DeepFest 2024: What can we expect from AI in the future?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming our world, and its impact is only going to grow in the years to come. So, what can we expect in the future from AI? Let’s start with some hard facts. According to research firm IDC, the total value of the global AI market will reach $900bn in 2026, reflecting a growth rate of over 18.6 per cent annually. In Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, the total value of the AI market will exceed $200bn in 2026. This translates to more AI-powered solutions infiltrating every aspect of our lives, including technology, healthcare, education, transportation, finance, and manufacturing.

AI: Powering potential, exploring opportunities

Dr Omar Hatamleh, former chief innovation officer of engineering at NASA, former executive director of the Space Studies Program at the International Space University, and co-author of BetweenBrains, a book that explores the impact of artificial Intelligence on the future of jobs, ethics, technologies and economies, believes many traditional industries will be impacted by AI deployments in their core processes. In an interview about his book, he said, “Several industries have started adopting AI to improve various roles in their sector like productivity, efficiency, safety, etc. This integration will continue to move forward and will become a cornerstone of many industries. AI is transcending and disrupting industries across the board by transforming and challenging conventional methods.”

Hatamleh, who will be speaking at DeepFest 2024, believes that AI has also an enormous role to play in the evolution of the educational system and the educational experience of the future. “The ability to sift through the complexities of interpreting and processing enormous amounts of unstructured data gives AI an important role in modifying and revolutionising the educational system.

“Many healthcare institutions have already started to harvest the value from AI-integrated systems, and faster adoption is expected to continue at various levels.”

Potential scenarios that will unfold: AI algorithms that analyse medical scans to detect diseases at an early stage, robots that perform complex surgeries with unparalleled precision, AI-powered tutors who customise education to individual learning styles, self-driving cars that navigate busy with zero accidents, and optimised production processes that considerably speed up the manufacturing process.

This isn’t all. Rana Gujral, a pioneer in cognitive AI and CEO of Behavioral Signals, is particularly interested in the use of AI to understand and replicate human emotions and cognitive processes. He believes that this will lead to the development of AI systems that are not only intelligent but also empathetic.

Gujral, who will be speaking at DeepFest 2024, said in a recent interview: “The potential of AI in these areas is truly endless. This evolution from early AI applications to now delving into the intricacies of human-like cognitive abilities marks a significant progression in the field of AI itself.

“This journey has been about more than just technological innovation. It’s about understanding and harnessing AI’s potential to make a real impact on people’s lives and businesses. From enhancing communication between humans and machines to transforming how businesses understand and interact with their customers, the journey in AI has been exhilarating and full of possibilities.”

Concerns faced about the future and AI

However, the speed at which AI is advancing has raised concerns, such as job displacement with AI automating more tasks, privacy breach fears with AI systems collecting and analysing vast amounts of data, and ethical considerations (for example, who is responsible for the decisions made by AI systems), as AI becomes more sophisticated. Experts such as Cathy O’Neil, author of Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy, say we should develop transparent and accountable AI systems that uphold human values and mitigate potential harm.

Ivana Bartoletti, global chief privacy officer at Wipro, and author of An Artificial Revolution: On Power, Politics & AI, shares her take on the subject.

The data privacy expert who is speaking at DeepFest, says: “We have internalised the idea that there is nothing more objective, neutral, informative, and more efficient than data. This is misleading. When an algorithm is fed data a decision has already been made. Someone has already decided that some data should be chosen and other data should not. And if data is, in reality, people then some of us are being selected while others are being silenced.”

While these are critical considerations, the future of AI is not predetermined. It depends on the choices we make today. By promoting responsible development, fostering inclusive participation, and upholding ethical principles, we can ensure that AI serves as a tool for good, empowering humanity to address our most pressing challenges and build a brighter future.

In the words of Dr Fei-Fei Li, one of the world’s most respected experts in AI and Sequoia Capital Professor, and Denning co-director of the Stanford Institute for HAI: “The tools and technologies we’ve developed are the first few drops of water in the vast ocean of what AI can do.”

We must continue to develop AI responsibly and ethically, ensuring that it benefits all of humanity. By working together, we can harness the power of AI to create a better future for everyone.

DeepFest 2024, which begins on March 4-7 in Riyadh will see global thought leaders, change-makers, big tech and data scientists, explore the possibilities of AI in greater depth.