17 FEBRUARY 2022 WorldWide Drilling Resource® What AI is and What it is not by Britt Storkson Owner, P2FlowLLC There has been lots of news reporting of late about AI (Artificial Intelligence) related to computer systems. So what is AI? AI is the process of using feedback from various sources to alter the computer’s basic program in a way that mimics learning. AI can be a very powerful and useful tool to make the computer “adapt” to various conditions it encounters instead of rigidly adhering to one fixed protocol as it normally would. We use a form of AI in the water pump pressure controls we make. In one application, we track and save in memory the pressure patterns as the water pump operates, and determine what comprises normal and desirable operation in contrast to abnormal and undesirable operation, then alter the main program so it “chooses” normal and desirable operation without human intervention. The program reads the values stored in memory and uses them as a reference for future program execution. Carmakers often set up their engine management software to note what kind of driver the car has, then alter their program to satisfy this drivers’ demands. If the driver has a “lead foot”, the program can alter the engine management program to deliver greater engine power and acceleration . . . at the expense of greater fuel consumption, of course. The opposite can happen with the “careful” driver, with the result being better fuel mileage. So using the automobile example, one way to make this happen is to note the throttle position and note how long and how often the throttle is in a certain position. The computer could then develop “score” with a lower number representing “little old lady” operation and a higher number representing “street racer” mode, which the computer uses to modify the engine controls to accommodate the driver. With “drive by wire” in automobiles (as well as “fly by wire” in aircraft), there is no direct connection from the accelerator pedal and the engine throttle lever. The throttle position is converted into a voltage which is fed into the computer, and the computer decides how to position the throttle using small electric motors. I’ve never understood replacing the simple, inexpensive and ultra-reliable throttle cable with a spring return on cars apart from an effort to make things more complicated and costly, but that’s what we have right now. Sometimes as a cost-saving measure, the car computer makers store the AI parts of the memory in volatile memory which disappears when the power is shut off rather than use nonvolatile memory to remember everything when the power goes off and is “loaded” into the program when the power turns back on. The cost difference is literally pennies, and it explains why, after the battery is disconnected, computer-controlled cars can take several hours to “relearn” the AI functions before getting back to normal. We’ve covered what AI is. So let’s discuss what AI is not. First of all, AI is not some science fiction scenario that makes robots smart enough to take over the world. I’ve heard some really wild and totally unrealistic claims about AI that should be immediately discarded. The latest one I heard was someone claimed nefarious forces would be implanting a microchip in our brains to control our behaviors and reactions. For starters, our brains don’t operate like microchips nor are microchips compatible with brain functions. Despite much research, we really don’t know a lot about how our brains function. And there is no such thing as a “serial port” into our brains. Microchips are embedded into the skin of pets and used to identify them, but they function more like the RFID (radio frequency identification) tags you often see attached to high-cost items in a department store to discourage theft. While AI can be a very useful tool in many applications, it has its limitations just like everything else on planet earth. To make reliable and useful computer systems, we need to identify and respect those limitations, but not oversell their capabilities either. Britt Britt Storkson may be contacted via e-mail to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com
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