other words he probably/definitely knows his stuff! If you would like to have the PowerPoint presentations Ben used, just send me an email (
ianfairnie@gmail.com)
Artificial intelligence (AI) has interested people for many decades with Movies, TV shows, novels all based on the idea of Artificial intelligence leading to human destruction.
This technology has been around for many years but has gained a lot of attention (positive and negative) recently due to advanced tools that have been made available to the public. It now is at a stage where it is changing society, the way we live, work, and navigate our existence
But what is AI? It is a field of computer science that focuses on creating machines, systems, or software that can perform tasks typically requiring human intelligence. These include learning from experience, reasoning, problem solving, understanding natural language, identifying patterns, and adapting to new situations.
AI aims to simulate human cognitive abilities to some degree, enabling machines to perceive their environment, make decisions, and interact with it in ways that mimic human intelligence.
Should we fear AI? In Ben’s opinion the answer is a resounding NO!
AI technology, like any other technology has positives and negatives. It is about informing the public about the appropriate use of these technologies, to enrich and support our existence. And the opportunities that this technology provides are very exciting.
AI has the potential to change society and the way we live. Like any new technology, there is a period of uncertainty and fear amongst the community. So, it is our responsibility to be informed about this technology, and the responsibility of businesses to build trustworthy AI systems.
AI Tools
AI tools are designed to automate repetitive tasks, such as data entry, customer support interactions, and image recognition without human intervention. This automation enhances efficiency, reduces errors, and frees up human resources for more complex and strategic activities.
Sentiment Analysis: AI tools can analyse social media posts, reviews, and comments to determine public sentiment about products or topics.
Language translation: Translate text from one language to another.
Chatbots: Chatbots provide customer support, answer questions and guide users through various interactions.
Text to Image conversion
Document analysis: Review and extract information from legal documents, contracts, and case law
Content recommendations: Suggest movies, music, and shows based on user preferences and history
Content creation: Generate art, music, and written content
Personalised learning: Tools adapt educational content based on individual students
Some AI Tools
Chatbots including ChatGPT, Bard, HuggingChat
AI content creation tools with Jasper, Copy.ai, and Anyword
Grammar checkers and rewording tools like Grammarly, Wordtune, and ProWritingAid
AI video creation with descript, Wondershare, Filmora, and Runway
Machine translation with google translate and DeepL
Virtual assistants including Alexa, google assistant, and Siri
Image generation tools such as DALL.E 2, Midjourney, and stable diffusion.
In Summary:
Many new AI tools are being released and they are very powerful.
We can use these tools to simplify some of the tasks we do on a daily basis, freeing time to do other more meaningful tasks.
Like anything, we want to be mindful of the positives, but also the negatives of using these technologies to make informed decisions about their use.
Ben had so much to tell us about Artificial Intelligence his presentation was split over two weeks, but even then he still knows much more about it than anyone else at Applecross Rotary - so he couldn’t really tell us “All About AI". Now if the topic was AI meaning Artificial Insemination, I bet I know more than he does about AI in sheep and have a published thesis to prove it (supervised by our late member Ray Wales).
