What AI and machine learning mostly need is an image makeover.
I’d like to set something straight.
Writing about AI and machine learning does not always involve robots. Sometimes it does, like CHIRON, a pioneering ‘care-in-the-home’ system which in the future may help people to stay living independently in their own homes for longer. That’s just one application of AI and machine learning and would make for a good picture: a robot delivering a misplaced pair of glasses to an older person sitting in their favourite chair in front of the telly.
However, AI on its own is about the ability of a computer to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings. You can’t ‘see’ AI, which makes it devilishly difficult to illustrate.
Part of my job as a freelance writer is to collect images from the people I interview – head and shoulder shots and any interesting product shots. I talk to a lot of people about AI and machine learning, and they’re keen to correct the hype and educate through the use of real-life case studies. Many are also concerned about the imagery used to illustrate articles on AI and machine learning.
You only have to Google ‘AI’ to see a tired trope – robots, robots and more robots.
So, kudos for CA magazine. My feature in the May issue on AI and machine learning – and not a robot in sight.
