The biggest issue facing artificial intelligence right now is the question of'Why did the AI make a decision?' The problem we have now in research and academia is the lack of collaborative research concerning AI from multiple fields--science, engineering, medical, arts. We have a hard enough time telling people why the AI made a certain decision. Actually, what drives reverse engineering of the brain and the personalization of AI is not research in academia, it's more the lawyers coming in and asking'Why is the AI making these decisions?'

For Joseph Qualls, it all started with video games. That got him "messing around with an AI program," and ultimately led to a PhD in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Memphis. Soon after, he started his own company, called RenderMatrix, which focused on using AI to help people make decisions. Much of the company's work has been with the Defense Department, particularly during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, when the military was at the cutting edge in the use of sensors and seeing how AI could be used to help train soldiers to function in a hostile, unfamiliar environment. Qualls is now a clinical assistant professor and researcher at the University of Idaho's college of engineering, and he hasn't lost any of his fascination with the potential of AI to change many aspects of modern life.

Joseph Qualls is a clinical assistant professor in the University of Idaho's College of Engineering. He's also an expert in artificial intelligence and the founder of a research and development company that uses AI to solve problems for the U.S. military and industry. In Qualls's vision of the future, AI will dramatically change the way we deliver healthcare, entertain ourselves, conduct warfare and, of course, teach college students. He recently spoke with EdTech Managing Editor Amy Burroughs about what he sees on the horizon. QUALLS: AI is going to come far more quickly than even I can predict.