We are living in an era where we can observe that time is running fast not by means of clocks or watches but by the speed with which technology is developing to help us in our tasks and professions. In many parts of the world as well as in India, Artificial Intelligence or AI is now the main tool being implemented in every sector, be it medicine, defence, education or business. Innovation, made possible through the internet, has brought AI closer to our everyday lives. From solving common mathematical problems to the launch of a space ship, AI has become the primary first step.
Email filtering is the use of artificial intelligence to filter incoming emails. Users can train their spam filters by marking emails as “spam”. Personalisation is the use of AI to personalise online services and user experience. Amazon, Flipkart, Youtube or Netflix, all “learn” from your previous purchases and the purchases of other users in order to recommend relevant content for you. In fraud detection, banks use AI to determine if there is strange activity on your account. Unexpected activity, such as foreign transactions, could be flagged by the algorithm. In speech recognition, applications use AI to optimise speech recognition functions. Examples include intelligent personal assistants, such as Amazon’s “Alexa” or Apple’s “Siri”.
Robotic Engineering, Defence Engineering and other such computer-based engineering are increasingly based on AI. Artificial intelligence is a technology that is already impacting how users interact with, and are affected by, the internet. In the near future, the impact of AI is likely to grow. AI has the potential to vastly change the way humans interact not only with the digital world but also with each other, through their work and through other socioeconomic institutions – for better or for worse.
If we are to ensure that the impact of artificial intelligence will be positive, it will be essential that all stakeholders participate in the debates surrounding AI. As AI is an internet-enabled technology, the Internet Society recognises that understanding the opportunities and challenges associated with AI are critical to developing an internet that people can trust.
Unfortunately, J&K (Jammu & Kashmir) is still waiting for high-speed internet and we are far behind in the world of Artificial Intelligence and its implementation in day-to-day work and businesses. We are not able to have the online services we need to launch our business online in the cyber world. Such drawbacks not only make us lose in economic terms but also impact us psychologically. We feel we lack the environment of doing and discovering new things, despite J&K having many skilled IT persons, engineers, and entrepreneurs who are ready to invest in online enterprises.
Due to the Covid-19 lockdown, the people of J&K have become aware about many application platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype Meetings, etc. Otherwise, people here were just limited to social media or submitting online exam or job forms. This is because of the poor state of our IT sector. Limited knowledge about IT makes the people of J&K think that internet is just social media.
There are risks in cyber world, but we know how to manage them. Some of the ways are: Audit algorithm outputs for accuracy; integrate cyber security; ensure human control of sensitive processes; adopt responsible AI that benefits society; protect privacy and enforce cyber laws.
But first and foremost we should have high-speed internet available in our educational, business, engineering, defence and medical sectors to enable professionals to discover new things with new AI technology. Apart from online classes for students, youth should be educated about latest technology and its usage in day-to-day life. Technology can add more intelligence to the human race, and help us in growing economically, financially and emotionally.

—The writer is an IT & Management expert. He currently works as IT Manager at HK Nissan. [email protected]

Khalid Mustafa