DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Revolutionaries proclaimed Artificial Intelligence (AI) as the key technological event in the 4th Industrial Revolution, and in the future. Many discourses not only on the potential of AI but also major concerns over its threat to humanity. Job replacement and overpowering human intelligence are to be the next global business agenda after the Internet and so on. John McCarthy, a renowned AI research pioneer in the early 1950s, known as The Father of AI; expresses AI as ”the science and engineering of creating intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs” with minimal human intervention, modelled after intelligent and complex behaviour. Once an underdog technology, with not much confidence on its potential in early 1990s; AI is gaining its momentum in 21st century. Machines with knowledge processing abilities were first introduced by Ismail Al-Jazari, who created historic automata and human like machines for practical reasons. He authored fifty inventions in The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices in 1206 and was named
the Father of Robotics. Widely known for his automated mechanism, setting the path for makers and Do It Yourself philosophies. Interestingly, in the Czech language, robota means a biosynthetic machine used as forced labour. Much associated with invention of robots in early years, AI not only emulating human intelligence but also taking the inspiration from the natural intelligence. Provingworkable like bees, ants, termites, birds, fish, bats, and river water flow. AI algorithm emulates this natural system implemented using autonomous software agents, mobile agents, and holonic agents with intelligent capabilities or complex behaviours. Intriguing discussions from various quarters - whether AI is a utopia or dystopia? AI can do everything and much influence by a science fiction narration; some claims. But this seemly corroborated by Hollywood movies that further amplify the apocalyptic picture. In Terminator Salvation, a ragtag band of humans battles huge mechanical behemoths that have taken over the earth. In Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, futuristic robots from space use humans as pawns and the earth as the battleground for their inter-stellar wars. In Surrogates, people prefer to live their lives as perfect, beautiful, superhuman robots, rather than face the reality of their own aging, decaying bodies.
AI can be destructive and disruptive - in terms on privacy, confidentiality, non-
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Malaysian Technology Strategic Outlook 2019/2020 Intergration of High Technology
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