If you’re a fan of the Terminator franchise, you know that August 29th is the day that Skynet became self-aware. Do you think this could happen in real life? Could artificial intelligence (AI) technology become self-aware, possibly destroying mankind? Lucky for us, our technology isn’t this advanced yet. And the Skynet isn’t real.
Let’s get back to artificial intelligence (AI). To recap Part I and Part II, the Internet of Things (IoT) is where electronic, internet-enabled smart devices communicate with each other, as in a smart house. These devices create mountains of data which is channeled into machine-learning software. This technology allows us to do repeatable accounts receivable tasks accurately after human input helps the technology learn how to complete the tasks.
So where does AI come in? It’s the last step of the process. After the data is processed in an education filter to help organize and prioritize it, the data goes into deep-learning, a more sophisticated level of processing learns from the data to inform the next set of data. Deep learning gives data the ability to complete tasks without any manual input. The data then leaves deep learning and goes into an even more complex and highly organized process called Artificial Intelligence. AI organizes the data into silos, similarly to deep learning, but the difference is artificial intelligence is 100% automated cognitive functioning, and is able take the data and complete tasks without any human input or manual effort.
True artificial intelligence doesn’t exist yet in real life, only in the movies. When we talk about software using AI technology, we’re talking about a simulated version that still requires some human input. As technology advances, we need to have larger conversations about whether it’s the right fit for non-Terminator purposes.
When it comes to financial processing, there are both benefits and disadvantages to using artificial intelligence. For some tasks, such as your your manual, repeatable accounts receivable (AR) processes, machine-learning does the job perfectly. If you try to use artificial intelligence (AI) technology for those tasks, you lose control, and, the lack of manual input removes a safeguards that can prevent potential mistakes caused by exceptions and short pays, for example.
In the Terminator movies, Skynet is the tech brain force behind the Terminator models. Skynet is able to communicate with technology and the Terminator models in a similar fashion to the IoT, however that all changed on August 29th. The 29th is the day that Skynet became self-aware thanks in large part to the ability to identify its capabilities through the data collection and communication of its technology. In other words, when Skynet thinks like the IoT and becomes self-aware, it evolves into AI which is a fully-functioning, independent tech force. AI then has finally processed all the information into a structured and fully automated process, which is highly evolved from its original IoT form.
If you haven’t seen the Terminator movies yet, and we’ve given you fair warning, when Skynet becomes self-aware, it turns into a very destructive force. For now, Hasta La Vista, Baby.
Stay tuned for the final part of our four part series.