It may sometimes feel like AI is a recent development in technology. After all, it’s only become mainstream to use in the last several years, right? In reality, the groundwork for AI began in the early 1900s. And although the biggest strides weren’t made until the 1950s, it wouldn’t have been possible without the work of early experts in many different fields.
Artificial intelligence is a speciality within computer science that is concerned with creating systems that can replicate human intelligence and problem-solving abilities. They do this by taking in a myriad of data, processing it, and learning from their past to streamline and improve in the future. A normal computer program would need human interference in order to fix bugs and improve processes. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a wide-ranging tool that enables people to rethink how we integrate information, analyse data, and use the resulting insights to improve decision-making—and already it is transforming every walk of life.
Let’s talk about how AI is changing the world, focusing on the following fields:

How is AI helping businesses?
AI rapidly transforms the business. It has the potential to revolutionize how businesses operate, from improving customer experiences to streamlining internal processes and reducing costs.
AI is helping businesses to make their operations easier and more accessible – and that is, without a doubt, a good thing. By integrating AI into their operations, companies can reduce costs and improve efficiency and customer experience.
There are several ways AI is helping businesses streamline their operations. Let’s focus on the following:
AI-powered automation tools can streamline repetitive and time-consuming tasks, such as data entry and document processing, freeing employees to focus on higher-level tasks requiring human expertise.
AI can analyze vast amounts of data to identify patterns and predict future outcomes, enabling businesses to make more informed decisions about inventory management, customer behaviour, and other key business operations.
AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can provide customers with instant support and personalized recommendations, improving the customer experience and reducing the workload on customer service representatives.
AI can optimize supply chain management by predicting demand, identifying bottlenecks, optimizing delivery routes, reducing costs, and improving efficiency.
AI-powered fraud detection systems can analyze transactions and identify potential fraudulent activity in real time, enabling businesses to take immediate action to prevent losses.
By leveraging AI, financial institutions can make more informed decisions, provide personalized services, and improve risk management, leading to better financial outcomes for individuals and businesses.
AI in Healthcare
AI has become a buzzword in various industries, including healthcare, due to its potential to transform it in many ways, from improving patient outcomes to reducing costs and enhancing the efficiency of healthcare delivery.
AI assists doctors in diagnosing diseases in several ways, including medical imaging analysis, pattern recognition, decision support systems, natural language processing, and remote monitoring. These AI-powered systems can analyze large amounts of data quickly and accurately, identify patterns and correlations that may not be apparent to human doctors, and assist with decision-making, leading to earlier and more accurate diagnoses.
How is AI helping doctors to diagnose diseases?
There are many examples of AI-powered medical tools that doctors worldwide use, such as IBM Watson for Oncology, Google DeepMind Health, and AliveCorKardiaMobile. These AI-powered systems and devices can potentially provide faster and more accurate diagnoses, personalized treatment plans, and better clinical decision-making.
Specific ways to assist doctors in diagnosing diseases might look like this:
AI algorithms can analyze medical images, such as X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans, to detect abnormalities and diagnose diseases. For example, AI algorithms can identify cancerous lesions in images of mammograms or identify potential signs of stroke in brain scans.
AI algorithms can analyze patient data, including medical history and genetic information, to identify patterns and correlations that may not be apparent to human doctors. For example, AI can identify patterns of symptoms that suggest a specific disease or condition.
AI-powered decision support systems can assist doctors in making diagnoses by analyzing patient data and providing suggestions for diagnoses or treatment options. These systems can help doctors avoid misdiagnoses or ensure they consider all relevant information when diagnosing.
AI can analyze patient records, including doctor’s notes and test results, using natural language processing (NLP) to identify patterns that may indicate a particular disease or condition. For example, AI can analyze patient records to identify patterns of symptoms associated with a specific disease.
I am sure that as AI technology continues to develop, we can expect to see even more innovative applications of AI in healthcare in the future.
How will AI change education?
There is nothing new in applying AI to learning. In 1912, Edward Thorndike introduced his idea about The Learning Machine. The machine could ask questions of the learner and suggest further readings if required. Because there were no modern computers invented at that point, The Learning Machine applied punch cards to run Adaptive Learning features 100 years before the concept of Adaptive Learning became popular in practice.
Adaptive learning applies computational methods that fit into the AI family, and so we can call it AI. There are also two generations of adaptive learning. Prior to the 1990s, adaptive learning was based on rules found in scientific research and then programmed into machines. Post the 90’s, real-time data was used in order to provide highly individual learning experiences for the learner and detailed learning analytics. This required other technologies like fast internet, big memories, own devices and computation power to support AI.
If we want to understand the major opportunities related to AI, we have to focus on one of the biggest global challenges we face in education: We don’t have enough teachers to provide education for everyone. This is critical in elementary education, but remarkable also in vocational training, higher education and lifelong learning.
In the early years of education, such as elementary education and primary education, the human teacher cannot be replaced. No way. Soft skills and transferrable skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork and communication need interaction with people. However, we can provide AI-based teaching assistants and helpers for teachers and so enable teachers to work with bigger groups. This, however, requires AI pedagogy, which we don’t have yet. We need to invest a lot in pedagogical research in order to understand the full potential of AI in elementary education.
For a couple of years, we have had AI assistance that reads through terabytes of job openings, curriculums, future forecast reports and labour market analysis, to build a real-time research report on skills seeking. We could do this also with people if we just could have millions of people to do this work.
AI can build parallel models on an individual’s skills at the micro level, it can easily show an individualised career path: direct jobs with a person’s current skills as well as low-hanging jobs that are accessible after the person gets a couple of identified skills. Furthermore, when AI knows the curriculums, it can also reveal educational opportunities relevant to individuals.
When the skill gap is recognised, AI can construct tests and curate content packages for the individual. In other words, AI can produce online courses from identified skills and so bring vocational training and lifelong learning for billions of learners.
Finally, AI won’t change the way we learn, but it can change the access to education, globally.
Artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic concept; it is here and transforming every aspect of our lives. From revolutionizing business operations and enhancing healthcare to expanding access to education, AI’s potential is vast and varied. As technology continues to evolve, the possibilities for AI applications will only grow, presenting both opportunities and challenges. It is crucial to approach these advancements with a focus on ethical considerations and responsible use to ensure that AI’s benefits are maximized for all of society. By embracing AI and investing in its development, we can unlock new potentials, address global challenges, and improve the quality of life across the world. The future of AI is bright, and its impact on our world is just beginning to unfold.

Firdous Javid Beig