Automation has always fascinated humans, and some options enable commercial enterprises to automate their processes, such as artificial intelligence and intelligence augmentation. Over the past few years or so, there has been a lot of hype around artificial intelligence and intelligence augmentation, both of which are popular and used by different industries to simplify their workflows, increase productivity, save costs and minimize manual errors. What is the difference between artificial intelligence and intelligence augmentation?
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What is Intelligence Augmentation?
Intelligence Augmentation, or IA, is another conceptualization of artificial intelligence or artificial intelligence. It focuses on the complementary role of artificial intelligence, emphasizing that artificial intelligence is designed to augment human intelligence, not replace it.
You may also hear it referred to as intelligent amplification, assistive intelligence, machine-augmented intelligence, or cognitive augmentation. The technology focuses on the effective use of information technology to enhance human intelligence. These systems enhance human intelligence to a certain extent and improve human decision-making functions.
IA was designed out of fear and concern about AI as a whole. As artificial intelligence develops and becomes more powerful, there are concerns that artificial intelligence technology may have a negative impact on human life.
Many believe that IA offers a safer way to develop tools and techniques to derive efficiency from human consciousness, rather than building its own artificial intelligence. Tools developed through IA can be used for various purposes, such as image processing tools, natural language tools, developing knowledge bases, and e-discovery.
How Does Intelligence Augmentation Work?
This is an intelligence augmentation use case in the consumer goods industry. IA collects structured and unstructured data from different sources and provides the data to employees to provide complete customer information. This helps employees understand what is happening in the industry, new situations, factors that may affect their customers, and new opportunities or threats. With IA, companies can use information under human supervision, so technology cannot fully control the information.
Where Can You Apply Intelligence Augmentation?
The essence of this technology is that it learns and adapts faster. IA continues to improve over time, which is a significant advantage for its users. IA also helps companies transform the way they interact with customers and supports onboarding, customer support, and consulting services. Let’s take a look at some popular industries applying intelligence augmentation.
- Health care
Smart augmentation is popular in the medical industry. It improves the quality of patient care and provides information on how healthcare providers can improve. IA also reduces medical errors that typically occur during manual data entry and speeds up many time-consuming processes such as invoicing, payments, and insurance claims.
- Financial
Financial services are so complex that even a tiny error can affect the entire calculation of a business. Using smart technologies like IA can help businesses manage their finances. With IA, financial planners can apply personalized services based on client data, goals, and risks. IA also ensures that there are no manual errors.
- Manufacturing
Manufacturing involves complex processes that require human intervention, but technology can ease the burden of manual processes. Adopting IA in manufacturing can help speed up the design process. Workers can provide input parameters, and machines can design objects in a number of ways. IA increases efficiency by quickly providing rich design options, and employees can choose the best option to provide value to customers.
- Petroleum and natural gas
The oil and gas industry also involves several complex processes, such as drilling. With IA-enabled systems, companies can optimize the drilling process and obtain the correct coordinates and measurements. Workers can check for favorable environmental conditions to make operational decisions, and IA can begin processing processes that reduce damage, work faster, and improve accuracy.
Intelligence augmentation can be applied to many other industries that specialize in mining big data. Here are some examples:
- Predictive Machine Maintenance
- Predict customer behavior and preferences
- Identify effective treatment options
- Identify market patterns
- Generate autonomous driving options
The possibilities for intelligence augmentation are endless, and the ultimate goal is to improve the knowledge, expertise, and experience of all employees. It also aims to enable employees to use machines to understand, access, and interpret all data types and manage risk in automated decision-making processes.
What is Artificial Intelligence?
Artificial intelligence refers to the ability of a machine to effectively imitate the human mind, thereby exhibiting the ability to learn/think in the process. Typically, this technology is used in robots or digital computers to speed up repetitive tasks and give employees more time to focus on high-priority tasks.
Types of artificial intelligence:
1. Reactive Machines: As the earliest iteration of the technology, Reactive Machines are the most technologically limited of modern AI systems. As the name suggests, these systems receive external stimuli and respond accordingly. Perhaps the most famous reactive computer is IBM’s chess supercomputer Deep Blue.
2. Limited memory: Equipped with the responsiveness of reactive machines, limited memory systems are also able to learn from historical data to make decisions. Beyond that, they are the ones we are most familiar with, and almost all modern AI systems fall into this category. Chatbots, virtual assistants, self-driving vehicles—all with limited memory.
3. Theory of Mind: Theory of Mind represents the next stage in artificial intelligence, and technologists are already involved in its creation. Theory of Mind focuses on identifying emotions, beliefs, and thought processes with the aim of understanding human needs more effectively. All branches of AI will need further development to make this happen, but it’s just around the corner.
4. Self-awareness: Currently, the concept of self-aware artificial intelligence is limited to the world of science fiction, and currently, the concept is purely hypothetical. At this stage, the AI will have its own emotions, needs, beliefs, and even desires. Essentially, it will exist as a fully autonomous creature capable of helping and possibly even hindering humanity.
Intelligence Augmentation Vs. Artificial Intelligence
These two buzzwords are often used interchangeably because they are part of the same coin and people are confused about the difference between the two words.
Use the term “artificial intelligence” when discussing the broader concept of machines being able to perform tasks that humans perform in ways that we consider intelligent or intelligent.
When you refer to applications of artificial intelligence, the term “intelligence augmentation” can be used because we have to give machines access to data and let them learn on their own.
Artificial intelligence in the workplace is important because it simulates cognitive functions such as learning and problem-solving. It excels at level management tasks, boarding flights, booking meeting rooms, and even organizing calendars. Artificial intelligence can bring great benefits when analyzing big data to enhance and accelerate business decisions, depending on the level of investment in processing and computing power. The goal of AI is to use it to design automated systems that replace human cognitive functions.
Instead, intelligence augmentation uses technology to support and complement human cognitive functions. While the talk of artificial intelligence has been around for several years, augmented intelligence has been moving forward, and its mission is to make jobs easier.
Intelligence augmentation uses machine learning techniques similar to artificial intelligence, but instead of replacing humans, it aims to help them. In this case, IA machine learning no longer only relies on machines to complete business processes but is combined with the brain to empower each other.
The goal of IA is to make the workplace more efficient and productive, just like artificial intelligence. However, IA works with humans to support new discoveries and problem-solving, while AI tries to bypass humans entirely.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Generally speaking, artificial intelligence can imitate humans, enabling machines to work and make intelligent decisions like humans.
- Retain data and learn from past observations
- Combining computer and machine-based systems
- Process and results depend on the machine
- The future will compete with human jobs
- complete tasks faster
Intelligence Augmentation (IA)
Intelligence augmentation works with people and machines to provide better output. It’s more of a human assistant than a replacement.
- Combination of man and machine
- Process and results are partially machine dependent
- The future will bring better opportunities for humanity
- Slower task completion due to human involvement
Conclusion
In the end, there is no war between the two technologies, trying to figure out which one will stick around. They all play an important role in our daily lives, and as technology continues to advance, they will occupy a greater proportion. IA can help solve many of the challenges associated with AI, which is why the two need to work together. Doing so provides the greatest benefit to society as a whole.
