Why AI Needs Human Input (And Always Will)

Artificial intelligence has come a long way since Alan Turing first speculated about the concept of the "thinking machine" in 1950, but there's still a significant gap between the popular conception of AI and the reality of this burgeoning technology. Despite the proliferation of AI applications, the phrase "artificial intelligence" is still more likely to evoke thoughts of HAL 9000 and Lt. Cmdr. Data than anything to do with machine learning or natural language processing. Indeed, the legacy of AI in entertainment has conditioned us to think of it as technology that operates without human input. No wonder so many have been shocked to discover that Google Assistant relies on human help to improve its understanding of voice conversations or that numerous tech startups hire human workers to prototype and imitate AI functionality.