Extended Intelligences 🧠

AI, how does it work???

Artificial Intelligence (AI) works like an advanced computer program that learns from data, similar to how humans learn from experiences. It involves showing the AI lots of examples (data), from which it identifies patterns - for instance, an AI trained to recognize cats in photos will learn from thousands of cat pictures. This process is done through machine learning algorithms and neural networks, which mimic the human brain's way of processing information. The more data AI receives, the better it gets at making predictions or decisions. It can either be specifically told what to look for in the data (like identifying cats) or can discover patterns on its own. Essentially, AI is a powerful learner, able to quickly digest vast amounts of data and use this to make informed decisions or predictions, a task that would be incredibly complex or time-consuming for humans.

Reflecting on AI

Adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) in daily life brings both great advantages and significant challenges. AI enhances efficiency and personalization in areas like healthcare and digital services, but raises privacy issues due to extensive data gathering. The rise in automation could lead to job losses and exacerbate socio-economic disparities. Additionally, AI might reinforce societal biases, particularly in sensitive areas like recruitment and law enforcement. Overreliance on AI could weaken human critical thinking skills and leave us vulnerable to system malfunctions. Ethical dilemmas and the environmental impact of AI, such as its energy use and carbon footprint, are also pressing concerns. Addressing these challenges requires a balanced, collaborative approach among technologists, policymakers, and the public, focusing on ethical development, privacy, bias mitigation, and sustainability in AI.

Making our own AI

"Green Guardian", our project is an AI tool designed to assist with plant care. It works by having users upload a photo of their plant. The AI then analyzes the photo, identifying key features and the overall health of the plant. Based on this analysis, it provides customized care tips for watering, feeding, pruning, and pest management, tailored to the plant's specific needs. The tool also allows users to track their plant's growth over time. Key concerns addressed include ensuring diversity in training data, privacy issues related to data collection, dependency risks, and the responsibility for accuracy in the AI's advice and recommendations. The tool is supported by datasets containing images of various plant species and conditions.

You can check more technical details of Green Guardian here