Recently, I was having a conversation with a friend whose name is Timi. We talked generally about various topics ranging from politics to the state of the economy. For the first time, I was enjoying this conversation I was having with Timi because we talked about things I could relate with and which I have interacted with before. We talked about the coming election. He was not so excited about the topic.
To be honest, nothing interests Timi except artificial intelligence. He could be in a conversation for hours telling you about programming codes, how to build a website and technology generally. This gets me tired for so many reasons. It reminds me of the inevitable future of Artificial Intelligence which is truly upon us and how I know very little of this topic. I am very sure there are many people in my shoes.
When you think of artificial intelligence you think of machines and maybe robots doing the job of a human being. You might be right to a large extent, but more than this, there is a wide variety of current technological developments that utilize artificial intelligence, all of which empower us and help us go about our daily responsibilities. It can be categorically said that Artificial Intelligence is the backdrop for most of the daily activities which we do.
There is a need to get familiar with this new normal because it keeps growing and taking over human activities. It has come to make things easily and quickly done. Believe it or not, even your daily commute to and from work requires the use of artificial intelligence. I remember how there was a time you need to make enquiries via a call or text to for road direction or fastest route to your destination or to even find out if there is a traffic jam. Now, there is absolutely no need for that. Why? You now have Google Maps to easily tell you how to navigate. You can travel from Lagos to Ogun state on your own because artificial intelligence has created a great tool to help you. The use of artificial intelligence is also very popular in the form of digital smart assistants. I believe this began from using Google.
Google solves almost every problem or question you might ask ranging from schoolwork to office work and the likes. Now you can also get faster responses, especially in emergencies. Digital smart assistants like Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant etc. recognise voice commands and can translate them into action. We know very well now how Siri can call your friend, tell you a joke, play you a song by just giving the command. Imagine a practising lawyer who gets stuck during a proceeding in court and needs citation for a legal authority or he/she needs to read an abridged version of a court judgement urgently. Artificial intelligence makes this happen fast and smoothly. Banking has become easy today because of artificial intelligence.
Interaction with email and correspondences has become truly enjoyable because of artificial intelligence. You need not queue or physically visit a bank to get access to your money or even get financial advice. You can search out a mail or an important document from your email because there is an option of filtering and getting to your important files. Vacuum cleaners and some household materials are also products of artificial intelligence. Though autonomous cars are not very popular in Nigeria now, but they are existent, and they are also products of artificial intelligence. You can commute from one place to another without having to drive yourself. There are gas stations that allow you fuel your car by yourself without the need of a fuel pump assistant.
How wonderful! CCTV Cameras are now available, and they make it easy to track an event. A culprit of a robbery or any crime can be detected when a CCTV footage is checked. Evidence has now become readily available to assist easy adjudication of a matter in court. You can now track your lost phone or gadgets because artificial intelligence has made it possible. This brings a nudging to my mind.
Artificial intelligence is going to take over the job I now do in the nearest future. There might be no need for a legal practitioner if people can interface with a machine that provides them with signed templates of contracts and agreements or provides legal services as against paying a lawyer to do it for you. There might be no need for an accounts officer to calculate your tax and sort out your financials when there is an application which can help sort this out within a short time. There will be no need to go to the four walls of a school if I can be home schooled using several applications which can improve my learning. The era of Covid-19 further drummed this reality into my consciousness. I initially felt we won’t survive the lockdown.
How were we to work without being onsite? Artificial intelligence surpassed my wildest imagination. A lot of organisations closed global deals and contracts from the comfort of their homes. We even had musical rehearsals and attended musical concerts virtually! Artificial intelligence keeps growing and spreading its tentacles day in, day out. It is indeed the new normal and it is important to begin to align our learning, visions, objectives, and aspirations with it. To do otherwise will mean cheating ourselves. Save yourself the time of learning a course applicable in the analogue age. Familiarize yourself with tools of artificial intelligence. It’s the best bet and its for your greater and future benefit.
