Let’s start by a psychological fact. How you deal or interact with anything you encounter in life depends on how we perceive it. This fact applies to persons, animals, cars, technology and extends to everything in our life. This has no relation to the reality of that thing or person. Its reality for you is related to your perception about it. And, is real only for you and those who has this same perception about it as you do.
That’s why the media and ads shapes our perceptions about most of the things we encounter in life. This applies for AI and for maintenance as well. The media campaigns creates the image that will be proclaimed about the subject. Then it enforces it in articles, videos, ads, interviews and even street ads about this subject. Let’s take an easy subject as cars. Mercedes cars are always advertised and perceived as a sign of luxury. But, a Rolls–Royce car is advertised and perceived as an everlasting expressions of the exceptional. So, if you get a Mercedes you are wealthy but if you get a Rolls-Royce then you are exceptional.
On the other hand, you may perceive that spending on those categories of cars is a waste of money and time. So, you prefer a Peugeot or perceive Toyota as the most reliable car.
What is the relation between this and AI in maintenance? That’s what we are going to speak about today.
How we perceive or see AI?
As we proposed this will depend on your position or view angle for the AI. If you are working in the AI field or advocating it, you would see it as the best gift for humanity. If you have a problem in delivering content in your work or study, then you will perceive it same way. On the other hand, if you are working in one of the jobs that media proclaim it will vanish within a short period due to AI -as content writing-, then you will hate it. Although others perceive it as a great tool that makes their life easier.
A close friend can see it as a tool that will add up to the laziness of humans. Moreover, a wise person can perceive it as a reason for the diminished skills of the new generations. It all depends on where you stand from it and, on how you generally perceive life.
You can encounter AI as a software or as a robot that coexist in your life or workplace. Not all Intelligent robots walk and talk. Some are stationary and translating within a limited working area. However within this limited scope they were built with the intention to offload the human workforce from the risky, heavy, extremly fast, or precise jobs. Which is really not a bad intention. Some robots mimic a pet, a watch dog or a personal assistance. And, they media advertise them as a very helpful ally for the elder person. However, this category of robots would replace the natural pets and human assistance.
How the media shapes our perceptions about AI?
You can perceive the very last sentence as a sign for losing more jobs. Alternatively, you can perceive it as a better service instead of overloading the elder persons with the needs of living pets or human assistance. From a different angle, you can see this as a less compassionate solution. And, you might see that the care the elder persons give to their pets and human assistance enriches their lives. However, the media enforces some selected stories and perceptions than others.
The popular stories in the movies and even in games around intelligent robots usually starts by a conflict in interest, a struggle then a cooperation. Which are the normal steps we encounter in life or work relations. Forming, Storming, Norming then Performing or reforming before departing as described in this article. Usually, robots departing or robots leaving our life journey is proclaimed as a sign for the of modern civilization and returning to caveman life. That’s of course a destination that no one would prefer. So, you need to swallow whatever rejection you have -if you have any- to the increased usage of AI in your life with a big jar of water or else you will live the Apocalypse.
Let’s return back to our Forming, Storming, Norming then Performing or reforming and finally departing or Adjourning trip. At the beginning when AI is joining our life or work we perceive it as a stranger. Then conflicts and storming start. After the relation turns easier and conflicts decrease, that’s Norming or Normalizing. Finally we Perform greatly together or one of us leaves the journey.
Doris the intelligent Speaker
This was a story inside of a game to keep you engaged and motivated to do the tasks of the game. So, you don’t only collect yellow or blue bricks or arrange arrange a puzzle or get out of the maze or even build you empire, you help those guys at the post office as a side track to do their job.
Then the post office manager decided to join the AI era and improve the post office work by adding an intelligent speaker called Doris that has the answers to all the staff questions and can guide them to do the best. If you remember, a category of AI that is Acting Rationally not humanly. You can review the four (4) categories in this article: The Future of Maintenance -Part 5-2 – What AI Really is is? Doris is a rational agent. That is the one that acts so as to achieve the best outcome or, when there is uncertainty, the best expected outcome. How is this programmed? We shall talk about it in the coming article. But for now, Who set this best outcome? It is the target programmed in its Algorithm that it should be working to achieve all the time. How? let’s continue the story.
