Lecture 1

Introduction to IT
Outline
• What is Information Technology

• Why Information Technology

• Evolution of computing devices

• Types of computing devices

• The Internet

• Future developments

2
What is Information Technology?

3
Information Technology
IT is the application of computing devices to create,
store, manipulate and exchange data.
IT refers to an entire world of combined technologies
tightly integrated to deliver a service for a user, a
group, a community or humanity at large.

4
5
Connected 24/7

6
Why does it matter?
• Technology is not just:
A means for career advancement
A skill set needed to survive in society

• Technology can be a way to make an

impact beyond your own life, and
accelerating change around the world.
• Technology is not a luxury anymore it is a
necessity.

7
Information Technology Advantages
• Make us more productive
• Saves time
• Entertainment
• Allow us to create things we never thought we
could
• Easier communications
• Allow us to be creative and artistic
• Save lives
Think of the many kinds of computing devices you
deal with on any given day.

8
Technology & Society
• Technology changed how we purchase and consume
goods

• Different marketing strategies

QR (quick response) codes
Mobile coupons (mobicoupons)
Digital media marketing
Online shopping/payments

9
Technology Impact
• Impact on Health
Helps develop and deliver vaccines.
Retinal prosthetics

• Impact on Environment
Cell phones with built-in atmospheric sensors could
help provide data to alert scientists to new trends in
our environment.

• Impact on Education
Introduction of Interactive tools to engage students
Smartboards, collaborative tools

10
Technology Impact Link
• Impact on Arts
Digital Painting
3D modelling & printing

• Impact on Science & Engineering

Virtual experiments
Scientific simulations

11
Living with Digital Technology
• Digitally Native is the name recently given to the new
generation raised among this pervasive environment.

12
Becoming Computer Literate
Understanding capabilities and limitations of
computers
Knowing how to use computers safely and efficiently

13
Becoming Computer Literate
• If you’re computer literate, you
understand and know how to use
computers wisely.

• Enables you to make informed purchasing

decisions, use computers in your career,
and understand the many ethical, legal,
and societal implications of technology
today.

14
The Journey to Modern Computers
• Generation 0:
 Mechanical Computers
• Every computer in use
today follows the basic plan
laid out by Charles Babbage
 Created The first
Mechanical Computer 1815

15
The Journey to Modern Computers
• First Generation Computers (1939 – 1955)
Used Vacuum Tubes

• Developed during the war era Main frames

• Notable Computers
Z1 by Kunard Zuse, Germany
Colossus by Alan Turing, UK; used to crack the Nazi military
codes (Enigma)
Mark 1 by Howard Aiken, USA

• Characteristics:
Big & clumsy filled whole buildings
High electricity consumption
High failure rate

16
The Journey to Modern Computers

17
The Journey to Modern Computers
• Second Generation Computers (1956 – 1963)
Used Transistors

• Characteristics:
Faster than first generation computers
Big filled half rooms
Used punch cards for Input/Output

18
The Journey to Modern Computers
• Third Generation Computers (1964 – 1970)
Used Integrated circuits

• Characteristics:
 Increased reliability
 Smaller size
 Higher speed
 Higher efficiency
 Lower cost

19
The Journey to Modern Computers
• Forth Generation Computers (1971 – present)
Used Microprocessors
• The creation of the microprocessor 1971 (as a single
silicon chip containing all the computer’s computational
components) fueled the development of PCs
• Moore’s Law formulated by Intel co-founder Gordon
Moore
The number of transistors that can be packed into a silicon
chip of the same price would roughly DOUBLE every two
years

• How many transistors do we have in Today’s

microprocessors?

20
Computing Devices

21
Embedded Systems
• Embedded Computers : A microprocessor used as a
component of a larger system; Special purpose computers
dedicated to perform specific tasks as in:
Traffic lights
Electronic consumer products
Heart rate monitors
Alarms and domestic security

• These Computers are operated by a firmware as a

combination of persistent memory and program code and
other data etched on a silicon chip, hence cannot be
altered by users.

22
 Servers
• Central computers that
provides services to other
PCs over the network.
• Features of Server
Computers:
Faster processing power
Serves multiple
clients/users
simultaneously -
timesharing
Large memory & storing
capacity
Connected via high-speed
network connection

23
Supercomputer
Is a computer with a high level of computing performance,
it might consist of a group of servers grouped on one grid
to provide critical mission services as one giant machine
(used for example for weather forecasting, climate change,
oil & gas explorations, nuclear fusion, etc.)
Features:
• Faster and powerful than a server

• Thousands of cores.

• Super speeds measured in Tera flops per second

24
 The Internet
The internet is a vast network of connected machines
transmitting and supporting a wide variety of contents and
activities enabled by advanced web browsers that supports
the new formats and functionalities.

