What AI can do and what AI cannot do

Artificial Intelligence is becoming a fundamental part of everyday lives by affecting how we teach ourselves, work and communicate with one another. While artificial intelligence has great potential to change the way we interact with each other, it does have limitations that should not be underestimated.

The ability to know what artificial intelligence is capable of and which limits to be aware of will enable people to responsibly utilise this technology in today's increasing automation.

What AI can do- processing, predicting and assisting

In terms of AI's ability to process large volumes of information quickly and accurately, it has an advantage because it can identify patterns and the overall context from previous data to generate future predictions. It has already been proven extremely useful in many industries. For example, AI is being used in healthcare, finance, education, etc., as an aid in diagnosis, creating a recommendation for a patient and providing personalised assistance. Moreover, AI can automate repetitive operations, produce written or visual outputs, translate languages, improve production efficiency across multiple business sectors, etc.

AI as a tool for support in the process of learning and working

The use of artificial intelligence in a support role has grown daily with summarising information, explaining and giving guidance in a stream-lined manner. Within Education, AI can provide revision, making material accessible and a way of adaptive learning. Artificial intelligence also helps the workplace become more productive by taking on mundane tasks from employees so they may devote their time to high-level decision making and creative work.

What AI cannot do- think, feel and interpret meaning

Some human attributes provide you with consciousness, whereas artificial intelligence does not provide you with a sense of self. All machine intelligence relies on the use of parametric functions established by its creator. There is no way for an artificial intelligence (AI) application to create its own individual identity. Therefore, an AI application cannot exhibit independent thought processes, cannot reason and cannot comprehend in order to construct its own value system. AI systems cannot even properly interpret meanings and concepts without the involvement of algorithmic biases. Thus, the concepts of ethics, empathy and contextual understanding cannot be created or demonstrated by an AI program.

Limitations in innovation and judgement

While AI has the ability to imitate creative styles, it does not possess the ability to dream up thoughts or draw upon personal experiences like humans. All that an AI produces comes from the information that has been passed down to it and not the results of thinking something new or having an idea of its own. AI, therefore, cannot be expected to be able to make meaningful value-orientated decisions, provide culturally nuanced interpretations, or have a true understanding of the way humans interpret the world, all of which are unique capabilities of human beings.

Conclusion

Setting realistic expectations for what AI Is and what it is not, is essential to understand the best way to use this impactful tool. Although AI can provide tremendous assistance and efficiency, it will never replace the way people think, feel or act responsibly and ethically. Understanding these limitations creates an opportunity for AI to augment a person's ability instead of diminishing it. Humans will continue to be the ones who should oversee, evaluate and regulate AI systems. It is absolutely critical that humans continue to hold technology accountable to their values rather than letting technology operate autonomously.