#Bigdata has empowered artificial intelligence and #machinelearning.
That's according to MIT Sloan Management Review. Scientists are not only accessing large amounts of #data with ease, but they are also more able to work with massive #datasets while encountering less obstacles. Data that’s redundant or relatively useless can be plucked out, so that scientists can place their attention on more indicative and predictive data. The hardware and software that makes it possible to process huge quantities of data in ways that weren’t possible in the past have now become more affordable.
So, let’s backtrack for a moment to understand how Big Data has helped to usher in more #artificialintelligence technologies.
Artificial intelligence learns from machines. #Machines need data; and they have a big appetite for it. When they are fed the information they explore, dissect, and interpret the data. They find patterns and create algorithms that are intepreted in a way that breathe life into technologies.
Artificial intelligence isn’t something new. In fact, it’s growth has been slow, but new #innovations and #datamanagement have helped the development of AI pick up some speed.
Papers flowed throughout business environments for decades resulting in huge filing systems. Large metal filing cabinets were tucked away in basement corners. Computers arrived, and information became digitized and stored onto discs and databases. As that information grew, data ended up in data warehouses, and large computers helped to collect and organize the data. The dawn of the internet resulted in people conducting searches or queries which created #datasets. Machines analyzed the data sets and began processing their information. Soon, real-time data became more accessible. Large quantities of data created more complex algorithms. Machines learned to "think" more quickly, as they analyzed the data.
Now, machines can identify more relevant and useful information. This helps the production of AI technologies resulting in new programs, products, services, innovations and policies. Ultimately, industries will be transformed and new ones will be created.
So, let's take a look at what is already occurring.
When Category 5 #HurricaneMaria struck the island of #PuertoRico in September of 2017, the direct hit ravaged the island and left a trail of destruction. It knocked out the island’s communication systems and impaired the island’s access to clean water. The island’s communication services were limited for weeks after the catastrophic events.
Enter #ProjectLoon.
Project Loon is apart of #Alphabet, Google’s Parent company. It’s innovation team, X, developed balloons that act like floating cell towers to aid telecommunications companies so they can extend their coverage into underserved areas. According to the Project Loon website, the balloons sail at an altitude of 65,000 feet, which is well above the altitudes of aviation.
Prior to the hurricane events the super-pressured, high-flying Project Loon balloons underwent a number of test flights. Many of these flights had the balloons leave from the company’s launch site in Puerto Rico. The company soon figured out how to use artificial intelligence, or #AI, to steer the balloons, and it used machine learning to predict weather systems. As a result, when floods hit Peru in January of 2017, the balloons were raised and lowered so they could help bring connectivity in Lima, Chimbote, and Piura.
Recently, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission has given Google the okay to deploy Project Loon’s balloons in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in order to create a wireless network that will to help restore communications throughout parts of the islands.
If you would like to help provide support for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, please visit sites like:
https://www.usvirecovery.org
http://www.unidosporpuertorico.com/en/.
http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.9535655/k.98EA/Hurricane_Maria.htm
Image Courtesy
By Flicker User: iLighter - Flickr: Google Loon balloon, CC BY 2.0