Today’s topic is particularly interesting mainly because there is a lot to say about Virtual Intelligence (VI) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The importance of knowing the difference between these two is to realize which one is the one for you and your company.
We are often confused by these terms, which is which, what they do, and how they really work. Are they the same thing, or completely different things? Those are all the questions we will be covering in this article.
What we know today: Virtual Intelligence (VI)
Virtual Intelligence is the system that can mimic human decisions and life behavior while not being aware of its existence or capable of thinking for itself.
Examples of these are navigation apps, apps that track your health and athletic improvements, and smart speakers.
What we want to achieve in the future: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial Intelligence is a system with an ability to make planned and thought through decisions, as if it were a highly intelligent life form. It is also self-aware and conscious to a certain extent.
Not so different?
We can’t say that AI and VI are the same system types, because they are not. But on the other hand, they have some similarities.
In order to understand the differences, you need to see what makes them so similar.
Their original purpose is the same: both AI and VI are made to serve humans, help them organize and plan for future opportunities, and also to make life a little bit easier with all the gadgets that are powered by these systems.
After all, they are both based on algorithms and made to replace human proficiency in the system.
What differentiates these systems?
The differences between these two are vital. They are relatively clear and easy to understand, but we will go into more detail below.
Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is an ability to focus on yourself, your actions, and your thoughts; to make decisions by yourself and with the knowledge that you have collected.
Artificial Intelligence is a fully self-aware system that is capable of completing human-like tasks on a high intellectual level. However, like everything in life, it isn’t perfect. There is always room for improvement in this area. And it is yet to grow and improve.
For example, AI assistants such as those from ServisBot take automation to a superior level.
VI, on the other hand, lacks this ability. It can not do nor change something that isn’t defined in the program. Virtual Intelligence is a great solution for programs that aren’t so complicated and demanding, programs that don’t require constant calculation and decision making.
That leads us to the next part:
Calculated Damage Control
By using this method, VI can only stimulate decision making. Why is that?
Well, it is because it can not adjust to changes so quickly. By the time the VI system realizes that it made a mistake in the decision-making process, a long period of time would pass.
Virtual Intelligence is not a sufficiently advanced system. It focuses on solving the problem after it is noticed, instead of in trying to prevent the same mistake from happening again. If we want to make any changes to prevent repeating mistakes, we will need to change the whole system’s program and commands.
Artificial Intelligence is rather different when it comes to preventing repeating mistakes. The system does not need updated complete commands to determine what, how, and when something needs to change. Therefore it is a more efficient way of operating, as it can do all the work simply by processing a little bit of data that comes through.
Closed and Open Systems
Artificial Intelligence is a closed system, made as a learning mechanism.
Virtual Intelligence is defined as both a closed and an open system. This is mainly because it is not simply designed for completing tasks like Al. That is why VI is used for creative processes and Al for the opposite of that.
Takeaway
Artificial Intelligence is something that can be intimidating. How self-aware machines will become in the near future and how capable they will be of making the decisions we, as humans, won’t be able to influence in any way, only time will tell. Let’s believe they will always serve humankind without resistance.