AI Technology, Negative Effects, and Fears From the Society - Essay Sample

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an academic discipline that was introduced in 1956 (Niu, Tang, Xiu, Zhou, & Song, 2016). As a branch of computer science, AI tries to understand the essence of intelligence and develop brilliant machines that can undertake human tasks. AI now has applications in robotics, expert systems, natural language processing, and voice and image recognition (Niu et al., 2016). AI is currently almost being applied to every aspect of the human life such as shopping, watching of films, trading softwares, virtual assistance in smartphones, virtual assistance in playing games, autonomous cars, and robotics (Jeronimo, 2017). AI has now shifted from computers and machines to smartphones. These mobile devices are transforming our lives at an extraordinary pace with advanced technologies and applications that people use today. Well-established companies such as Samsung, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Baidu, and Huawei have utilized AI in the development of some of their latest products. However, this essay emphasizes the products developed by Google, Apple, and Nissan. The paper focuses on Google Clips, self-driving slippers by Nissan, and Iphones new facial recognition system in a bid to explain how AI has taken over contemporary technology. The essay will also discuss the negative consequences of these technologies and they fear they raise in the society of whether AI will take over the world and replace humans completely.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the society in many ways. The first product that portrays AI at an advanced level is Google clips by Google. Google has in the past, integrated AI technology on mobile gadgets such as the second generation of Pixel smartphones that detect what song is playing on the phone and later matches it with other song patterns on the phone to locate the song quickly without having to access the cloud server (Novet, 2017). In 2015, Google made it possible for users to translate text captured by the camera using their smartphones. What is notable this time is that Google has now developed Google Clips, which relies on artificial intelligence and works locally without depending on a smartphone to function correctly. The following sentences portray how Google Clips utilizes AI to perform complex tasks. Google Clips is a camera that lacks a display and has a shutter button that is optional to use. A user is required to turn on the lens by twisting it and then place the device on a table or any other location that can hold the gadget. It comes with a silicon clip that enables it to be placed in an upright position or clipped to stuff. Clips then record everything using its 130-degree field of view and records moving images of things it finds interesting. Clips have a battery life of three hours; however, this depends on the duration of use (Bohn, 2017). The device has 16 GB storage capacity and a 12-megapixel camera. Google Clips is capable of taking a 15fps burst of images (Bohn, 2017). Google Clips has been designed in a manner that it learns and recognizes faces and attempts to capture more photos of those individuals and minimizes pictures of strangers. It does not pair faces with names; it just relies on faces it sees a bunch of time. Clips not only can recognize humans but also pets. Afterwards, a user can open an app on the smartphone and check out all the images and videos recorded by Clips and sort out, which ones to save on the phone or delete. Clips enable the user to trim the videos to their desired loop and export them inform of motion photos, GIFs, and JPEGs (Bohn, 2017). Clips utilize its processing power, and all the facial recognition processes take place on the device. Once Clips recognizes the faces and pets, it looks for interesting things about the two. Furthermore, it searches for changes over time to avoid providing the same images. Clips will work on both Android and IOS devices. Google has taken bold steps to design and ensure Clips functions efficiently. Google worked with video editors and image raters to train Clips to identify the people and the images that the user is interested in (Lardinois, 2017). Google plans to include more support for the device to recognize other relevant situations. Google Clips is an incredible technological advancement of artificial intelligence. The invention portrays how AI has revolutionized over the years and has become the technology relied upon by many companies with Google being one example.

Another established company that has portrayed advancements in AI technology is Nissan with its new product of self-driving slippers. Nissan developed this new system of sandals to park themselves without human intervention. The project was showcased at the entrance of a Japanese Inn just by a push of a button to impress travelers, and as a marketing strategy of Nissans semi-autonomous ProPilot driving technology (Hawkins, 2018). The components of the slippers depict the use of AI in advanced technology. The sandals are equipped with two wheels, motor and motor sensors utilizing the ProPilot driving technology to assist in movement. Moreover, Nissan also built the system into the hotel tables and floor pillows so that guests can be treated with organized footwear and furniture. The Leaf is the first product of Nissan to be integrated with the ProPilot driving technology. The Leaf is currently operating as a device that assists the vehicle to stay in its lane and keep a distance from the car in front. Eventually, the Leaf is believed it will help Nissan cars to be self-driven. The company stated that it developed the self-driven slippers, tables, and floor pillows to entertain guests and reduce staff workload (Hawkins, 2018). According to Nissans representative, the sandals are explicitly designed to create awareness of automated driving technologies, their potentials, and non-driving applications. Self-driven slippers depict how companies such as Nissan have advanced their AI technology to develop products that solve problems of workload and meet arrangement of tables and pillows in the hotel sector. Nissan seems to have more in store with their Leaf, which is expected in the future to make Nissan cars self-driven. Such technological advancements from the company illustrate that Artificial intelligence is evolving as time goes by and there is a likelihood that more and more inventions will continue to be developed by researchers to assist people and industries to solve some societal issues. The move by Nissan also shows that AI is slowly penetrating and taking over the automotive industry. Artificial intelligence will soon become the default software that future car making companies will use to develop their vehicles.