WWW developed in the 1990s

4.5+ Billion users in 2020
Developed in the1960s

One Billion users in 2005

Used mainly for research till 1980s

25
 Living with Digital
Technology
Institutional Computing
• 1950 Large Main Frames for Corporate &
Government

Personal Computing
• 1975 Millions of PCs for schools and homes

Interpersonal Computing
• 1995 Networks Connected PCs, internet became
public

Collaborative Computing
• 2005 Smartphones, Web 2.0 sites encourages
collaboration and contribution 26
Future
• We cannot fully
imagine what the very
near future might look
like.

27
Hardware Basics
Chapter 2
Part 1
 2

Key Topics
• Computer Functions
• Binary System
▫ Decimal-to-binary/Binary-to-decimal
▫ Representing text
▫ Digitization
 3

Computer Functions
 4

Input Devices
• Enter data and instructions
• Examples of input devices
▫ Keyboards
▫ Mouse
▫ Microphone
▫ Scanner
▫ Digital camera
▫ Stylus
 5

Output Devices
• Send data out of the computer
▫ Text
▫ Pictures
▫ Sounds
▫ Video
• Examples
▫ Monitors
▫ Printers
▫ Speakers and earphones
 6

Binary System
• Binary system is the system used to store,
process and exchange data in computers.

Input • Store Output

• Convert to • Process • Convert to
human
binary • Exchange readable
 7

Binary System
• A language that has two symbols ( 0 or 1).

• What is a bit?
▫ Binary Digit
▫ The smallest unit of information a computer can
process.
▫ Values of 0 or 1
 8

Binary System
• Binary system is more suitable in computers
▫ Easy to store (using magnetism, electricity, optics,…)
▫ Easy to process (simple operations of 2 values only)
▫ Easy to read (only 2 options)
• Using binary system we can represent numbers, text,
instructions, photos, videos,…

• Is this simple system capable of handling all

these complicated data types?
9
 10

Binary System
• 1 Byte = 8 bits
• Each Bit is represented as a double of the previous value
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Bit Location
27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 Base
128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1 Weight

• Data Representation
▫ 1 bit is used to represent 2 options either 0 or 1
▫ 2 bits are used to represent 4 options either 0, 1, 2 or 3
▫ N bits are used to represent 2 N Options
• How many values can a byte represent?
▫ 256
 11

Numbers as Binary
• Converting from Binary to Decimals
▫ Convert 00100110
0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 Binary Bits
128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1 Weight
0 0 32 0 0 4 2 0 Value in decimals

▫ Result: 2+4+32 = 38
▫ Convert 10101010
1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 Binary Bits
128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1 Weight
128 0 32 0 8 0 2 0 Value in decimals
▫ Result: 2+8+32+128 = 170
 12

Numbers as Binary
• Converting from Decimals to Binary (Method 1)
▫ Rule: Using the binary table, check if the decimal
is greater than or equal the left most value.
IF it is true , then assign 1 to the corresponding bit &
subtract the value from the decimal.
IF it is false , then assign 0 to the corresponding bit.
Repeat until the final decimal value is 0
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Bit Location
128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1 Weight
 13

Numbers as Binary
• Converting from Decimal to Binary (Method 1)
▫ Convert 186 to Binary
1) 186>=128 True 186-128 = 58 Bit 8 = 1
2) 58>=64 False Bit 7 = 0
3) 58>=32 True 58-32 = 26 Bit 6 = 1
4) 26>=16 True 26-16 = 10 Bit 5 = 1
5) 10>=8 True 10-8 = 2 Bit 4 = 1
6) 2>=4 False Bit 3 = 0
7) 2>=2 True 2-2 = 0 Bit 2 = 1
8) 0>=1 False Bit 1 = 0
Binary is 10111010
 14

Numbers as Binary
• Converting from Decimals to Binary (Method 2)
1. Write the decimal number on the right side of
the page.
2. Repeatedly divide the number by 2. Drop out the
fraction. Write the results on the same line from
right to left.
3. Eventually the series will reach 1.
4. For each number in the series: put 1 if the
number is odd or 0 if the number is even. This is
the binary number.
 15

Numbers as Binary
• Converting from Decimal to Binary (Method 2)
▫ Convert 186 to Binary

1 2 5 11 23 46 93 186
2 2 2 2 2 2 2
odd even odd odd odd even odd even

1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0

Binary is 10111010
 16

Numbers as Binary
• Even Numbers in binary they end up with 0,
however odd numbers end up with 1.
▫ E.g. 1100 is equivalent to 12 in decimal (Even)
▫ E.g. 1101 is equivalent to 13 in decimal (Odd)
• Minimum value this is when all the digits are
zero equivalent to 0 in decimal.
• Maximum value this is when all the digits are 1
▫ E.g. 6 bits binary number 111111 is equivalent to 63
 17

