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Artificial intelligence, or AI is
all the rage again. Some people
– most of them technologists
– are looking at AI as a way to
resolve some of the problems
we face. But others are afraid of
it. How can we make sure that
AI systems – such as robots
– will really help us and not
take over the world and snatch
our jobs away from us? Pieter
Ballon, director of SMIT (an
imec research group at VUB),
emphasizes that engineers
and social scientists need to
work together on AI, because
artificial intelli-gence is a
technological innovation that
will undoubtedly cause signifi-
cant economic disruption and
social changes.
meter, which uses a subcutaneous
sensor to measure a patient’s blood-
sugar level, alerting the patient 30
minutes before that level reaches an
alarming status.
Stage two is ‘Control’: thanks to its
in-built algorithms, the product will
then carry out an action based on
the readings or measurements it
has taken. For example, if a smart
camera detects a car with a specific
number plate, the gate will open.
Systems then evolve towards the
stage of ‘Optimization’. Basing itself
on all the data that the system
collects while it is operating, in-built
algorithms can carry out analyses to
determine the best way of work-ing.
It’s as though the system ‘learns’ to
work more efficiently. An ex-ample
of this are wind turbines that are
able to adjust the position of their
vanes each time the wind changes
direction so that they can cap-
AI systems will become our workmates. Workmates we
understand and trust.
Pieter Ballon, Imec
AI is an evolution, not a
revolution
Science fiction films featuring robots
or intelligent machines in the lead-
ing roles (such as Blade Runner,
Real Humans, Westworld, etc.) have
caused us to look at a future with AI
with some trepidation. But it won’t
happen overnight and we will also
have time to adjust ourselves to
the idea and to control AI systems
where necessary so that it becomes
a gradual evolution, not a sudden
revolution. But it is definitely an
evolu-tion that is already underway.
Harvard professor, Michael Porter,
sets out four stages that mark
the way toward smart objects and
systems. Stage one is ‘Monitoring’:
by using sensors, a smart product
will be aware of its own situation
and the world around it. An example
of this is the Medtronic glucose
20 l New-Tech Magazine Europe