Artificial Intelligence, the Need of the Hour

Abstract

Fourth Industrial revolution is currently sweeping the high-income countries (HIC) with Artificial Intelli- gence (AI) based automation affecting virtually every aspect of life. The term AI was first coined by McCar- thy in 1956. It was not until 2000s that AI began to thrive. The evolution of AI into the current status occurred in the last decade owing to the enhanced computing power using Graphic Processing Units (GPU), development of high-powered computer languages, and the emergence of the Big Data. The latter is generated through wireless communication between ‘Smart’ sensors/devices and self-learning machines. The word ‘smart’ is applied to any device that has memory and is able to connect with data networks such as the internet and the processors. In the last few years, there has been exponential growth in AI applications. This can be judged by the projec- tion that the AI field will add $ 15 Trillion to global economy, by the year 2030, up from $ 600 Million in 2016. This will occur mostly in the HIC. The adoption of AI by low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) lags far behind that of HICs. The LMICs would miss out in the economic benefits, further widening the global inequalities. Machine Learning and Deep Learning are branches of AI that are beginning to form the basis of the automation of financial and business decisions, and are the tools of self-driving cars, industrial produc- tion, data analytics, quality improvement and health- care processes to name a few. In healthcare, some of the AI applications have shown to enhance patient care, reduce medical errors, support clinical and administrative decision making, automate equipment maintenance and help reduce operational cost. For instance, AI led cost reductions achieved up to 25 percent drop in the length of hospital stay and up to 91 per cent reduction in admissions to step down facili- ties. In the United States alone, by the year 2026, AI in healthcare is estimated to realize $150 billion in annual cost savings.