There has never been a better time to work in the artificial intelligence industry than right now. AI has reached a tipping point and is ready to revolutionize every business. A lot has already been published on particular AI applications. With five audacious predictions that are based on my knowledge and immersion in the area, I take a step back in this piece to analyze how artificial intelligence is poised to fundamentally reshape larger portions of our economy and society over the next ten years.
1. AI and ML will transform the scientific method.
Large-scale clinical trials and the construction of particle colliders are examples of important science that are costly and time-consuming. There has been significant, well-founded worry about the stalling of scientific advancement in recent decades. It’s possible that the era of great scientific discovery is finished.
We may anticipate orders of magnitude improvements in what can be done with AI and machine learning (ML). Humans are limited in the range of concepts they can computationally investigate. Humans and computers can discuss a wider range of concepts. Additionally, a considerably wider range of concepts can be successfully handled by people working with computers and AI. With the help of AI, it is now possible to computationally analyze massive data sets and identify complicated links and patterns. AI, which enhances human intelligence, is poised to revolutionize scientific research, ushering in a new era of scientific discovery in the years to come.
2. AI will become a pillar of foreign policy.
There will probably be significant government investment in AI. For the purpose of preserving and enhancing American competitiveness abroad, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has openly endorsed the significance of collaboration with forward-thinking AI technology firms.
The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence came to the conclusion that the US government must significantly speed up the development of AI. There is little question that AI will be essential to the United States’ continued economic strength and geopolitical leadership.
3. AI will enable next-gen consumer experiences.
The metaverse and cryptocurrency are two examples of next-generation consumer experiences that have generated a lot of hype. AI will be essential in making these experiences and more like them possible. Because humans lack the kind of perception necessary to overlay digital things on actual physical surroundings or to comprehend the spectrum of human activities and their related impacts in a metaverse setting, the metaverse is intrinsically a problem for AI.
Our lives are increasingly being lived at the confluence of the worlds of bits and atoms. In a digital world, AI algorithms may be able to pick things up much more quickly (e.g., virtual driving to train autonomous vehicles). These are organic drivers for AI to close feedback loops between the virtual and real worlds. For instance, at their foundation, distributed finance, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain are all about incorporating frictionless capitalism into the economy. Distributed apps and smart contracts will need to have a better grasp of how financial operations interact with the actual world, which is an AI and ML challenge, in order to make this vision a reality.
4. Addressing the climate crisis will require AI.
We as a society still have a lot to do to reduce the socioeconomic risks brought on by climate change. Policies for pricing carbon are still in their infancy and their usefulness is debatable.
AI is necessary for many promising new concepts to be practical. Prediction markets powered by AI that can link policy to impact and take a comprehensive perspective of environmental knowledge and interdependence are one potential new strategy. This would most likely be driven by digital “twin Earth” models, which would need to process and analyze amazing volumes of real-time data in order to identify subtle trends that are undetectable to the human eye. Without AI-powered risk modeling, the ability to predict downstream effects, and the capability to foresee unintended consequences, other innovative technologies, such as carbon dioxide sequestration, cannot succeed.
5. AI will enable truly personalized medicine.
Since the human genome was decoded, personalized medicine has been a goal. Tragically, it nevertheless remains a goal. The creation of personalized treatments for patients is an intriguing new use of AI. In addition, AI has the ability to one day synthesize and forecast tailored treatment modalities in close to real-time without the need for clinical trials.
In other words, AI is ideally qualified to build and assess “digital twin” rubrics of personal biology and is able to do so in the context of the communities a person lives in. The complexity of the human body is astounding, yet our understanding of how medications function is shockingly limited (paywall). Without AI, it is impossible to make sense of the enormous information from a person’s physiology, much alone the influences of environment, lifestyle, and diet on a person’s health outcomes. AI solutions have the potential to significantly reduce chronic health disparities in addition to advancing the state of the art in healthcare.
Final thoughts
The applications of artificial intelligence are likely to impact critical facets of our economy and society over the coming decade. We are in the early innings of what many credible experts view as the most promising era in technology innovation and value creation for the foreseeable future.