/ ROUNDTABLE
What six industry experts think about AI
Do you have an opinion on AI? Find out how it compares with insights from six industry experts.
Artificial intelligence (AI), whether it resides in the cloud or the edge, is a stark reminder of the impact technology has on modern society. It is easy to overlook the hidden complexities of everyday objects like mobile phones or tablets. The relatively gradual path of visible innovation obscures the rising complexity beneath. But when something like AI arrives, it provides an unmissable disruption in that smooth path.
We may not all understand the details, but we can all appreciate the impact of AI. It would be hard to find anyone who doesn’t have an opinion on what AI could bring. Farnell’s hugely popular Top Tech Voices is a series of video interviews with leaders in their respective fields. Each has expertise in a specific area and a global outlook on technology. This awareness makes their opinions on where AI is going deeply insightful.
Below, our roundtable presents six short clips, one from each of the interviews. We have hand-picked moments that relate to AI to give you a taste of what you can expect from the full-length video. All videos are available on YouTube.
Optimization will enable AI everywhere
Dr. Jaap Haartsen is credited with being the inventor of Bluetooth. According to Dr. Haartsen, if you’re looking to get a project funded, add AI to the title! That is, of course, an amusing generalization, but not without some truth. There are so many ways AI can be used in engineering today; it’s an exciting time for students and seasoned developers. Dr. Haartsen advised thinking about it in three ways: materials, circuits and systems. AI can be applied at all three levels, bringing new possibilities.
Participant bios
Georgia Lewis Anderson
AI consultant and host Read Bio
Dr. Jaap Haartsen
Inventor of Bluetooth Read Bio
Professor Victoria Baines
Leading expert in cybersecurity Read Bio
Professor Dominik Boesl
Pioneer in human-robot interaction Read Bio
Toju Duke
Advocate for ethical AI Read Bio
Professor Colin Herron
Manufacturing expert Read Bio
William Higham
Strategy and innovation consultant Read Bio
“Optimizing for a specific application gets artificial intelligence into devices with limited power and processing capabilities.”
Can cybercriminals exploit AI?
Technology brings automation to new applications. Add AI to the toolkit and we can start to see how smart cities may operate in the near future. But as the Internet of Things has taught us, taking people out of the control loop can create security risks. Are we ready to accept those risks, and what can be done to mitigate them?
“It's almost an arms race.”
Will AI help robots replace humans?
The fear of robots taking over the world is as old as the first robot. Now that AI is here, will it give roboticists the last piece of the puzzle? Professor Boesl doesn’t think so and assures our host, Georgia Lewis Anderson, that adding AI to robots won’t turn us into their servants.
“We're not talking about robots that can freely roam our homes.”
What innovations in edge AI can we expect?
There are no markets or applications that aren’t at least considering the benefits of using AI at the edge. The challenges are numerous, including power consumption and performance. It will also depend on the application. Toju Duke predicts the opportunities are most apparent for engineers working in manufacturing and the IoT.
“Edge AI is definitely going to grow; it has so many benefits, so makes a lot of sense.”
How can AI improve EV batteries?
EV battery chemistry is evolving quickly. Many variables influence range in an EV, both external (outside temperature) and internal (charging patterns). Using AI to predict battery performance and battery lifetime will not only help car manufacturers but also support the industry building around second-life EV batteries. The challenge, often the case with AI, is having enough data to train the models.
“At what point does [a battery] become ready for its second life?”
How is AI changing society?
Technology empowers individuals in a positive way. The popularity of online communities, like hackster.io and element14, reflects this. How will AI change the way communities and societies interact and how individuals express themselves? One expectation is that technologies like AI will be personalized for individuals, working symbiotically to amplify their presence both online and in the real world.
Research into artificial neural networks started before the invention of the integrated circuit. Today, a single IC can have trillions of transistors. One of the breakthroughs behind AI’s current success is the hardware it runs on. Scale is something the semiconductor industry does very well, and the confluence of research, vision and technology will see AI scale up unimaginably.
Imagining things that are hard to foresee is the specialty of unique individuals like our Top Tech Voices in these videos. Avnet specializes in the technology that helps our customers realize their own visions.
To learn more about Farnell’s Top Tech Voices, visit the dedicated page in your region.
“AI is certainly going to empower individuals.”