Artificial Intelligence - differentiation from established technologies

The speaker describes the meaning and differentiation of artificial intelligence (AI) in various contexts. There is no clear scientific definition of intelligence, but various capabilities, such as problem solving, language understanding and decision making, contribute to this attribute. The current hype around AI is comparable to previous technological trends, such as blockchain, which often lead to misunderstandings and misinformation. In order to structure the discussion about the use of AI in sectors such as the food industry in a structured and goal-oriented manner, a clear definition and differentiation of AI from other technologies, such as finite element methods, cellular automata or non-linear optimisation, is proposed.

The speaker distinguishes between two main categories of AI: technology-centred AI (T-AI) and human-centred AI (H-AI). T-AI usually works in the background, stabilises processes under variable conditions and emulates human decisions. Examples include the control of packaging robots or fermentation processes. M-AI, on the other hand, interacts directly with humans, often using natural language, and can provide support in areas such as document management, data analysis and risk management. In the food industry, such systems could have a significant impact on marketing and quality management.

It is emphasised that many applications advertised as ‘AI’ are actually based on other techniques and the use of AI should be carefully considered. AI is only the best solution in certain areas, especially where information gaps need to be filled or linguistic interactions need to be facilitated.

Stem-in-foodsafety.de