Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1252422
28.05.2020 6 OPINION T aking a break from the ravages of the econom- ic devastation by the Corona pandemic that is shak- ing the global economies, one may at least thank heavens for the blessing that humanity will reap from the benign qualities of AI. How can this help humanity fight the scourges of the lat- est pandemic? The answer is that its ability to analyse large volumes of scientific data involved in the research by medical staff in their quest to combat the COVID-19 strain is vastly improved by using AI facilities. This resource can be of great value, especially in biotech, molecular experiments and its accessory components of ubiquitous data, high-speed connections, and autono- mous robots. Undoubtedly, AI is fast be- coming a major technological tool for prescriptive analytics, the step beyond predictive analytics that helps us deter- mine how to implement and/ or optimise optimal decisions. In business applications, it can assess future risks, quan- tify probabilities and in so doing, give us insights how to improve market penetration, customer satisfaction, secu- rity analysis, trade execution, fraud detection and preven- tion, while proving indispen- sable in land and air traffic control, national security and medical health. This is not to mention a host of healthcare applications such as patient-specific treat- ments for infectious diseases and illnesses. To mention a few examples of the rapid progress made by research and development co-fund- ed by multi-national firms, one may start by mentioning Google. The giant search engine firm is a pioneer in the field of ar- tificial intelligence, develop- ing self-driving automobiles, smartphone assistants and other examples of machine learning. Equally important was the prediction five years ago by the late Prof Hawking who said the primitive forms of ar- tificial intelligence developed so far have already proved very useful, but he fears the consequences of creating something that can match or surpass humans. Large supercomputers are forging paths into natural language learning, realtime surgical procedures, climate change, molecular dynamics, cures for disease and astro- physical simulation. Take the example of Microsoft. It has constructed a supercomputer designed for machine learning applications as part of its Az- ure cloud infrastructure ser- vice. It should be one of the most powerful computers on the planet and it goes without saying that supercomputing may slowly migrate entirely to the cloud. The supercomputer was de- veloped for OpenAI, the or- ganization working to build "safe artificial general intelli- gence" assuming such a thing is possible. The new, OpenAI-co-de- signed machine is massive. It contains over 285,000 pro- cessor cores, 10,000 graphics cards, and 400 gigabits per second of connectivity for each graphics card server. It was designed to train sin- gle massive AI models, which are models that learn from ingesting billions of pages of text from self-published books, instruction manuals, history lessons, human re- sources guidelines, and other publicly available sources. The infrastructure hosted by the Microsoft-OpenAI su- percomputer places it within the top five super computers in the world. However, even more remarkable is the fact that this super computer is optimized for AI workloads. When it comes to use of arti- ficial intelligence in powering complex robotics, one can- not ignore the worst fears of prominent technologists and scientists like Elon Musk, the late Stephen Hawking and Bill Gates. Solemnly, they have all voiced alarm over the pos- sible emergence of self-aware machines which unless har- nessed, may in the future, be out to do harm to the human race. A cohort of venture capital- ists are funding this expensive research in the private sec- tor and they are constantly poised to look out for talent- ed persons in their ongoing recruiting outreach. Masayoshi Son is a Japanese investor who created Soft- bank (now with version 2) which he wants to mimic a "virtual Silicon Valley", mean- ing a platform on which uni- corns (start-ups that turned to become a billion dollar marvel) can offer each oth- er contacts and advice, buy goods and services from each other, and even join forces. Son told CNBC that people should brace themselves for the proliferation of artificial intelligence as it will change the way we live within three decades. Son, who founded SoftBank in the 1980s, has grand visions of what tech- nological advancements the future holds. SoftBank's subsidiaries are pushing the frontiers of tech- nology in areas such as the "Internet of Things", artificial intelligence and deep learn- ing. It hatched the unique "Vision Fund" with an initial $100 billion war chest look- ing to invest in start-ups with operational experience, and technical background. For this purpose, in the US, the Vision Fund is aggressively competing with traditional technology investors in Sil- icon Valley in a no-holds- barred fight for talent. Son believes he has a unique ability to predict future tech- nology trends, and gallantly states he is ready for the gam- ble. SoftBank is synonymous with its charismatic founder that is reshaping global tech with its colossal treasure box. It is shaking up the cosy world of Silicon Valley venture cap- ital. Enter the start-up Behavox, a US data operating plat- form that enables companies to aggregate, analyse, and act on their entire organiza- tion's data, which was funded $100m by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. This start-up compa- ny leverages machine learn- ing and advanced analytics in a quest to provide a Data Op- erating Platform that enables organizations to aggregate, analyse and act on their inter- nal data enable organizations to mitigate compliance, cyber and conduct risk, while iden- tifying revenue opportunities in large volumes of communi- cations data. In passing, one may feel that the disruptive path of this new technology constantly needs more champions armed with an aggressive investment appetite to nurture innovative ventures. Readers appreciate this dis- ruptive technology has a be- nign purpose and is helping in many ways such as: to link various civilizations, improve crop yields, scan persons for trace of infection in airports, schools etc, accelerate COV- ID-19 vaccine research. Artificial intelligence in ma- chines is designed to carry medical assessments during epidemics when over-worked doctors are busy tending the sick. Imagine how in modern times, there are robots which are efficient and devoid of emotions as they quietly su- pervise hundreds of complex factory operations -possibly during the temporary absence of workers cordoned off un- der an extended quarantine mandated during COVID-19 pandemic. Again, one lauds the collec- tive drive of Unicorns em- ploying top scientists and re- searchers in their noble quest to discover an effective vac- cine fit to eradicate the COV- ID-19 curse. Unicorns seek nourishment in the AI trough George Mangion George Mangion is a senior partner of an audit and consultancy firm, and has over 25 years experience in accounting, taxation, financial and consultancy services. His efforts have seen PKF being instrumental in establishing many companies in Malta and ensured PKF become one of the foremost professional financial service providers on the Island