AI and Human Intelligence

Good Morning ladies and gentlemen, a very warm welcome to all present here. Today
marks our 26th European Conference on Artificial intelligence and we are proud to be
able to host it today here at this wonderful place with all of you.

I wish to thank Mrs. Professor Angela Thompson, chair of ECAI 2023 for agreeing to
preside over this event. It is also an honor for us to welcome representatives from our
partner academies as well as experts from science, business and politics to the
conference today. And I would like to greet the representatives from the Federal
Government and the European Union.

I would also like to welcome Mr. Konefal, you have held a number of very important
roles in the scientific sector. You are a former director-general who is still active in the
development of AI, it is an honor to have you here with us.

Over the last thirty years, research in Artificial Intelligence (AI) has continued to evolve,
and with it, its potential to alter the way we live. The aim of this speech is to
understand what AI is, how it works and how these advances will impact us in the
future.

Due to the infinite possibilities of its applications, artificial intelligence poses both
opportunities and difficulties for all sectors of society. This is demonstrated by the fact
that 74% of business leaders believe AI will help their companies succeed by enhancing
operational transformations, strengthening customer interactions, sales processes,
data analysis, security, and other areas, according to IBM. Additionally, it has
applications in the fields of medicine, energy, transport, fighting disinformation,
criminal justice systems and finance, where in the latter, AI can be used to detect and
fix biases in existing data in credit analysis processes.

Even governments are beginning to use artificial intelligence as a decision-support

tool. They do so for different purposes, including disease prediction, anticipating
potential traffic jams, spotting fraud, delivering social services, processing paperwork,
border control, etc. A recent example is San Jose, Silicon Valley´s largest city, where
police are about to test On Sound Acoustic Gunshot Detection based on AI.

But what exactly is AI and how does it work? AI is a subfield of computer science
concerned with developing software and hardware that can carry out tasks that would
normally require human intelligence, such as perception, logic, and learning. In other
words, it is the simulation of human mental processes and intelligence by computers.
Talking about a computer having the ability to think may sound a bit too futuristic and
sci-fi but in reality many of the services and platforms we use today use artificial
intelligence components. For example, when someone sends us an email, there is an AI
algorithm that processes and understands whether it is an email that we want to
receive in our inbox or if it is unwanted, in which case it sends it to spam. Spotify, the
online music listening platform, also uses this system to learn about our tastes and
interests in music, recommending new songs and new artists to listen to in a
personalized way.

However, difficult artificial intelligence has also passed its infancy state. I will now be
moving on to talk about some of the things AI is working on that are going to have an
even bigger impact. AlphaFold from DeepMind is working on an AI that can predict
protein shapes. This study has cleared the road for other researchers to comprehend
how diseases work and develop novel therapeutics. Last year, Meta presented a model
for predicting protein structure that was even more effective. The two businesses have
created the structure for hundreds of millions of proteins, which makes it easier for
biologists and pharmaceutical companies to search for new structures. Despite the fact
that clinical studies may take years, it is a fact that the era of pharmaceutical
technology is here and there is no turning back.

As you may already know, today, there are advanced text generation tools capable of
creating content in a matter of seconds, including books and theses in less than 24
hours. This is the case of programmes such as GPT 3 (Chat GP3) created by OpenAI.
According to Nature Magazine, ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot, can create
false research papers that are "so convincing" that professionals frequently fail to
recognize them. The scientific community emphasizes that the new tool responds to
user input by producing "realistic and intelligent" messages. In order to produce logical
and pertinent writing, AI must be able to analyze vast volumes of data and recognize
linguistic patterns. Additionally, some AI systems can develop their content creation
skills by learning on their own from text examples that already exist.

Now that we have an approximate understanding of how it works, we can delve into
the specifics of the mechanisms it uses. Artificial intelligence (AI) uses sophisticated
mathematical models and algorithms that mimic human brain processes to carry out
challenging tasks. These algorithms are built to process and learn from massive
volumes of data. In the machine learning process, AI uses a training data set to find
patterns and relationships. As it analyzes the data, it modifies its algorithms and
models to upgrade its ability to make precise predictions and solid decisions,
improving in accuracy and efficiency as it performs particular tasks over time. Different
machine learning algorithms are used in AI, including: supervised learning, which uses
a labelled dataset to train the AI system, enabling it to recognize patterns and
relationships in the data; unsupervised learning, which uses an unlabeled dataset to
train the AI system, allowing it to identify patterns and relationships in the data
independently and finally reinforcement learning, a mechanism that uses a reward and
punishment technique to train the AI system through experience, allowing it to learn
from its mistakes and adjust its behavior for better results.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is being used in a wide variety of sectors and it is changing
how numerous jobs are carried out in these areas. It is being utilized in agriculture to
increase productivity and cut costs. Drones with cameras and sensors can undertake
in-depth crop inspections and mapping, for instance, while AI systems can analyze
weather and soil data to optimize planting and watering. In the energy sector, AI is
being used to increase efficiency and safety in energy production. Machine learning
algorithms and AI systems can analyze sensor data from power plants to detect
defects, prevent accidents and optimize production by predicting energy consumption.

