How Agencies Should Prep for Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence refers to the ability of computers systems to perform tasks that normally require human intellect and judgment. Also called machine learning, these systems take in data that is structured or unstructured producing algorithms, finding patterns, and continually learning and refining its capacity over time to make decisions, guide behavior, offer solutions, or act. AI is now moving rapidly into "deep learning" which looks not just at the face value of data but draws meaning and representations from initial and cumulative data accelerating its learning and capacity as it grows. IBM's Watson is probably the most commonly know system exercising deep learning. Although the term was first coined in the mid 1950s, we are beginning to see their use in everyday life with self-driving cars, airplane autopilot systems, automatically controlling traffic lights based on flow and density, mobile check deposits deciphering handwriting, detecting human emotion to target advertising, and analyzing electronic trails to learn and exploit human behavior patterns.