Doris can listen to the post office team talking then interfere in the discussion as one them and propose an action. Moreover, it has some other sensors as a camera that can see the office, sense its temperature and humidity. And, of course connected to the office management software to see the progress of the work.
What can cause conflicts with the AI based systems?
At first Doris who was building up its experience gradually gave some recommendations about the housekeeping. It took some effort from the team but they liked the results. Then it recommended furniture upgrade to give the employees a comfort and productive workspace. Results were amazing so the team liked Doris especially that the manager was responding quickly to its recommendations. Then it requested to upgrade the computer hardware that enhouses the mail, cargo and postoffice managing system so it can be linked to it with more and faster I/O’s i.e. Inputs and outputs.
Then it started commenting on the work performed by the team. “Hey, you, where are you going?” Replied “To distribute the post and cargo. We are not hired for housekeeping and renovation!”. Doris: “But I can’t see any post marked -out for distribution- on the system. How can I measure your performance? And, How can I track the distribution backlog and which mail to go first?? ” Angrily, the team member returned to the terminal, scanned the bar codes as out for distribution, stamped his ID on the attendance clock and left. In the second Day, Doris asked: “Maps showed that best route for the post that you had picked yesterday would take 4 hours. Why did you distribute them in 8 hours?”.
Again with frustration the team member replied: “Some people take time and talks while others request me to return back after a while. That’s human”. Doris firmly replied: “System takes care of this it allows 25% extra time for this. That makes it 5 hours. You spent 8 hours. This means that you took 3 extra hours so you are 62.5% productive. This will appear in your evaluation”. The team member limits were crossed and it tossed the cup of water in his hands on Doris. After few sparks it came back to operation.
How to perceive an AI Acting humanly?
The media makes us smile at robots that can tell its name, age, gender and few basic questions. That’s not truly what an AI can do. That’s how the media tries to make the concept closer to the crowed consciousness. Digging closely in the media, the humanly acting robots can react violently specially those robots with military functions and can cause damages and fatalities.
However, let’s return back to Doris Story. The angry team member went to the post storage room shouting “I am the best employee in this office and a stationary speakers can’t replace me”. Later on Doris recommended some drones to carry the pmail and cargo. The manager approved. Doris controlled the drones efficiently as it can run many asynchronous tasks. However, Doris still notice the negative attitude of the angry team member and his hostility specially that he didn’t stop talking about his willing to destroy Doris secretly. One time after shouting at Doris he went to the post storage and Doris locked him there through controlling the newly installed central locking system.
The other team members when didn’t find the angry one and there is no record in the system for going to distribute post and his mobile was just on the desk, they were confused. Did he went out for work and left his mobile? How to find him?
They started asking Doris which answered with a human malice: he refuses to follow the rules. When they tried to get some mail from the post storage, they found it closed, password denied and keys not working. Again back to Doris, as you control everything can you unlock the door. Answered “It is having a problem and tomorrow a technician will come to repair it”
Perceive Norming then performing with AI
Human suspicious and intelligence were awaken in the team so they decided to switch off the complete building power for a time enough that system batteries to drain; That’s including Doris. The manager was querying what’s wrong so they replied, “looks having a problem a technician will come tomorrow”.
When Tomorrow came, the system locks were opened before batteries shutdown as a safety measure. This liberated the angry postman. And Doris had a fresh restart.
Now the happy ending time.
The angry postman and Doris agreed that everyone has his flaws. Doris said that revenging humanly is not originally in its program but its program learnt it from the angry postman and similar human stories available online for such situations. So Everyone agreed that we can help each other so all the the team members whether robots or humans can achieve greatness by collaboration.
That’s what is required to be entrenched in our minds. The solution for greatness and peace of mind is the collaboration between humans and AI. But how an AI can act and think rationally. Let’s continue in the coming lecture.
In Conclusion,
AI is pushed into our life and our work systematically. It is one of the new tools that will be publicly in use within the coming years. But to make this a reality, it is pushed in our life and work with exaggeration about its capabilities and benefits. Then after some struggle it will be normalized and balanced. The key to reach to this balance point quickly and make full use of AI in maintenance is to perceive AI correctly. Creating correct perceptions about AI needs understanding what is the AI? How it works? and its real capabilities and potential.
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