Text as Binary
• Codes represent each letter, digit, and special character
• ASCII
▫ Each character is a unique 8-­bit code
▫ 256 unique codes for 26 letters, 10 digits, special
characters
• Unicode: Supports more than 100,000 unique characters
▫ Uses 32 bits
▫ include Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Arabic characters
 18

Other Data as Binary

• Photos, videos and audio can be represented
using binary system through Digitization.
• Devices used in digitization are called analogue
-to-digital convertors (ADC).
 19

Bits, Bytes, and Buzzwords

Term
Byte B 8 bits
Kilobyte KB ≈ 1000 Bytes
Megabyte MB ≈ 1000 KB or 1 million bytes
Gigabyte GB ≈ 1000 MB or 1 billion bytes
Terabyte TB ≈ 1000 GB or 1 trillion bytes
Petabyte PB ≈ 1000 TB or 1 quadrillion bytes

• Data Transfer is measure in bits rather than bytes, e.g. 100 M b which is 100
Mega bits
Hardware Basics
Chapter 2
Part 2
 2

Key Topics
• Computer Components
▫ Microprocessors (CPUs)
▫ Storage (RAM/ROM)
▫ Connectivity
• Green Computing
• Future Trends
 3

Computer Components CPUs

• Central Processing Unit (CPU)
▫ It is an electronic chip that carries out the
instructions of a computer program by performing
Arithmetical +, * and Logical operations <, != (ALU)
Input/output operations of the system (Control)
▫ Where is it located?
Motherboard
 4

Computer Components CPUs

• CPU Performance
▫ Clock Speed
Speed of the Processor measured in Hertz
1 GHz is equal to 1 Billion Clock Cycles Per Second
▫ Word Size
The natural unit of data used by the CPU
Older PCs 32 bits
New PCs 64 bits
Embedded Systems 8 & 16 bits
 5

Computer Components CPUs

• Single Core CPUs
▫ To increase speed increase clock speed, what’s the
limit? Overclocking.
▫ Pentium I,II,III,4
• Multi Core CPUs
▫ Multiple CPU’s on a single ship, e.g. I3, AMD 64
▫ Parallel Processing
• Cache Memory
▫ Internal storage of data in CPU
 6

Computer Components CPUs

• CPU Compatibility
▫ Software Compatibility
All Software need not to be compatible with every
CPU
E.g. Software designed to run on gaming consoles
processors such as PowerPC processors doesn’t work
on Intel processors
▫ Backward compatibility
Newer versions can process instructions of earlier
models.
E.g. Intel i5 could run apps designed for Intel Pentium
I but not vice versa
 7

Computer Components Memory

• Random Access Memory RAM:
▫ Common type of primary storage or main memory
▫ Temporary storage for programs and data
▫ Features:
Unique addresses
Data can be stored/retrieved randomly
Very fast access (in nanoseconds)
Data erased if power goes off (volatile)
 8

Computer Components Memory

• Read Only Memory
▫ Contains:
Startup instructions (Booting)
Other Critical data
▫ Features:
Can’t write new information
Can’t be erased (Etched on the chip)
 9

Computer Components Memory

• Flash Memory
▫ Read/write/Erase data
▫ Data not erased if power switch off ( Non Volatile)
Smartphone's, Tablets.
Standalone
 10

Storing Data and Information:

Hard Drives
• Primary device for
permanent storage
▫ Secondary storage
▫ Stores programs and data
▫ Slower than main memory
▫ Huge storage capacities
• Types:
▫ Internal
▫ Portable
 11

Storing Data and Information:

Cloud Storage
• Types of Cloud Storage
▫ Dropbox
▫ OneDrive
▫ iCloud
▫ Google Drive
• Features:
▫ Easy access anywhere as long as you have internet
▫ Huge storage capacities
▫ Online backup
 12

Computer Components Connectivity

• Ports:
▫ USB
▫ Video
▫ HDMI
▫ FireWire
▫ Ethernet
• To connect devices:
mouse, keyboard,
monitor, etc…
 13

Green Computing
• The use of computers and related resources in
an environmentally responsible manner
• Tips:
▫ Use e-Resources instead of print
▫ Use energy saving devices
▫ Recycle electronic waste
▫ Turn off computing devices when they are not in
use.
 14

Future Trends
• Existing hardware technology could no longer be
available after 10 years!
• Do you remember Any?
 15

Future Trends
• Robot Servants
• Commuter Robot
• IoT Smart Cities
 16

Future Trends
• Virtual Screens
• OLED Displays
▫ Transparent Screens
• Bendable Smartphones
• Flying Cars!!
Chapter 4
Software
Part 1 Application Software
Outline
• What is Software?
• Application Software
• Mobile Applications
• Web Applications
• Software Common Issues
• Software Piracy

2
What is Software?

3
 What is Software?

• Software enables people to communicate certain

types of problems to the computer.
• A set of instructions that tells a computer what to
do, how to do it, and where to send the results to.

