What is AI? And, Can AI Models Think & Learn? Intelligence is the ability to comprehend and learn from one's surroundings. Our organs, such as the eyes to see, the nose to smell, and the brain to process, help us adapt and learn to achieve this ability. The activity is a natural and spontaneous one. When computers start learning from data that humans feed them—from biographic, demographic, environmental, and many other sources— to predict the outcome, we call it Artificial Intelligence (AI). Here, the machine sees through a camera, understands using sensors, and responds through mathematical models, this is the simplest definition of AI. The prominent AI models we commonly read about, such as BERT, OpenAI GPT3, and GAN, work around text transformation and generating digital art.  

Traditional software takes inputs, processes according to the pre-defined rules, and generates output. On the other hand, AI takes a considerable amount of data, uses multiple mathematical layered models, and predicts the outcome. The accuracy of such an outcome depends on the data quality and the models' correctness. 

Today, AI is transforming every aspect of how we humans live and work. We have seen it work its magic across all sectors, from enhancing shopping experiences to streamlining administrative processes and analyzing medical research. And the Pandemic, too, has acted as a massive catalyst in expediting AI adoption across enterprises, revolutionizing economies & society as a whole. 

Can AI Learn to Influence Human Behavior? 

This is the next question being asked by everyone. And the answer, in a word, is absolutely! 

To elaborate, the digital economy in its entirety has been built around influencing user behaviors. Even advertisements and media campaigns are planned to utilize the same and personalize offerings. But, how will AI impact human behavior? 

AI is everywhere today, and individuals cannot differentiate between offerings brought to them driven by human intelligence and AI. Soon, AI-backed approaches could be put into action to benefit society. But, if not careful, it will influence what one listens to, buys, plays, watches, or reads. There will be a colossal impact that would drive the consumption-led economy towards producing even more offerings.

Can Decision-Making Be Manipulated Using AI? 

When people are influenced by information, products, and messaging tailored for them, their decisions will be biased. In essence, such a process, when repeated, would ultimately influence and extend the bias. The more biased one is, the better the audience targeting would be.  

But for those worried about manipulation of decision-making on a larger scale, that is unlikely to happen. The reasons for this are three-fold: 

1. Any AI-powered processes will be validated by humans; they must be. 
2. Counter AI models will be built to validate the others. 
3. There would also be governance, policies, and standards for models, as we have GDPR or PSS today. 

Responsible AI is a profound thinking point for large tech enterprises as well as among consumers of the technology. On the consumer’s side, in the case of mass-scale AI-based processing, it is important to revalidate decisions by humans to avoid any bias be it gender diversity or social strata. On the other side, our education systems need to be modernized to adapt to these changes, ensuring requisite awareness from an early age.  

In this era of personalization, enterprises are using AI to assimilate everything they know about their customers, offerings, and their competition to offer customers what they need exactly when they need it. AI can do all that and more, leading to more customized and personalized interactions between a company and its customers.   

Here is how AI can be applied effectively and efficiently in different industries: 

• AI solutions enable healthcare providers and pharmaceutical businesses to better analyze and predict drug-discovery data. Additionally, AI-powered virtual assistants can streamline mundane tasks and monitor day-to-day health to deliver personalized care. 
• From combatting climate change to improving recycling, lowering energy usage, & protecting ecosystems, AI can significantly enhance conservation efforts. 
• While AI cannot quite prevent natural disasters, it can help predict more accurately when and where they may strike, helping experts prepare better. 
• In the finance industry, financial forecasting and predictive analytics are already highly in demand. But AI capabilities can also reinforce fraud detection efforts and help accurately calculate personal investment risks. 
• Information security companies are leveraging AI to identify patterns in Cloud access, reporting inconsistencies to avoid potential security ruptures. 
• In retail, AI helps improve the targeting of marketing efforts, optimize supply chains, and evaluate pricing for enhanced ROI. 
• In sports, AI is emerging as a game-changer for streamlining both post-game breakdowns and in-game activity. From cricket to chess & tennis to the Olympics, computer vision and predictive analysis can help enhance both fan and player experiences. 
• The growing ubiquity of AI even allows for media creation— from voice recreation to the stitching of frames, rendering fresh content from existing media. And with the Metaverse being the next big thing, these developments bring us to our next point — AI’s influence in the Metaverse. 

Out with the Old, as We Step Inside the Metaverse with AI

One of the keys to the probable success of the Metaverse is its promise of highly immersive experiences. While this can improve social interactions for some, it can also become a massive barrier for people with disabilities. Individuals with lower digital capabilities can find themselves left out of this new social environment. 

Problems & the promise of AI 

Like many innovative domains, everything coming out of AI-powered doors is currently unregulated. And the threats associated with it are also genuine, making cybersecurity & other regulations a very pressing concern.  

Following are some of the greatest risks AI presents to us: 

• From a cybersecurity standpoint, essentially leaving systems and entire processes, at times, on autopilot is a dire concern. 
• Automated cyber-attacks, new-age terrorism, and other malicious activities are limited only by the extent of an individual's imagination. 
• When automating the decision-making process with AI, there is no transparency as to how a particular conclusion was reached. And with so much data involved, it becomes technically infeasible for humans to understand what is happening. 
• AI-enabled devices often gather a significant amount of personal data on individuals, which can be very damaging in the wrong hands. 

But, the potential benefits of AI are significant enough that they warrant deeper pursuit. Because, as we have seen, the same technology that might propel bias can also reveal bias. Just as the same power-consuming technology can potentially bring innovative answers to slow or even reverse global warming! 

What Does AI's Bright Future Mean for the Decision-makers? 

• Metaverse as a platform: Businesses should look to Metaverse as a platform for innovation and creativity. They should harness the power of AI to create new products and services that will improve CX, extending a competitive advantage. 
• Human-In-the Loop (HIL): While AI is helping and maturing daily, HIL is becoming a critical aspect of it. While the machine is helping us solve the problem, humans need to ensure they share the inputs and intervene, which helps create a continuous feedback loop. Human and AI interaction should be seen as collaboration for holistic improvement. 
• Improved Sustainability & Conservation: AI has the potential to augment sustainable futures for us all— environmentally and economically, and HIL plays a significant role in this. Leveraging IoT, AI streamlines data collection, followed by cleaning & analysis, empowering humans (everyone, from doctors to farmers to environmentalists) to meaningfully contribute to conservation & health efforts on the ground.