While the world debates on possible threats from AI, we would rather focus on the positive side of it for now. It is a tool and how we use a tool is unto its maker and the user. Artificial Intelligence (AI) growing maturity level combined with Big Data and Machine Learning is already contributing towards Science and Technology in Industry, Space, Health, Defense sectors and the numerous other areas with its smart machine learning and intelligent computing thus leading to newer discoveries benefitting humanity and the larger ecosystem that we live.

However there are areas and opportunities that may be lagging behind unable to make the best of what technology can offer today while it continues to mature.

Such implementation need not wait for a fully matured product to happen, the implementation can start from identifying small small problem areas in our society and an approach fixing these in multiple iterations reaping incremental benefits.

• Slow Government Sectors  – The word Bureaucracy is usually being associated with redundancy, inefficiency, delays and wastage of assets, human and financial resources. Introduction of AI starting with the most lost making sectors such to identify the current bottleneck using past workflow data fed into ML and using AI decision making as to narrow down all possible causes. Then use the AI model to implement an efficient workflow with impediments removed such as to only positive impact the end beneficiaries and the workers. This improvement needs to be repeated in various iterations while enhancing the overall throughput of the Government Sector. The highest level will be a state where AI can alert decision making anytime inefficiencies creep into the system. A few examples below:
  • Public Distribution Systems in developing nations are inefficient, bound to lethargy and corruption,
  • Sick Industries or Loss making Govt. Departments those are not yet privatized
  • Railways responsible for transportation of goods and larger population

• Large Organizations – Typical large organizations in Private Sector though been agile in their early days end up with processes yet failing to recognize value of why its done on a day to day basis and with competition within among various departments this leads to lot of meaningless activities that could have been avoided. This complicates further if their IT systems and Process are archaic and were defined in the early days of computerization. Redundant monolith systems are not replaced but more patch work is done to align to current needs, however leading to more complications and largely management working on last minute Spreadsheets to provide needed data as reports to their seniors, such data may or may not always be accurate. Again here as well ML and AI decision making can be introduced to first identify the redundant processes such to eliminate and keep only what is meaningful for the organization. Later bring in required AI model to prevent such redundancies in future. A few examples below applicable to a Portfolio, Program or at Project level:
  • Adherence to Project Timelines
  • Project Cost – Planning, Budgeting & Tracking
  • Quality Assurance & consistent implementation of Best Practices across portfolio’s
  • Effective People Utilization & Bench Consolidation
  • Training & Reskilling
  • Knowledge Management

• Misinformation on News & Media – Today we hear mostly about AI generated news and media content – the fake news, AI generated images and video leading to suspicions and unhealthy conditions. However this same AI has a larger role to play such to identify, report and eliminate the fake news and content as soon as it surfaces anywhere around the world. It can help prevent harmful impact leading to people protests, biases and atrocities against minority communities and even misinformation leading to war between the nations. Big Data generated on the internet can be real time processed using ML to look for truth by using AI model such to narrow down what is real versus fake. A few examples below:
  • Auto Ranking of information generated on social media for genuineness
  • Auto unpublish information malicious in nature and Tag for review, updates or deletion

• Disaster Impact Mitigation – With natural calamities likely we need to be prepared to safeguard the larger population or if already disaster is stuck then timely relief and medical support for the suffering and impacted. AI simulation using past data of flashflood, landslide, earthquake, hurricane etc. can help early warn people and help with evacuation and even timely allocation of relief material to the impacted population. This requires huge amount of processing of past data specific to the disaster type, Machine Learning and AI model to predict possible outcome to the level of accuracy as needed for saving lives. A few examples below:
  • Hurricane or Tsunami live alerts for the costal regions
  • Flash Floods, Avalanche or landslide live alerts for people living in risky mountain terrains

• Green Vigilante – AI will be our best bet as a Green Vigilante to protect our planet from insatiable greed that may be the reason for deforestation, industrial pollution of Air, Water and Soil. A series of ground based sensors and remote sensing satellites for City, State, National and International monitoring powered by AI will be required. This with a huge repository of  past and present data will easily identify anomalies such  as lack of green patches, or increased particulate matter around a certain industry. The same data can be captured and shared with respective Environment Agencies for immediate action. A few examples below:
  • Monitor Forest reserves vulnerable to felling of trees
  • Mandatory all-round monitoring of industries processing harmful chemicals
  • Satellite monitoring leading to identification of specific farms burning stubbles leading to air pollution

• All round Security – We mostly hear the use of AI for cybersecurity however if used properly it can be used from a simple video surveillance for a Home, for a safer City, for National Security or beyond to the level of overall World security. For example an AI based monitoring of world trade, finance, crypto currencies, international monitoring of rogue and disruptive elements.

• Care for elders and the physically challenged –  AI will be play an important role  as an appendage for those who need additional care and attention. With voice enabled intelligence it may act as an eye for those who are partially or completely blind. It may help identify a face to meaningful family relation for someone having dementia, or help prevent with alerts for an elderly from taking the wrong medication. Object detection and redirection for those on wheelchairs and a lot more is feasible depending upon the type of disability involved.

• AI Tutors – In future AI can be used as tutors for students with learning related challenges. Though we have teachers who specialize in teaching students with learning disability however this breed of tutors is rare and again there are many different types of learning disabilities. An AI tutor will be able to identify to personality type of a person with learning disability and teach accordingly. This AI Tutor may be monitor console connected to cloud AI or a physical Robot to look like a tutor, a little futuristic thought though.

• Integrated Traffic Management – a traffic management Intelligent system  (beyond apps like Google Maps) that is integrated with traffic lights, road sensors, live maps on media devices, smartphones, smartwatches etc. such to intelligently route city traffic without creating unnecessary road congestions. It may even alert and redirect traffic if AI camera’s detect large potholes or any accidents that may slowdown the movement. Such systems will be computing intensive as both data generation and the decision making on generated data will be in real-time.

• Emergency Critical Care & Blood/Organ Banks – Life saving Emergency care and Blood/Organ Banks will gain a lot with an integrated intelligent system that can route best match between donors and receivers saving precious time that is needed towards saving lives. This will require huge amount of storage and Machine Learning that can be processed every time a new data set is added, AI role may be limited to decision making based on medical compatibility criteria’s between receiver and the donor.

The above mentioned are only few areas of opportunity in addition to the typical R&D use of AI, there are more and definitely more to come based on our capacity to empathize with our society’s problems and challenges. And this will only get better and better as the AI tech matures far and beyond!!!