4
Types of Software
Desktop Apps

Applications Web Apps

Mobile Apps
Software
Operating
Systems

System Software Utility Software

Programming
Tools
5
Application Software
• Any software designed to perform a group
of coordinated functions, tasks, or
activities for the benefit of the user.
• Examples of an application include a word
processor, a spreadsheet, an accounting
application, a web browser, a media
player, a console game or a photo editor.

6
Application software
• Generally classified to:
Desktop Application:
An application that runs stand-alone in a desktop or
laptop computer.
Web Application:
Applications that are accessible on the Web via web
browsers.
Mobile Application:
Application software designed to run on smartphones,
tablet computers and other mobile devices

7
 Smartphones vs Desktop
Criteria Smartphone’s Desktop PC’s
Processing power Lower Higher
Screen Size Smaller Bigger
Portability Yes No
Limited Battery Life (Extend
Power Unlimited AC connection
using Power Banks)
Storage ~ 16GB to 128GB Over 1 TB
GPS, Motion, temp, pressure,
Sensors Very Limited to non
etc…
Most applications depend on the Minimal dependence on the
Internet Usage
internet internet

8
 Why Smartphones?
• What did the smartphone replace?
Try to list some

• Supports Multiple Sensors:

Accelerometer: Measuring Speed
Gyroscope: Measuring Orientation
Magnetometer: Detecting North Directions
Barometer: Measuring atmospheric pressure; detecting
altitudes
Proximity: Detect the presence of nearby objects without
any physical contact
NFC Near field communication
Light Sensor
Etc…

9
Mobile Applications
• Smartphone and tablet applications developed precisely
for a specific mobile operating system. A native app
developed for iOS won’t work on Android devices, and vis
-versa.

10
Web Applications
• Are not real applications; they are really
websites that, in many ways, look and feel like
native applications.
• They are run by a browser and typically
written in HTML5.
• Common features:
Easy access as long as you have internet
Doesn’t need to use CPU power from your machine
Enables online collaboration
Updates usually done on the server side
Accessible on a wide range of devices

11
 Installed vs Web 

Advantages
• Best performance and
Installed Apps provides full access to
underlying hardware
• User Interface elements
are guaranteed to be
consistent with the
platform look and feel
Disadvantages
• Higher development costs,
maintaining multiple code
bases.
• More developers needed,
due to specific
requirements needed to
develop

• Create mobile apps quickly • Browser based user

and easily experience
• No need to distribute • Internet connection is
Web Apps using iTunes or Google required
Play • Slower performance, not
• Multi-functionality device optimized
• Lower deployment costs

12
Common Software Issues
• There are multiple issues you need to be
aware of when dealing with software's:
From where to get the software?
What is the cost of the software?
Is it compatible with system? Are there any extra
requirements you need to maintain?
How to maintain the software?
How to fix software errors or problems?
Understanding privacy and security issues.
Are there any copyrights associated with your
software?

13
Software Distribution
• From where do you get your application?
Applications could be pre-installed in the operating system of
your device.
You can download and install it from any digital distribution
platforms, e.g.
Google Play
App Store
Windows Store
Acquire the software on a CD/DVD or a flash memory
Applications could be delivered as web applications using
server-side software. (Software as a service)

14
Software Revenue Models
• What is the cost Behind
your software?
Applications are either free
of charge or at a cost.
A new concept of free apps
(Freemiums) or in-app
purchases which makes lots
of money through them:
Candy Crush Saga
Many free applications use
advertisements
Flappy Birds
Other applications could
have subscription based
services, such as news apps
Financial Times

15
Software Issues
• Compatibility
Software’s are designed to run on specific OS
If a software can run on more than one OS it is
labeled as cross platform

• Minimum Requirements
Software will not be installed or won’t work
properly, if minimum requirements are not met
CD labels include info such as Requires
Windows 7 with 2GB of RAM to run
• Recommended Requirements
Allows you to enjoy the full capabilities of your
software, e.g. play game with decent graphical
settings, better resolution and no lagging

16
Minimum Vs Recommended Requirements

17
 Software Maintenance
• Updating
Usually free minor enhancements & bug fixes; e.g.
Software 1.0 to Software 1.1
Done frequently

