What the Heck is Artificial Intelligence?

When I first started hearing about artificial intelligence (AI) in the news this past year, I got a little paranoid. I've seen Terminator II and "Hal" from 2001: A Space Odyssey. I know what those machines can get up to... No! and thank you. 

Google's Offices in Chicago

However, after an 8+ hour workshop at the Google Cloud offices in Chicago, I felt a bit more comfortable, and even intrigued by the prospects of AI in our daily life. Now, this is not an advertisement or endorsement for Google or AI, it's just a bit about what I was able to learn thanks to the professional developers at Google. I still have serious concerns about AI and how it can be used maliciously. But, like any tool or weapon, it can be used for both good and bad. We, as a society must choose our limitations, and make sure that it's used for good, and for helping others, not hurting them. 

When I got the invite to join Google Cloud for a workshop, I jumped at the chance! It was free, and they provided a FREE LUNCH! Of course I'd go, for the free food specifically. But as I learned, asked questions and listened in, I started to know a lot more about Google's products and plans for the future. If you're not already aware, Google has pretty much indexed the entire Internet. Even the Googler at Google used Google to find the URL for his Power Point presentation. That's how immersed we are in Google!  

Google is an extremely well-developed provider of "AI" technology. When you call a customer service hotline and get an automated response, that's Google. When you send a text to a Chat Bot on a ticket website for a baseball game and it responds, that's likely Google. When you ask Siri what the weather is tomorrow, or if the Cleveland Guardians won the game, Google (probably). 

Inside the Google Cloud

What Google has done is to make AI extremely accessible to any-and-all business owners, both small and large, as well as novice developers like myself. They've created an extremely
user-friendly interface to assist new developers create helpful and interesting Chat Bots, and answering devices. I even built one myself in the Google Cloud building during our workshop. I could call it's phone number and talk to it! I basically created a little automated friend! I know, I've seen the product up close, both the interface, and the underlying code. Google was super generous in providing us such great access to their proprietary systems. 

However, the most important thing I learned, is that AI does not mean the computers and machines have taken control. Humans still have input into this process. Google officials were very clear about this, they want to make sure a real, human, person is manning the steering wheel at all times. Their AI tech is not meant to replace us, but to help us. But, we have to be cautious about how we use this technology as it becomes more and more advanced.