Artificial Intelligence – AI in Iceland
Do you dream of owning that self-driven Tesla car one day that seems right out of your childhood fairy tale? This New Year, is saving up enough for an Alexa or a Google Home one of your resolutions? It’s fascinating how fast the world is changing with the touch of technology and we humans can hardly keep up- with the technology created by us humans. Such is the irony! One doesn’t need to read Yuval Noah Harrari’s Homo Deus (but it’s a great book, so read it if you can) to know how much the world is beginning to depend on artificial intelligence and as optimists say, this is only the beginning. Man’s dependency on artificial intelligence in the next few decades would be quite an interesting phenomenon to observe.
What is Artificial Intelligence or AI?
According to a definition by Investopedia, “Artificial intelligence or AI refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. The term may also be applied to any machine that exhibits traits associated with a human mind such as learning and problem-solving.” So yes, the best implementation of artificial intelligence can be understood through our good old human robots, except, this time it isn’t your middle grade science fiction but reality staring right in the face (without blinking).
Utility of Artificial Intelligence in Daily Life
While there are certain inhibitions about artificial intelligence and how these upgraded versions of homo sapiens may take over the planet from us humans, as of now, there are quite a number of benefits that AI has brought for mankind- things that we could only dream of till now. As someone very rightly said, scientists are dreamers first and inventors later! And before you even realized, this complicated sounding technical tool has already entered your homes and reading through your brain. The virtual assistant and chatbots on your shopping app, the personally tailored post preferences on Youtube and other social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, etc. are all to the credit of artificial intelligence.
AI in Iceland
Did you know that Iceland, the small Nordic country across Europe and under snow for most parts of the year is one of the most advanced European countries when it comes to the use of artificial intelligence? The power behind Germany’s most influential start-ups is provided to the brands with the help of AI in Iceland!
To further promote their research and deep understanding of AI in Iceland, the country has been working towards building institutes and special centres for better development of AI.
The Icelandic Institute for Intelligent Machines (IIIM / Vitvélastofnun Íslands) is a not-for-profit institution that has been founded with the mission to accelerate the rate of innovation through AI in Iceland with the help of automation. It brings to table the practical approach and handholding required between scientists and businessmen, catalysing a guided stream of need-based inventions that would help both parties and most importantly, the people of the country. IIIM focuses on all areas of automation and artificial intelligence. This consists of robotics, machine learning as well as simulation techniques.
The other innovation centre that has been formed to nurture AI in Iceland is the Centre for Analysis and Design of Intelligent Agents (CADIA) in the Reykjavik University. It is home to the first lab cultivating AI in Iceland and consists of departments like Artificial General Intelligence, Language & Voice Lab, General Gameplaying, Socially Expressive Computing, Interactive Narrative and Game Design and Cognitive signals.
Accept it or not, AI is the future and there is no way to look away from it. And when there is no way to run away from a fact, then one should always accept and upgrade.
For any assistance in Iceland, get in touch with Swapp Agency.