The Rise And Impacts Of Artificial Intelligence – Rail, Road & Cycling – United States – Mondaq

Today, it seems like everything in our lives has gone digital.Let's look at what WIT affiliate expert Scott Steinberg feelsis propelling technological change forward in the world ofartificial intelligence (AI).

Today, it seems like everything in our lives has gone digital;the pandemic pause created a need for innovations to support theshift and ignited a wave of innovation unlike any other. Thatpaired with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and elevatedmachine learning capabilities are two of the main drivers that WITaffiliate expert and noted technology analyst Scott Steinberg feels are propellingtechnological change forward. During a recent WIT webinar, he explained that"more and more tasks will be outsourced to self-awaretechnology. More and more devices will communicate with one anotherand use it as an opportunity to learn from what they see in theenvironment to make decisions in real-time." As theseactivities are contracted out to increasingly more intelligent AIs,the market will begin pushing for more advanced technologicalstructures to support this integration.

With the development of improved artificial intelligence comeshigher levels of deployment. For example, one of the main ways manyof us currently interact with AI is in the form of chatbots; theseconnections typically occur in online environments and thepersonalities are smart enough to solve human problems with 90-100%accuracy. Going forward, Steinberg sees artificial intelligenceoperating in every environment from factory floors to offices andchemical plants. But he also acknowledges the fact that AI is onlyas capable and fallible as its creators are, and it will be subjectto subconscious bias. To mitigate this, AI needs to be trained withmillions of situational examples as the technology gets smarterwith the more data it can examine.

But no matter how much information you feed it, artificialintelligence is still just like humans; it's never going to beable to account for every situational variable. Training withhistorical data makes the technology predisposed to certainproblems, but going forward, this technology is going to bepowerful enough to create its own AI routines. And because AI canmore rapidly spot patterns and process information faster than thehuman eye, we're only going to outsource more tasks.

Since we are going to be trusting artificial intelligence withmore important tasks, it is imperative to remember that it is stillfundamentally a piece of computer software. Steinberg laments that"After 25 years in the technology business, I have yet to meeta single piece of computer software that didn't containglitches or loopholes and, for that matter, that is only going tobe more subject to things like hackers, thieves, and outsideinfiltration or influence going forward. [This] presents a lot ofpotential challenges. As we move to a digital world, we really cedea lot of control to technology that we might have in the realworld."

With autonomous vehicles slated to become widelyavailable within the next few years, it is important to look at howAI will play a role in propelling this technology forward.Steinberg feels that there is going to be a lot of advancement inthis space as more manufacturers begin implementing AI software;Tesla already has some self-driving capabilities built-in, fleetsof autonomous trucks are hitting the road in droves, and in thenext few months, he sees cities deploying entire networks ofsensors that can speak with vehicles intelligently. These networkswill be built on the back of 5G, allowing the devices to communicate whatobjects are on the road and where- ultimately transforming the carsto function more like computers. He states, "It used to beabout steel but going forward, the vehicle of tomorrow really willbe about silicon."

An increased level of connectivity will create more complexvehicles with AI, real-time sensors, 3D cameras, and more allcommunicating, bringing on its own set of concerns. But moreimportantly, it also creates greater safety and securityproblems.

In fact, in terms of security, Steinberg thinks of the vehiclesutilizing this technology as an extension of your personalcomputer. He sees issues arising with hackers, lockouts,ransomware, and more. What happens if someone locks you out of yourcar or worse, begins altering your trip to send you to anundisclosed location making YOU the ransom? Any computer system, nomatter how powerful, is going to be subject to errors, technicalhiccups, and, of course, outside compromise.

This pushes us to examine the safety of this software; is aself-driving vehicle going to crash less than a human driver would?And how can people ensure that their car will continuecommunicating with other devices on the road? Automakers havealready reported around 400 crashes in a little under a year after TheNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration required the reportto help them assess the risks and trends associated with partiallyautomated driver-assist systems. technology. Steinberg wonders how,if a car is a computer, manufacturers will implement the necessarysoftware updates needed to guarantee that their vehicles willcontinue working in sync with others on the road. This level ofcomplexity will make it more difficult to keep things movingforward in a time where computers think at a much faster rate thanhumans. So how can we begin regulating this activity?

From a legal standpoint, this will raise issues with the parts,pieces, and technologies that go into these vehicles. Who is liablefor the complications associated with these technologies? Who isresponsible for setting standards for AI and vehicles? And lastly,who will be thinking about the way these complex systems interfacewith one another to ensure the safety of drivers, products, andvaluables? Steinberg feels that "technology really kind ofrockets ahead and oftentimes, we have to play catch up. We struggleto think about the potential applications, use cases, and scenariosthat these advancements may present, at least from a legalstandpoint." And with this comes the opportunity for disputeson a multitude of fronts.

It's too early to say how manufacturers can prepare fordeveloping markets as there will be automakers, technologycompanies, software providers, hardware creators, and thegovernment all participating in the creation of them. There arecurrently no major governing laws that are geared to help with theintegration of AI and technology, amplifying the potential forconflict among parties from differing industries. He details that"There's a big "mod" [modifications or upgradesto assets] culture around cars and upgrades that are going toimpact the on-road experience. What's going to happen withresell and the transfer of data that's going to reside in thatcar when you bring it to a new owner? On top of that, you'realso going to have to wonder if you have different states crackingdown in different ways on the way the technology exchangesinformation and what types of data can be traded."

In order to help push regulations forward, Steinberg feels thatwe are going to need more participation in this conversation fromindustry thought leaders; this way, they can work alongside thegovernment to keep up with all of this change. In his opinion,"We need advisory boards, we need experts, we need to get manyvoices at the table. But we really need to be having a lot of theseconversations at the highest levels, a lot more frequently and alot sooner."

Stay tuned for more insights from our conversation with WITaffiliate expert Scott Steinberg. Mr. Steinberg ishailed as one ofthe world's most celebrated futurists and strategic innovationconsultants. He has been featured in hundreds of media outlets fromCNN to TIME toThe Wall St. Journal, with the Fortune 500calling him a "defining figure in business andtechnology" and "top trendsetter to follow."

Next in this series, we'll cover innovations in wireless technologies and the implications ofthese advancements on the market.

Learn more about our top industry and technical experts in automotive technology.

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The Rise And Impacts Of Artificial Intelligence - Rail, Road & Cycling - United States - Mondaq