Apple is another conglomerate company that has adopted the use of Artificial intelligence in some of its products. Apples latest use of AI is evident in the iPhone X, which is equipped with a Face ID that enables users to unlock their phones using their faces. The entire design of the iPhone X is built around the Face ID. The new technology made Apple discard the home button and the Touch ID fingerprint sensor in the previous iPhone models (Patel, 2017). The Face ID sensors enable Apples Animoji animated emojis to work efficiently. The iPhone X is equipped with an IR light, IR camera, and a dot projector. The three components work together to ensure the Face ID to detect the correct face of the user. The IR light goes off when the user wakes the phone, and if the IR camera detects a face, the dot projector flashes a sequence of thirty thousand dots. In the next step, the camera takes a 2D photo and transforms it into a mathematical depth model that is transferred to the secure authentication chip that matches the model against the stored value (Patel, 2017). The phone unlocks once the match is confirmed. Setting up the Face ID on the phone requires simple steps. The phone shows a circular border around the face, the user is required to move around until a sequence of lines around the circle turn green, and that is it. The simplicity in setting up the Face ID depicts how the integration of artificial intelligence on the phone is meant to simplify tasks that were previously deemed difficult or time taking. The Face ID operates in various lighting conditions. During daytime, it performs faster, and in the evenings, it will require the user to face the phone directly. The system also works with users who wear sunglasses. The Face ID can also be used for Apple Pay. By double-clicking the side button, the user can authenticate, and then hold the phone to the reader. The Face ID is also fast and processes the face more quickly to unlock the phone. The Face ID from Apple is a new advancement in its flagship project of iPhone. The system relies on AI to recognize the face of the user and perform other tasks such as Apple Pay. The Face ID is intelligent such that it identifies the face pattern of the user and fails to authorize stranger faces that were not available during the Face ID set up; therefore, it is convenient to use. The system is also hoped it will improve over time and recognize significant facial changes of the user such as the growth of a beard (Patel, 2017).

Negative Effects of Apples Face ID and Google Clips

Scientific research on artificial intelligence amazes and at the same time raises ethical questions regarding some of the products that rely on the technology. The Face ID of the iPhone X has posed various issues, and people are reluctant to use the gadget. Majorities of the people worry that the company will use their faces for other purposes. According to Brandom (2017), one adverse side effect of the Face ID is that kidnappers and police can coerce a user to unlock the phone against his will. Additionally, Face ID might leak the face of the user to the cloud. Even though the company states that the data schematics of the face remain in the phone, it still makes Face ID vulnerable to attacks or the company might go against the rules and use the data for other purposes that are hidden to the customer. On Twitter, privacy advocates worried about Face ID being used for retail surveillance or attention tracking in advertisements. The company is not limited to use the data for other hidden reasons even though it promises it is in the business of iPhones without misusing clients data. Equally important, facial recognition systems have a long history of being racially biased (Brandom, 2017). The lack of diversity in the databases contributes to this issue. Apples Face ID is likely to have these problems of variety in its databases. The engineers even failed to comment about this thus indicating they are away that racial bias will happen once the product is out in the market.

Google Clips is designed to take images of people you are interested in seamlessly without the push of a button. The technology is efficient for recording memories that would have otherwise been difficult; however, there is concern whether parents will accept Google Clips (Bohn, 2017). Documenting every aspect of ones life is not a good idea since the person will feel uncomfortable. Parents, in this case, worry about the privacy of their children and their lives. The Google Clips might capture particular images that are not relevant so parents will always have the additional task of scrolling down the pictures and deleting the unnecessary ones. Having Google Clips at the house seems creepy, and there is a likelihood that the product will not make sales as expected since it is not a necessity and it performs just like a phone camera.

Fears of AI Takeover

Famous individuals such as Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking have expressed harsh comments on AI believing that it will replace humans. According to Sulleyman (...