Over the last few days we’ve scanned many headlines which herald the future of artificial intelligence such as CMR Surgical’s £1bn Series C funding, a company based in Cambridge that is set to launch a surgical robot and Softbank’s plans to open a cafe run by humanoid robots in Tokyo. These headlines are unsurprising – fast developments in AI technology mean that what was sci-fi literature fifty years ago is now becoming a reality.
Nowhere is this easier to comprehend than an exhibition dedicated to the technology. In August we made the most of the longer evenings and made our way to the Barbican for ‘AI: More than human.’ Situated within the Barbican Estate of the City of London, the Barbican Centre has a large space fit for hosting thought-provoking events showcasing cinema, theatre, dance and art.
So when we arrived at the venue, our brains were already switched on to learn more about AI and how it’s transforming the world around us.
Here’s the second part of Account Manager Rose’s review of the exhibition.
Through replicating the human brain, scientists were able to develop the first ‘neural network’ in the form of computer programmes in the early 21st century. Here we were, three quarters of the way through the exhibition, and arriving at the stage where AI began to proliferate into hundreds of applications. What enabled AI to be realised? Partly it was the power of modern computing but it was also work conducted by Alex Krizhevsky, who developed AlexNet (software which successfully labelled 15+ million high-resolution images) that got the ball moving.
The link between this development and other outcomes of AI’s influence were demonstrated by an art piece called ‘Myriad (Tulips).’ By Anna Ridler, the art piece on display was just a fraction of the 10,000 pictures of tulips which she photographed and categorised to highlight the human aspect that sits behind machine learning.
If humans influence AI so much, then can we trust those humans to form a fair representation of the world we live in? Can we rely on humans to use the technology for the betterment of the world? Echoing back to part one, many of us are frightened because at its core AI can be seen to represent a side of humanity that we haven’t quite grasped yet.
The data universe
The human influence on AI was explored in great detail in the third part of the exhibition ‘Data Worlds.’ Bringing to the surface AI’s underbelly, this section opened with a cartoon depicting AI in China, where AI not only monitors cities but also keeps track of its population. Later a human intelligent smart home experiment conducted by Lauren McCarthy was explored, where the relationship between smart devices and the private lives of those who use them was shown. Gender Shades by Joy Buolamwini, examined the misrepresentation of race and gender in datasets. All of this conspired to leave me thinking ‘Is AI a bad move for us?’.
It’s reassuring to know that there are some really inspiring people out there conducting research projects that raise these questions. If no questions are asked, and we go full steam ahead, we may end up with a world that we don’t really want. In the concluding paragraph of an article published in The Economist last week, a clause which rung true for me was ‘If problems can be foreseen they can be more easily prevented.’
But as well as being understandably cautious, we should look at the positives that are coming from AI. The final section of the exhibition ‘Endless evolution’ examined AI’s potential to improve our bodies, eliminate disease and even address famine.
The doctor will see you now
Mental health charity Mind has thrown some perspective on the UK’s worry that more and more of us are struggling with our mental health. Apparently the number of people struggling hasn’t changed but it’s the way that we’re coping with it that has gone in a more serious direction.
In order to properly treat mental health we either need a lot more counsellors, psychiatrists and medication or an alternative provided by technology. One section of ‘AI: More than human’ touched on the human need for connection in a progressively digital world with chat bots programmed to be as human as possible communicating with attendees. Experts are already suggesting that AI could help counsel patients and online counseling services such as the Big White Wall and Ieso are already in place in some UK regions.
Furthermore, AI can help doctors to determine diseases early on to prevent life-threatening outcomes. Just this week, Director of Google Health, Michael Macdonnel talked about an early stage AI-powered system which interprets Optical Coherence Tomography retinal images and identifies the signs of sight-threatening disease.
Other companies are experimenting with 3D printing body parts such as Axial3D’s work towards building 3D models of the anatomy using 2D images. The company has already started work on an algorithm which could potentially mean 3D organs become the norm in a hospital near you.
3D printing organs on-demand could potentially save thousands of people.
What’s eating AI?
‘AI: More than human’ also showed a small plant farm nurtured by AI. Small and innocent enough, it echoed plans that are already underway in UK universities for larger farms to begin using smart sensors. These can collect data to provide a greater understanding of crops from a distance so that providing the right fertiliser or amounts of water can be achieved remotely. More judicious use of pesticides can also prevent harm to the soil.
The world’s population is expected to grow from 7.7 billion to nearly 10 billion by 2050. Pitch this against a finite amount of arable land and we need to start thinking about ways to use technology to sustainably produce food, and fast.
Terramera’s Founder Karn Manhas summed it up in an article in Greenbiz earlier this year. He said, ‘Technology such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and big data might not be commonly associated with ‘natural’ or ‘health’ movements but actually, these advanced technologies are allowing us to eat cleaner, more locally and more sustainably than ever before.’
Robots picking fruit are helping to close the skills gap as well as reduce food waste. Drone pollinators and self-driving tractors are being developed to help drive efficiency and AI is used to make sense of farm data so that farmers can increase the health of crops, boost yields and ultimately provide better quality, affordable food.
If AI can help us feed the planet, then it’s definitely worth the research.
AI overwhelm
All of this AI in one go was a lot to absorb. It took an AI installation of screens showing butterflies and paintbox colours called ‘What a Loving and Beautiful World’ to round the exhibition off nicely. We could choose to interact directly with the panels, clicking the Chinese calligraphy to influence the space or sit and contemplate the surroundings, in awe of all of the elements combining to create the artwork.
We left asking ourselves the question, “Should we play a passive role in the developments of technology around us or make it our responsibility?”
If AI is to be shaped by human consciousness, then this question should not be asked by attendees of AI: More than human alone, it should be asked across the world.