It is also being used in manufacturing to increase productivity and product quality.

Robots using computer vision systems can execute inspection and assembly duties
with high precision, while AI systems can analyze sensor data from production lines to
discover issues and optimize processes. In finance it is being used to increase efficiency
and accuracy in financial decision-making. For example, AI systems can analyze vast
volumes of financial data to find patterns and trends, while machine learning
algorithms can anticipate market changes with accuracy. As we already mentioned, AI
is being applied in medicine to help in disease detection and therapy. For instance,
machine learning algorithms can analyze enormous volumes of medical data to spot
patterns and trends, and AI systems can analyze medical imagery to find anomalies.
These are just a few examples of how AI is being applied in various fields. As
technology develops, we expect to see additional uses of AI. But how will it develop in
the future?

Without a doubt, Artificial intelligence (AI) has a bright future ahead. We should
anticipate a number of important changes in our environment as technology develops
and AI's capabilities increase. Some potential uses in the future include automation, as
it is being increasingly used to carry out jobs that previously needed human
involvement. This might entail automating dangerous or low-skilled jobs, which can
have a significant effect on the economy and peoples safety. We can also expect to see
further future developments in customized medicine and illness prevention and the
complete use of autonomous vehicles. The latter are already being tested and
operated, but this technology is expected to increase dramatically in the future, which
might have a significant impact on traffic flow and road safety. One of my personal
favorites is advanced robotics. In 2023, companies are no longer just looking to
automate certain processes, but to automate intelligently. In many cases, a robot
capable of transporting weight is no longer enough: there is a definite trend towards
mobile, autonomous robots that are capable of intelligently gathering, processing,
managing data and making the best judgments in terms of manufacturing or
production.

Despite all these advantages, there is great fear of this relatively new phenomenon.
The reasons why it can be perceived as frightening are often linked to lack of
knowledge, as many people do not fully understand how AI works and what
implications it has, which can generate fear and concern. Loss of control is another
factor that people are most concerned about, as AI can be very powerful and, if not
properly controlled, can have negative consequences for society. Currently, at the
center of the debate is the loss of jobs and uncertainty about the future; AI is a
constantly evolving technology and its impact on society and individual people is not
yet entirely clear.
For this reason, there are several initiatives and proposals around the world to
regulate AI. Some of these initiatives include the creation of ethics committees to
direct the advancement and use of AI, the adoption of particular laws and rules for AI,
and the formulation of global standards for its application.

In the European Union (EU), an AI regulation has been proposed that sets out a
number of guidelines for its responsible and ethical use. The proposed regulation
establishes three risk categories for AI, with stricter requirements for the higher risk
categories. In addition, the regulation sets out requirements for the transparency,
explainability and accountability of AI.

Last December the European Council called for a safe AI that respects fundamental
rights and adopted a "common position" on this regulation to ensure that artificial
intelligence (AI) systems placed on the EU market are safe and respect existing
fundamental rights legislation as well as EU values. As a result, it presents the idea of
dangerous and forbidden AI practices. The text extends the prohibition on the use of AI
for the purpose of monitoring citizens to private actors. In addition, the provision
prohibiting the use of AI systems that exploit the vulnerabilities of specific groups of
persons now also includes those who are vulnerable due to their social or economic
situation.

If we use AI as a supplementary tool, all the disadvantages are mitigated. Our solution
specifically aims to achieve a balance between humans and AI, which should be viewed
as complementary. In reality, we should see this great change we are experiencing as a
great opportunity. Contrary to popular assumption, new AI-based technologies will
actually enhance job opportunities by introducing new, higher-paying professions.

Along with the creation of higher-skilled jobs, employees' quality of life will also rise. In
these jobs, creativity, imagination, and emotional considerations are given more
weight, making workers feel more valued when performing their duties. Furthermore,
by giving these low-value jobs to AI, employees have more time and may be more
effective with their primary tasks.

Sustainability will also have a positive impact thanks to Artificial Intelligence. It is

planned to create green algorithms with the aim of contributing to energy efficiency,
the development of new environmentally sustainable materials and the strengthening
of the circular economy.

Overall, AI has the ability to improve things, just like everything else, but it is
imperative that we use it safely and wisely. It's been a pleasure being with all of you
today. Thank you all for your patience, I wish you all a very good evening. It's been an
honor to be among such accomplished individuals and to be able to present my
perspective before you all, thank you and good evening.