• Upgrading
Significant new features or improvements e.g. Win XP
Win Vista  Win 7  Win 8.1  Win 10
Every year or two e.g. Software 1.0 to Software 2.0
Usually not free

• Service Packs
Bundled updates, e.g. Windows 7 SP1

18
Performance Issues
• Network Issues
Slow Internet connection can drag down your app’s
performance.
Back-end systems on the developer’s servers
If the server is down web based apps can’t run
Assuming always-on data connection
Issues when you are far from a network coverage

• Smartphone Issues
Poor Battery
Low RAM/Storage
Multiple Apps running in the background

19
How to fix software problems
• Restart the software.

• Shut down and restart your computer.

• Uninstall the software, then reinstall it.

• Free up RAM by closing other open programs.

• Use the Internet to find help.

• Undo any recent hardware or software changes.

• Look for software patches.

• Scan for viruses and malware.

20
Application Permissions
• A way to limit applications' access to sensitive
information, for example sound recorded by microphone,
and valuable resources, like the battery, etc..
• Usually these are associated with smart devices

21
 Application Permissions
• Possible Risks
Accessing the user contacts on a
smartphone (including the
contact information that may
come from corporate email that
syncs to the phone)
Accessing the user's calendar
information
Collecting or determining the
user's location and tracking his
movements
Passing along any or all of this
information to ad networks or
analytics companies

22
Security & privacy
• Ways to protect yourself against harmful apps
Only download apps from official app distributers
Check suspicious app permissions
Beware of app advertisements
Switch off permissions for apps you don’t use
Update your device firmware

23
Control App Permissions

24
Mobile Apps Permissions
• iOS Jailbreaking
Is the process of removing software restrictions imposed by
iOS ; on devices running it through the use of software
exploits
It permits root access to the iOS file system and manager,
allowing the download of additional applications, extensions,
and themes that are unavailable through the official Apple
App Stores
Jailbreaking not only violates your End User License
Agreement ;it also exposes your phone to security
vulnerabilities and puts your personal data at risk.

• Rooting Android
 Is the process of allowing users running the Android
mobile operating system to attain privileged control
(known as root access)

25
Software Copyrights
• Copyright
Is the legal right to copy, distribute, modify and
sell an original work
Copy rights to protect Software owner rights
• Types
Proprietary (Closed Source Code)
Doesn’t have the right to modify the code
Open source code
Has the right to use, modify and redistribute

• Regardless of the copyright type both could be

either purchased or for free; depends on the
software developer.

26
Software Piracy
• Is the illegal copying, distribution, or use of software.
Billions of Dollars Lost
1/3 of Software’s are illegally copied

27
UAE Copyrights Law
• UAE Federal Law No. 7 of the Year 2002
Hefty fines for copyright Infringements from as minimum as
10,000 AED to 500,000 AED

28
UAE Copyright Law
• Example of hefty fines Article 38 Link
5. The downloading or storing in the computer any
copy of the computer program or applications thereof
or databases, without obtaining a license from the
author or right holder or successors thereof is
penalized by the law with an imprisonment for a
minimum period of three months and a fine
amounting to a minimum of fifty thousand dirhams
(AED 50,000) to a maximum of five hundred thousand
dirhams (AED 500,000). In case of repetition of the
offence, the increased penalty is imprisonment for a
minimum period of nine months and a fine amounting
to a minimum amount of two hundred thousand
dirhams (AED 200,000).

29
Chapter 4
Software
Part 2 System Software
Types of Software
Desktop Apps

Applications Web Apps

Mobile Apps
Software
Operating
Systems

System Software Utility Software

Programming
Tools

2
Topics Part 2
• Computer Language
• Programming Tools
• System Software
• How the Operating System work
• User Interfaces
• Future trends

3
Computer Language
• Every computer process instructions in
machine language.
These are numeric codes used to represent basic
operations:
Adding and subtracting numbers
Comparing numbers
Moving numbers
Repeating instructions

• Is this a practical language that we can use to

create software?

4
Creating Software
If we give the below command to the computer
“Get the input from the user and store it”
What do you think would happen?
“Input” is ambiguous to the computer
It can mean text, number, audio, etc..
The command lacks details
From where to get the input? Keyboard,
microphone, touch screen, etc..
Where to store it? Main memory, hard disk, etc..

• Why can’t we use human languages for programming?

Ambiguity Can mean different things in different
contexts
Lack of all details  Context dependent
5
Algorithms
• Algorithms are a unified common language that can be
understood by all programmers.
• Programmers convert algorithms to software using
different programming languages.
• Example of Algorithms:

6
Programming Languages
• Low Level Languages
Machine Languages
Lang. of 0s and 1s
Assembly Languages
Very Basic Instructions

• High Level Languages

C++, java, VB, Python, etc..

