Artificial intelligence (AI) is a technology that aims to reproduce or augment human cognitive abilities, such as perception, reasoning, learning, decision making or creativity. AI manifests itself in different forms, ranging from expert systems to virtual assistants, through robots, neural networks or machine learning algorithms.
AI is not a new phenomenon, but it has experienced unprecedented growth in recent years, thanks to advances in computing, computing power, data availability and analysis methods. AI has thus become a major factor of transformation in all areas of society, akin to the industrial revolution or uberization.
The industrial revolution, which began in the 18th century, revolutionized the modes of production, transport, communication and consumption, by introducing mechanization, electricity, rail, telephone or automobile. The industrial revolution made it possible to increase productivity, economic growth, living standards, but also to modify social relations, political structures, inequalities, conflicts or the environment.
Uberization, which emerged in the early 21st century, changed the modes of work, service, sharing and collaboration, by exploiting the possibilities offered by digital, internet, smartphones, platforms or applications. Uberization made it possible to create new markets, new players, new economic models, but also to challenge the existing rules, norms, rights, protections or regulations.
AI, which is currently developing at an exponential rate, has the potential to transform the modes of knowledge, creation, innovation and interaction, by combining human and artificial capabilities, by merging the physical, digital and biological worlds, by generating new forms of intelligence, awareness or autonomy. AI has the potential to create new opportunities, new challenges, new issues, but also to raise new questions, new responsibilities, new limits or new threats.
AI is therefore a new deal, which calls for collective reflection, prospective anticipation, permanent adaptation, ethical regulation, international cooperation, citizen participation, critical education, responsible innovation, sustainable transition. AI is a revolution, which can be a source of progress or peril, depending on the choices we make, the values we defend, the objectives we pursue, the scenarios we envision, the actions we undertake. AI is an opportunity, which invites us to rethink our relationship to the world, to ourselves, to others, to the future. AI is a challenge, which encourages us to question ourselves, to inform ourselves, to train ourselves, to get involved, to commit ourselves. AI is an adventure, which invites us to explore, experiment, discover, invent, create. AI is a story, which remains to be written, together. 🙌