“Every technology in human history has been used both as a tool and '' said Juan Lavista Ferrez, chief scientist and co-founder of Microsoft.AI for Good Lab'' he said in a recent interview. In this sense, as we all know, artificial intelligence (AI) is no different from any other major technology.
However, while much attention has been paid over the past few decades to the weaponization of AI and its commercial potential, there has been less focus on the various ways in which AI can help solve global problems. It wasn't.
This is where a recently published book by AI for Good Lab comes into play. This book draws on the experience and knowledge of the Institute's team of veteran researchers, who under the guidance of Mr. La Staferes, launched in 2018 to leverage his AI to positively impact society. It is a collection of.
the title is”AI for Good: Sustainability, humanitarian work, and health applications,This book provides unique insight into the immense and exciting potential of AI. The idea is to help those on the front lines of tackling these problems imagine how AI can help them, explains Lavista Ferres.
“Many of the organizations we work with have a good understanding of the problems they want to solve, whether they're working on pancreatic cancer, sustainability, accessibility or other areas. It's difficult for them to understand. One of the reasons is that they don't have a deep understanding of AI,” he elaborates.
The AI for Good Lab team realized early on that: The best way to help these organizations identify AI opportunities is to, As Lavista Ferres emphasizes, “The example has nothing to do with what they're doing.”
To understand what this means, check out Lavista Férez, a renowned data scientist who has published research in leading academic journals and spoken at TEDx, Strata, IEEE, Cornell University, and UC. You need to understand that. Berkeley (among others) has captivated audiences around the world and drawn widespread attention to his ideas.
For example, his team shared: one of their early projects Working with NGOs that support and support the people of Syria during the conflict. Insights about this project helped them find a solution to one of the problems they were working on, even though it had nothing to do with the NGO's work.
aAmong other things, NGOs collected evidence of war crimes. This project is shared by AI for Good Lab with NGOs and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)involved using underwater acoustic sensors and AI to detect and track beluga whales.
“We asked if something like that could be used to understand potential weapons that should not be used because they are restricted by the Geneva Conventions,” NGO Lavista Ferres said. The answer was that as long as these weapons (cluster munitions in this particular case) had a specific sonic fingerprint, and many weapons did, they could use the same model. These two examples have nothing to do with each other and cannot be further apart, but from an AI perspective they are essentially the same problem. ”
Since then, the AI for Good Lab team has started pointing out examples of what they're doing when meeting with organizations, which helps organizations “brainstorm ways to use AI to solve problems.” It was helpful. their problem. “
Therefore, each of the 30 chapters in this book presents a different real-world example, a project that the Microsoft AI for Good Lab has worked on in collaboration with partners and experts. (I wouldn't work on a project without it). Each presents examples of AI applications in sustainability, humanitarian work, and health.
AI: The case for “the only viable solution”
Asked to share what she thinks is the most exciting application of AI featured in the book, Lavista Férez smiled and likened the project to children. ““It’s hard to pick a favorite,” he says. He's excited about them all.
Still, perhaps unsurprising given the impact and scale of the problem this project is helping to solve, and Lavista Ferrez's background, he has a degree in computer science, data mining and machine learning, and in AI in healthcare. graduate degree — he cites one of his lab projects.
“There's a chapter in this book about retinopathy of prematurity, the leading cause of blindness in children around the world. This disease didn't exist a few decades ago, but now it's in many countries. , especially in the Global South. The reason it didn't exist in the past is because it affects premature babies who wouldn't survive, but now, thanks to improvements in health and medical care. More premature babies are surviving, and as a result, more babies are suffering from retinopathy of prematurity.”
by the studyIn 2010, an estimated 184,700 preterm infants worldwide suffered from retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and approximately 20,000 became blind or severely visually impaired. As Lavista Ferres emphasizes, blindness due to ROP is preventable.