7
Programming
• Programmers/Developers
People who write software using a programming
language

• Programmers use high-level languages.

C++, Java, and Visual Basic

• Use Compilers to build and compile code

Detecting and correcting errors  Debugging
Convert from High-level to low level code
E.g. Visual Studio, Eclipse, etc…

8
Why Programming?
Why Programming Is Important (YouTube Link)
Expand your thinking skills
Makes you more productive, efficient and effective
It is useful, e.g. write a small script to automate tasks
on your computer
It is fun

9
What is System Software?
• System software is a type of computer program that
is designed to run a computer's hardware and
application programs.
• It is the interface between the hardware and user
applications.
• It includes the operating system and utility
software
Link between
Application
Software and
hardware

10
Operating System
• Is the program that, after being initially
loaded into the computer by a boot
program, manages all the other programs
in a computer.
• It carries multiple functions:
Memory Management
File Management
CPU Management
Security

11
Operating Systems
• Microsoft OS Family
Microsoft Windows 10: Introduced in 2015 is latest
version for desktop/laptop computers
Microsoft Windows Server: Runs on small servers to
the mightiest hardware
Windows Embedded: Designed for devices such as
robots, voting machines, music players, etc.
Windows 10 Mobile: New OS for mobile phones

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Operating Systems
• Mac OS X:
Standard for the Mac

• Unix OS
Used by Internet servers
Used to be Command line, but new
versions includes GUI.
Enables timesharing computer to
communicate with several other
computers at one time
Menus like windows also exist

• Linux OS
Open source
Have multiple spinoff OS

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Operating Systems
• Apple iOS: Used for iPhone, iPad, and iPod
Was introduced with the introduction of iPhone in
2007, it revolutionized the smartphone market

• Google Android: Designed for smart phones

Android OS, developed by Google followed suit to lead
in the smartphone OS market

• Chrome OS: Designed by Google to work with

Google Web Apps, based on Linux

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Utility Programs
• Is system software designed to help
analyze, configure, optimize or maintain
a computer that are not automatically
done by OS
• Examples:
Copy files
Compress files (eg. zip)
Virus protection
Disk Cleanup
Backup

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Utility Programs

16
Device Drivers
• Small Programs that enable communication with
devices
Keyboard
Printers
Flash memory
 etc..

• Most OS’s try to recognize and install the correct

driver, this is called Plug and Play
• If OS can’t find driver, either it is downloaded from
the internet or installed via a CD

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How does the Computer Start
• Some Computing devices have full OS in ROM
• Others have only a part in ROM and the core in the
Hard Drive
• Booting Process
Loads OS from the Hard Drive into memory (RAM)

Loads OS
Switch on ROM Booting
from disk to
Comp Prog Starts
mem

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After OS is loaded what next?

OS(Windows) User selects OS loads Word

controls screen Word (Appl Prg)

OS(Windows) Word Process Word cotrols

controls screen ends screen

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User Interface
• OS behind the scenes most of the time.

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User Interface
• It is the space where interaction between
the user and the machine
It should be simple, effective and user friendly

• Types of user interfaces:

Old interfaces:
Command Line
Menu Driven
Current interfaces:
WIMP (windows, icons, menus, pointing devices)
SILK (Speech, Image, Language, Knowledge)

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Old Interfaces
• Command Line Interface
Limited only to text commands

• Menu Driven Interface

Use keyboard to open menus
Supports shortcuts

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WIMP Interfaces
• Graphical User Interfaces GUI
Sample Mac Interface

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GUI features
• Menu Based

• Submenus

• Pop up Menus

• Context sensitive menus (Right Click)

Task Bar
Any Icon
Start Menu

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GUI features
• Tiles on the Start Screen

• Windows Icon Shortcuts

• Mac Icon Dock

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SILK Interfaces
• Gesture Based Interfaces:
A gesture is a form of non-verbal communication in which
visible bodily actions communicate particular messages.
A simple gesture recognition algorithm can detect hand
location and movement

• Examples:
Smartphone, tablets touch screens
XBOX 360 – Kinect uses multiple cameras to detect motion
Nintendo – Wii uses controllers to detect gestures

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SILK Interfaces
• Virtual Reality
An interactive computer-generated experience taking place
within a simulated environment. It incorporates mainly
auditory and visual feedback, but may also allow other types
of sensory feedback like haptic.

