Future of artificial intelligence

Recently, tech giants like Facebook and Google have created their own AI labs to produce robots capable of learning to play video games without any instructions.

Google now has their own form of AI called Deep Learning, which in 2015 doubled in the amount of projects using it. A huge focus right now for startups and giants alike is to learn how to use AI to help better automate a machine’s ability to solve problems on the fly.

There’s definite signs that machines with artificial intelligence will soon be taking over skilled manual work that now is typically handled by humans. Amazon recently showed interest in getting more robots working in its fulfillment centers by holding a contest called the Amazon Picking Challenge at a prominent robotics conference, which awarded $25,000 to the team that could design a robot to identify and grasp items from a storage shelf as quickly as possible.

While this may seem like a trivial task for us, grasping items haphazardly arranged on a shelf requires intelligence, expert coordination, and an understanding of one’s environment — skills that up until this point have been quite difficult for robotkind.

Amazon already employs the use of robots in its fulfillment centers according to the reports of those that have been given behind the scenes peeks. The word is that these centers are already highly automated and sophisticated, with robot workers that transport products between humans as endpoints in a finely tuned system.

Amazon is not the only organization backing up innovations in artificial intelligence. TheDARPA Robotics Challenge, funded by the U.S. military, gave participants the lofty goal of designing humanoid robots capable of responding to highly dangerous disaster scenarios.

Robots needed to make their way through a series of grueling challenges; testing their skills in everything from opening doors to operating power tools. The $2M prize ended up going to a participant who won because his robot could both walk and roll along on its knees.

Facebook has been doing some interesting things in its AI lab with a deep learning AI capable of parsing language and holding meaningful conversations. They also recently started a personal assisting service called "M" that is using human workers to train future AI.

No other point in history has seen this much engagement in the development of artificial intelligence, and it’s showing. These past few years have been a shining moment in history for AI, with the epic unveiling of self learning robots. A new issue to ponder: How do we face our fears of a future AI mutiny? How do we keep new technologies in check? With the development of standards to prevent robots from ever turning on their makers, the next new advancements in artificial intelligence will be of interest to watch.