Types of artificial intelligence: Know the main ones
Technology, one of the main factors responsible for the evolution of our world, has undergone and continues to undergo a constant process of renewal, improvement and enhancement. If decades ago the greatest technological achievement was made up of tools such as computers, cell phones and the internet, today artificial intelligence is the great driving force behind the technological revolution.
And in the corporate world, AIs, as they are called, are already responsible for a huge part of the functioning of companies, and seek to bring to their employees and customers all technological innovations, ranging from interactive chats made without human presence, to security tools that aim to block cyber attacks.
In this article, we will better understand the types of Artificial Intelligence that we already have in our social environment, and how they work and improve our lives. Each AI designed has the function of improving and perfecting our lives in some way.
Understanding the concept of AI
The concept of Artificial Intelligence dates back to the post-World War II period, with the publication of the article ” Computing Machinery and Intelligence ” by the English mathematician Alan Turing. There is a film about him called ” The Imitation Game “, from 2014, which explains his thinking in depth and is worth watching.
Years after the publication of the article, Professor John McCarthy – in 1956 – specifically created the term, referring to the ability that machines could have to solve problems that were previously only solved by humans.
In other words, AI is an intelligence similar to human intelligence, but built on the basis of technological tools, and its objective is to perform actions that, if performed by humans, would be considered intelligent.
AI is important for companies
One of the areas that has benefited greatly from the advance of artificial intelligence is the corporate sector, which sees technological evolution as a huge opportunity to optimize services, improve communication with customers and enhance security systems. In this sense, AIs are not only important, but essential for the growth of companies in various sectors.
The impact of Artificial Intelligence on business is so great that many experts call it a revolution, just as electricity was at the beginning of the 20th century, when it allowed manufacturing to grow to such an extent that it became giants in the commercial sector.
Thus, companies use AI’s ability to automate and augment work to increase profits and improve the efficiency of tasks in companies. Medical companies use AI to assist doctors in diagnoses, banks use it to improve loan programs, and companies in general use it to ensure organizational security, especially in their databases.
Types of Artificial Intelligence
Among so many AIs available on the market, we have selected for you the most relevant and important ones that have been developed today. Check them out!
ANI – Weak Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Narrow Intelligence is an AI system focused on a single objective, which seeks to solve a specific task. For example: the AI used in a chess game builds all imaginable options for moves in the game of chess, in addition to building a database of all the rules of the game. However, its use is limited to the game of chess, unless it seeks to cover more games.
Within this perspective, we still have two possibilities (or subgroups) of ANI, one characterized as 1) Reactive Machines, which have more limited resources, with a smaller data storage capacity and which have the ability to react to more restricted stimuli, and this according to their configuration.
In the process of evolution, reactive machines undergo an advancement, reaching 2) Limited Memory, as a much greater possibility of storing information, which is used in decision-making. Large companies benefit from this advancement, and use it to expand the options for their customers. Let’s take as an example a specific streaming service, which based on the movie you chose to watch will suggest other similar ones.
Well, in this case we are faced with a fully functioning AI, for the benefit of the company and its customers.
Thus, we realize that weak AIs are in almost everything we experience today, whether in a video game, in an automatic chat that you enter from a company, and several other examples, which show us that they are restricted (or weak) precisely because they are focused on a single task, always a consequence of their configuration.
AGI – Artificial General Intelligence (Strong AI)
The second type of Artificial Intelligence, AGI, is still far from our reality, and so far its concept flirts more with science fiction than with our reality.
This is because this type of AI is characterized by the ability to reason, solve problems and make decisions, having the ability to plan, learn and even communicate.
In short, AGI has the ability to mimic human intelligence in such a way that we cannot distinguish one from the other. And it is because of this challenge that this type of intelligence has not yet become a practical reality.
One of the biggest obstacles to this type of intelligence being manifested is precisely the ability to not only learn, but above all to think. Let’s imagine a machine that can memorize an entire dictionary and even “swear”, but cannot understand why this swear word is an offensive word. This lack of understanding, of thinking about why, is still the gap that Artificial General Intelligence aims to fill.
To do this, researchers will need to answer questions such as: “What makes us aware of our own consciousness?” For those who have watched the film “AI – Artificial Intelligence”, by Steven Spielberg, this question must already be memorized, as it is one of the main elements of the entire story.
SI – Artificial Superintelligence
It is a concept still surrounded by a lot of fiction and no reality. It would be a kind of tendency of our humanity, we will reach a point where artificial intelligences would be able to surpass us, and even surpass us.
An AI at this level would have the ability to make decisions and, consequently, think about the choices and actions that will be produced. In the world of science fiction, there is still the million-dollar question: will AIs one day have the ability to love? To feel emotions? Even though technological evolution gives us an answer close to yes, this is a topic that affects not only technology or social evolution, but also ethics and anthropology.
After all, if a machine could not only think, but also feel, what would characterize a machine and what would characterize a human? The distinction between the two would blur and become a major philosophical question.
But all of this is still relatively far from happening, especially because we are in the initial phase of AI.
Conclusion
In this article, you have seen the main types of Artificial Intelligence that the world envisions for our current context, and already thinking about the future. Understanding its types, and, above all, its advances, will provide the reader with the ability to understand what AI we already have around us.
Search suggestions, shopping suggestions, automated chats from retail companies, interactive voices on cell phones, and dozens and hundreds and thousands of other examples make us realize that we are living in the early era of Artificial Intelligence. It is up to us, humans, to make this era characterized by advances in truly necessary areas, such as health, business and well-being.
