THE INTERESTED PARTY

In all the tech events or meetups I’ve been to a large percentage of people mentioned they were interested in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Data Science (these terms are used interchangeably though they do not mean the same thing). That is not shocking at all because AI is now like the new electricity. Infiltrating and driving ahead almost every industry.

AI is like the new girl in class who has caught the eyes of all the boys in the class. In that moment, the other girls in the class almost cease to exist. Although the boys are interested in her because she is attractive just as AI is now drawing the attention of many. But only a few guys maybe one or two will garner enough courage to approach the girl and ask her out for a date. Many are interested in AI, yet few are taking part actively in furthering AI. I refer to these individuals as the Interested Party.

The Interested Party consists of those individuals who are mesmerized in what AI does, intrigued by how it works, interested in the impact is has or can have on our current and future world or all the three.

These individuals are from different walks of life and range from businesspeople, developers to tech enthusiasts. I was a member of the faction for such a long time not because I was unwilling to take part but because I had little programming knowledge.

Companies such as Microsoft, Google, IBM and many others currently offer tools that make it possible for us create, train, test and use ML models, without writing any code. I will just list some of the many tools you can try out.

This gives the Interested Party an opportunity to try out ML for themselves. Therefore, they should join the people who are tirelessly working in this field to bring the results. Since many of us may be part of the Interested Party, I implore us to play a part in developing AI.

To have holistic AI we need a diverse team of people working on the solutions to reduce some the biases we may already be grappling with. With as many people on board it will promote diversity and inclusion. If we choose to stand on the sideline, then we are not justified to cry foul at the end of the day when the systems turn out biased.

The journey of a thousand miles start with one step

If you are interested in how it works you can participate in making it work better. And engaging actively gives you numerous ideas on how you can apply AI to your current industry or context. You will be able to vividly see how it will make an impact to your community and society.

The opportunities are endless, so I invite you to the actual party where all the fun is!

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