I can still remember the first time I used Alexa.
It’s crystal clear in my head: I said, “Alexa, play Take On Me and a few seconds later A-ha’s synthy drums kicked in. It was one of the few times in my life that artificial intelligence has left me speechless.
It was a real-world version of the technology I grew up seeing in countless science fiction movies and TV shows. Giving that command, I felt like Captain Kirk talking to the computers on the USS Enterprise.
This was in 2013. I recall wondering where the technology would be in another five or 10 years -- which is roughly where we are right now. I imagined myself having full-blown conversations with personal AI assistants and giving complex voice instructions to my computer. That all seemed achievable, even probable. After all, technology advances exponentially.
With the benefit of hindsight, I can see that I was too optimistic. We’re still a long way from bona fide human-to-AI conversation.
Human imaginations always outpace technology. What I can imagine in a minute takes a decade to become something tangible. Left unchecked, our perceptions race away from facts. Every so often, we have to recalibrate our expectations.
We need to swap out our science fiction dreams for technological fact.
How Advanced is AI -- Really?
For as long as I can remember, people have claimed that fully self-driving cars are just over the horizon. Tesla, Toyota, General Motors, and Google all promised us self-driving cars by the end of 2020, but we’re still waiting. The technology seems to always be just out of reach.
It’s the same in most other industries.
Take cloud communication. People have long dreamed of autonomous AI agents that handle the bulk of contact center communication. Some have even promised they’re on the way. But like building an autonomous car, crafting an artificial agent is a big challenge. I have no doubt that we can get there, just that it will take more time than expected.
Continue reading: https://www.informationweek.com/big-data/it-s-time-to-recalibrate-our-ai-expectations
It’s crystal clear in my head: I said, “Alexa, play Take On Me and a few seconds later A-ha’s synthy drums kicked in. It was one of the few times in my life that artificial intelligence has left me speechless.
It was a real-world version of the technology I grew up seeing in countless science fiction movies and TV shows. Giving that command, I felt like Captain Kirk talking to the computers on the USS Enterprise.
This was in 2013. I recall wondering where the technology would be in another five or 10 years -- which is roughly where we are right now. I imagined myself having full-blown conversations with personal AI assistants and giving complex voice instructions to my computer. That all seemed achievable, even probable. After all, technology advances exponentially.
With the benefit of hindsight, I can see that I was too optimistic. We’re still a long way from bona fide human-to-AI conversation.
Human imaginations always outpace technology. What I can imagine in a minute takes a decade to become something tangible. Left unchecked, our perceptions race away from facts. Every so often, we have to recalibrate our expectations.
We need to swap out our science fiction dreams for technological fact.
How Advanced is AI -- Really?
For as long as I can remember, people have claimed that fully self-driving cars are just over the horizon. Tesla, Toyota, General Motors, and Google all promised us self-driving cars by the end of 2020, but we’re still waiting. The technology seems to always be just out of reach.
It’s the same in most other industries.
Take cloud communication. People have long dreamed of autonomous AI agents that handle the bulk of contact center communication. Some have even promised they’re on the way. But like building an autonomous car, crafting an artificial agent is a big challenge. I have no doubt that we can get there, just that it will take more time than expected.
Continue reading: https://www.informationweek.com/big-data/it-s-time-to-recalibrate-our-ai-expectations
