TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) — Troy University’s Center for Artificial Intelligence Research and Education is working to help local economic developers harness and utilize artificial intelligence.
Recently, Grow Southeast Alabama members visited Troy University to learn more about the university’s stance on artificial intelligence, and how they can use it to help their own communities.
With this new technology comes the need to educate older generations that don’t use AI or don’t trust AI. Enter Dr. James Locke, the executive director of the Center for Artificial Intelligence Research and Education. He’s working to help people see how different AI is from any other technology made before.
“The main takeaway is why this is a fundamental shift in information processing, as opposed to yet another hyped thing in information processing,” Locke explained. “I think that’s crucial to understand because when you understand that, you begin to build systems that are truly going to be productive for you.”
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Locke also hopes to help people differentiate between actual AI products and those that pretend to be.
“It’s going to be easier to avoid the hyped up vendors out there who are just trying to sell you things whether they’re AI or not. That’s really the main point that we want them to understand is that why this is fundamentally different.”
Some might think AI might be too powerful of a tool. That one day may take our jobs and bankrupt humanity. But Locke doesn’t think so. He believes AI will never be able to overcome the physical aspect of things and will only expand humans’ intellectual capabilities.
“If we think about physical tools we’ve used since the dawn of man, we’re very used to those and very comfortable with those. We use them all the time and we wouldn’t think of not using them. What AI is going to do for us is give us an intellectual tool that everyone can use and extend their intellectual abilities to where they can learn and understand things on any topic they’ve never been able to do in the past and it’ll happen very quick and very efficiently.
As more people learn about, accept, and use AI, Locke believes people as a whole will begin to have a greater appreciation for humanity revisit what it means to be a good human.