“All you need to do is get diagnosed and have surgery, but the chances of that happening are very small. For severe ROP, you only have 24 hours,” he explains. “The problem is that there are only 200,000 ophthalmologists in the world, 10,000 of whom are pediatric ophthalmologists. And every year, more babies who can be affected by ROP and need to be tested are But there is a shortage of pediatric ophthalmologists. Even if they could be distributed completely evenly around the world, it would be impossible to do so in any country. And even if these people work 24/7, they still don't have enough to do the job.
This is where AI becomes “the only viable solution.” The lab worked with an ophthalmologist to develop an app that can detect his ROP using an AI-powered smartphone camera, replacing expensive diagnostic equipment.
In terms of accuracy, these algorithms are “as good as a very good ophthalmologist,” notes Lavista Ferres, stressing that they “are not meant to replace an ophthalmologist.”
“This tool does not perform surgery, but it is useful for screening. This will help doctors expand to the point where they can focus only on severe cases or cases with ROP. This is not just a case of AI. be Although the solution is only That's the solution we have. ”
Leaving no one behind: Bridging the “power gap”
In the book AI for Good, Lavista Férez writes that the potential of AI reminds us of electricity, but today, 150 years after its invention, access to electricity has increased to “7% worldwide. It remains out of reach for over 100 million people.” ” To ensure that AI doesn’t create similar gaps, “we need tools to access it,” he says.
““We know for a fact that the distribution of intelligence is roughly equal around the world, regardless of where you are born,” he continues. “But chances say that's not the case. We need to work across that pyramid. The first is access to electricity. If you don't have access to electricity, you don't have access to the internet or AI. ” Closing the electricity access gap requires “understanding that there are people left behind in the world” and “continuing to invest in the infrastructure that gives people access to electricity.”
“Secondly, we need to access the internet in an affordable way,” added Lavista Ferres.
Talent issues: Lack of AI expertise
One of the concerns expressed in the book is that governments and organizations “often lack the capacity to attract and retain the AI expertise” needed to solve the problems they are working on. is.
“The majority of AI professionals work in the financial services or technology sector,” notes Lavista Ferres. “Unfortunately, the demand for AI talent is now so high that it is becoming more difficult for organizations and NGOs around the world to hire and retain these talent.”
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But Lavista Ferres is hopeful that “more people will get into AI.” “I think sometimes the train moves slowly. I hope and hope that in a few years, people who are training as doctors will also be training in AI. ”
“Whether you're an architect, an accountant, a historian, a physicist, whatever problem you're working on, you need to work with data, and that's why AI can help you do that,” he added. Ta.
do the right thing
Lavista returns to power on how the threat of AI can be mitigated.he reminds us that current war In the early days of electricity (between alternating current and direct current), especially Discussion about the risks of interaction.
“Society always does the right thing, even if it takes time.”
Alternating current allows electricity to be transferred over very long distances. For example, electricity from a power plant is sent to your home as alternating current. Direct current is used in computers, remote controls, LEDs, telephones, etc. Although direct current is safe, it cannot carry electricity over long distances.
“If we can't do that, we can't electrify the city,” Lavista Ferres points out. “But there are also risks. Alternating current can kill people. Thomas Edison, the greatest promoter I was strongly opposed to the use of alternating current. He electrocuted a poor dog in front of people to demonstrate the dangers of alternating current. And he was right in the sense that this is a risk to society. ”
The problem, Lavista Ferres sees it, was that Edison “couldn't think of a way for society to work together to ensure safe electricity.”
“Today, people don't question whether AC is dangerous or not. Why? Because we have significantly reduced those risks. The risks of AC are not zero, but we are , and that's what people need to understand,” he says.
When it comes to AI, Lavista Ferres believes that “it is our responsibility to work together to minimize risks.” “Forever Optimistic”” We've done it with every other technology, he says. “AI is just one more thing on top of that.”
“Society always does the right thing, even if it takes a little longer,” he adds, noting that most of the improvements in life expectancy, access to services, water and sanitation over the past 200 years have all been driven by technology. The result of being used for good.
Editor's note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own and not those of Impakter.com. — Cover photo credit: Microsoft.