• Augmented Reality
Is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world
environment whose elements are augmented (or
supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as
sound, video, graphics
E.g. Ikea Catalog App, Pokémon Go

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SILK Interfaces
• Mixed Reality (3D Interactive Holograms)
A live presentation of physical real-world elements is
incorporated with that of virtual elements such that they are
perceived to exist together in a shared environment.

• Voice Commands:
It uses advanced speech recognition algorithms
Ability to recognize multiple languages and tones
E.g. Siri, S Voice, Cortana virtual assistant

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Software Future
• Iron Man technology will be reality in the future

29
Artificial
Intelligence
Lecture 6
Outline
• What is AI?

• Types of Intelligence

• History of AI

• Data Science

• Fields of AI

• AI Applications

2
AI vs Automation
• What is the difference between AI and
Automation?
Automation is a bunch of machines doing a repetitive
task without human intervention.
AI focuses on the ability of the machine to make
selections and decisions based on different factors.

• AI helps improve the automation process by

learning and improving itself.
to achieve human-level performance in all cognitive
tasks

3
Artificial Intelligence
• It is a branch of computer science dealing with the
simulation of intelligent behavior in computers,
sometimes called machine intelligence, in contrast
to the natural intelligence displayed by humans
and other animals.
• Artificial intelligence can be classified into three
different types:
Artificial Narrow Intelligence
Artificial General Intelligence
Artificial Super Intelligence

4
Artificial Narrow Intelligence
• Narrow AI is the only form of Artificial Intelligence
that humanity has achieved so far.

• This is AI that is good at performing a single task

• Examples:
Playing chess or Go,
Making purchase suggestions
Even Google’s translation engine, sophisticated as it is,
is a form of narrow Artificial Intelligence.

• Self-driving car technology is still considered a type

of narrow AI, or more precisely, a coordination of
several narrow AIs.
• In essence, narrow AI works within a very limited
context, and can’t take on tasks beyond its field.

5
Artificial General Intelligence
• General AI, also known as human-level AI or strong AI, is the
type of Artificial Intelligence that can understand and reason
its environment as a human would.
• It’s really hard to define what a human-level artificial
intelligence would be. You just need to look at how you
perceive things, juggle between multiple unrelated thoughts
and memories when making a decision. That’s very hard for
computers to achieve.
• Humans might not be able to process data as fast as
computers, but they can think abstractly and plan, solve
problems at a general level without going into the details. It’s
very hard to teach a computer to invent something that isn’t
there.
• Some say we’ll see general AI before the turn of the century.

6
Artificial Super Intelligence
• It is when AI becomes much smarter than
the best human brains in practically
every field, including scientific creativity,
general wisdom and social skills, we’ve
achieved Artificial Super Intelligence.
• What happens then, no one knows for
sure:
Some scientists such as Stephen Hawking
see the development of full artificial
intelligence as the potential end of
humanity.
Others, such as Google’s Demis
Hassabis, believe the smarter AI gets,
the better humans will become at
saving the environment, curing
diseases, explore the universe, and at
understanding themselves.
7
AI History
• The Turing Test by Alan Turing 1950

• John McCarthy first coined the term Artificial

Intelligence in 1955.
• 1956 – 1974 the golden years
Game Playing: Chess, Checker
Machine Translation

8
AI History
• AI Winter 1974-1980
AI researchers had failed to appreciate the difficulty of the
problems they faced.
AI was subject to critiques and financial setbacks, funding for
AI disappeared
Limited Computer Power

• The second AI boom was triggered in the 1980s by the

advent of “expert systems.”
• 1997 Deep Blue beats Garry Kasparov

• 2012 Deep Learning Revolution

9
The Turing Test
• You enter a room which has a computer terminal. You
have a fixed period of time to type what you want into
the terminal, and study the replies. At the other end of
the line is either a human being or a computer system.
• If it is a computer system, and at the end of the period
you cannot reliably determine whether it is a system or a
human, then the system is deemed to be intelligent.

10
Puzzle
• The river crossing puzzle
A robot on a rowboat needs to move three pieces of
cargo across a river: a fox, a chicken, and a sack of
chicken-feed.
The fox will eat the chicken if it has the chance, and
the chicken will eat the chicken-feed if it has the
chance, and neither is a desirable outcome.
The robot is capable of keeping the animals from
doing harm when it is near them.
Only the robot can operate the boat and only one of
the pieces of cargo can fit on the rowboat together
with the robot.
• How can the robot move all of its cargo to the
opposite bank of the river?
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AI Solving the problem
• Five movable things have been identified: the
robot, the boat, the fox, the chicken, and the
chicken feed.
• In principle, each of the five can be on either side of
the river, but since only the robot can operate the
boat, the two will always be on the same side.
• Thus there are four things with two possible
positions for each (Near side, Far side)
which makes for sixteen combinations called states

