
Six decades ago, delegates gathered at the first Dartmouth Conference to hear about an exciting new world of “artificial intelligence”. It’s said amongst IT historians that this was the first time the term was ever used.
Today there are a lot of practical applications for AI but many people can’t imagine a real world example that doesn’t end with a group of crazy megalomaniac robots taking over the planet and wiping out humanity. But, as with many scientific advances, the reality is a lot simpler, modest and, dare we say, down-to-earth. Take Facebook’s recent announcement about launching a range of chatbots. The company claims this will help businesses deliver such things as automated customer support and online shopping guidance. Although it sounds like the stuff of the future, it’s happening right now and can offer tangible benefits for UK businesses. At its most basic, a chatbot is a piece of software that you can talk to, and it should be able to respond to your voice and complete a basic request. Chatbots like those launched by Facebook have the potential to replace a lot of the apps that you probably have on your smartphone or tablet, which is why a lot of techy people are so excited about the announcement.Read more on AI:
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This might all sound a bit far-fetched. But do a little digging and you’ll discover that AI also is on the verge of becoming a potential mainstream technology in the network security arena too.
Only last year the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT’s) Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (one of the world’s most important centres of information technology research) announced a series of AI-driven cyber security initiatives designed to help organisations manage cyber attacks as these happen. From designing systems that are harder to hack, to creating systems that can continue to securely transact when compromised, MIT is even pursuing research to design systems that self-repair when a breach is detected. Further into the future, the artificial intelligence that underpins ChatBots and much of MIT’s current work, could be able to offer more support to businesses and deliver a new wave of truly intelligent networks that constantly troubleshoot for IT problems and keep the infrastructure running smoothly.In addition to chatbots, Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg is creating an AI assistant inspired by Marvel’s Iron Man films.
Michael Hack, senior VP of EMEA operations, IpswitchShare this story