How Machine Learning Shapes Artificial Intelligence Technologies Posted on : Jul 31 - 2018

Artificial intelligence (AI) is actually a group of linked technology. It is complex and, to many people, a bit frightening. It is also huge and expanding rapidly.

That size is evident in both value projections and the expansive range of industries using the technologies. In February, Markets and Markets valued the 2017 AI market at $16.06 billion. That number is expected to reach $190.61 billion by 2025. That's a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36.61 percent. The broad range of industries is similarly impressive. The firm said that AI will be used in health care, manufacturing, automotive, agriculture, retail, security, human resources, marketing, law and the financial technology segments.

The bottom line is that AI is here today. For instance, the suggestions made by a streaming service's search engine or the ads selected by a website to display on an individual's computer ever more accurately portray his or her tastes. This is a use of AI. More specifically, it is an example of machine learning, which is one of the building blocks of AI.

Machine learning combines with at least two other technologies to form AI. Natural language processing, as the name implies, is the science of understanding verbal communications. This will extend beyond decoding words and include nuance and emotion. For instance, somebody saying, "Yeah, right" to a question may be facetious (especially if that person is a teen) or really mean it as an affirmative response. An NLP engine of the future would be able to decide between those possibilities

The second is computer vision, which entails more than being able to decipher images or video. For instance, a human generally has little difficulty identifying a person's image though years have passed, his or her face has aged and their hair style has changed or disappeared. That is a challenge for the computer vision, however, said Kimberly Nevala, the director of Business Strategy for SAS.

The Role of Machine Learning

Thus, there are three main pieces to the AI puzzle. They may be combined differently to achieve desired goals. A specific use case may require other elements to add to this core.

Machine learning is the glitziest element of AI and perhaps the element that scares people. "Machine learning is both a noun and a verb," said Michael Wu, Ph.D. and Chief AI strategist for PROS, a company that uses AI and other tools to provide dynamic pricing to its clients. View More