12
Subfields of AI

13
Cognitive tasks include
• Natural language processing
for communication with human

• Knowledge representation
to store information effectively & efficiently

• Automated reasoning
to retrieve & answer questions using the stored information

• Machine learning
 to adapt to new circumstances

• Computer vision
to perceive objects (seeing)

• Robotics
to move objects (acting)

14
Data Science
• Is a multi-disciplinary field that uses scientific methods,
processes, algorithms and systems to
extract knowledge and insights from structured and
unstructured data

15
Decision Making
• AI is very beneficial in helping to make decisions.
• It can accurately and quickly analyze a large
amount of data, and make decisions based on that
data.
• Previously, companies hired people as consultants
to help make decisions.
• Nowadays AI can be fed a large amount of data and
business models to have it help make decisions
about how the company should move forward.

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Recognition
• AI excels at pattern recognition, and can predict patterns
with a high amount of accuracy. Examples include:
Facial Recognition
Voice Recognition
Text Recognition

• A good example of all this is your own phone! These days

phones can recognize your face, voice, and fingerprints.

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Machine Learning
• There is a saying that all Machine
Learning (ML) is AI, but not all AI is
Machine Learning.
• ML can be defined as:
Machine learning (ML) is the scientific study of
algorithms and statistical models that computer
systems use to effectively perform a specific task
without using explicit instructions, relying on
patterns and inference instead.

18
Vera
• The Russian startup Stafory is using Robot Vera, an AI-
based software technology, to recruit and hire humans
• Here’s how it works:
Vera is connected to five different job sites, including
CareerBuilder, Superjob and Avito, etc…
Once recruiters have an open position, they create a detailed
job description of what the role entails, the skills needed and
a script of interview questions.
Vera downloads this information and scours online resumes
and cover letters to find qualified candidates.
Vera then calls applicants and asks candidates if they’re still
seeking a job, it uses speech recognition to ask and answer
questions about the position and the company.

19
Autonomous cars
• They require a combination of AI
techniques of many kinds:
Search and planning to find the
most convenient route from A to B
Computer vision to identify
obstacles
Decision making under
uncertainty to cope with the
complex and dynamic
environment.
• Each of these must work with
almost flawless precision in order
to avoid accidents.

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Recommendation Systems
These AI systems are tailored to personal use. They see
what you like online, learn about you, and provide
recommendations for you based on that, and learn from
others as well.
Examples:
product recommenders for services such as Amazon
content recommenders for social media platforms such as
Facebook and Twitter
playlist generators for video and music services like Netflix,
YouTube and Spotify

21
AI in Gaming
• Artificial intelligence in video games is largely used to
determine the behavior of non-player characters (NPCs) in
games.

• A nice example of advanced AI in gaming is the Alien in

the game, Alien: Isolation.
• The enemy alien in the game has not one, but two AI
engines controlling it:
The first AI tells the alien where the player is, so it always
knows where you are.
The second AI gives the alien hints as to how to get to you.

• The Alien learns how you play and adapts its behavior to
anticipate you.

22
AI in Medicine
• AI is used in medicine for many applications, the most
popular being accurate diagnosis.
• AI can be trained on multiple images of cancer for
example, and then once it has been sufficiently trained,
can diagnose whether patients have cancer or not. This is
also part of supervised learning we talked about earlier.
• In the future, it is likely that AI will also be used to
assist doctors in surgical procedures.

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AI Everyday Uses
• These days AI is almost everywhere in our lives.
Examples include:
Voice Recognition AI: Siri, Cortana, Alexa
Visual AI: Facial or Image Recognition. This has wide
uses from unlocking your phone to detecting criminals.
Fraud Detection AI: is used at banks and numerous
other places to detect fake bills, or potential fraud by
analyzing currency patterns.
Fake News AI can be used to detect fake news by
analyzing and comparing texts. In fact, it can also be
used to write fake news as well.
Used in email to detect spam.

24
Future Trends
• As we’ve seen, AI is being increasingly used, and it will
only increase in the future. Some examples include:
Driverless Cars: These are in fact available now, but are
mostly in the testing phase. Ai can be used so that the cars
communicate with each other to prevent collisions and
accurately deliver the passengers to their locations.
Smart Homes: Again, these are already available but are
expensive. AI can help control anything at home, even if you
aren’t there. Some examples include sensors to determine
lighting at home, a fridge that can place orders for groceries
when it detects supply is low, and other smart interfaces.
Soon, every object will be connected to the internet.

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TBL Video Links
NAO Robot

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8-SSwKMGnY

Robot Soccer

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfNRXTS55nY

Car Factory - Kia Sportage factory production line

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjAZGUcjrP8

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