While dining with the two brainy Kens from Europtics in Denver, Colo., one of them introduced the topic of Machine Learning (ML) into a conversation about Artificial Intelligence (AI). I listened since speaking would reveal my ignorance on the topic. I then privately settled in with my iPad, which doesn’t judge and read “What is Machine Leaning – A Complete Beginners Guide”!

We hear the term Artificial Intelligence aka AI in the optical industry more and more of late. What is the definition of AI, and how does it apply to our industry? Introduced in the late 1950s, AI applies to any computer program that does something smart, like free-form lens design software algorithms that calculate the optimal lens surface based on individual parameters and then generate a data points file to direct a CNC machine in the application of this surface.

Machine Learning, on the other hand, is state-of-the-art AI that is defined as machines/computers programmed to learn from experience. As far back as 1959, Arthur Samuel envisioned a world where it would be feasible to teach computers to learn for themselves. The field is shifting from the creation of ever-increasing complex calculations to the creation of machines that can carry out a task in more and more human ways, mimicking the human decision process. Researchers realized that they could program a computer to think like humans and then give them access to all of the information available on the worldwide Web from which to learn. Machines learn better with more data at their disposal, and “Big Data” analytics deliver machines the volume and variety of data needed for machines to make better decisions about the most efficient way to perform a task. ML “Neural Networks” teach computers to think and understand the world like a human brain, with the ability to recognize and classify according to traits, and make decisions and predictions with a degree of certainty. NLP or Natural Language Processing is the innovation born from the concept that we should be able to communicate with machines as we would naturally with humans. This rapidly advancing science already permeates our lives on social media, online shopping, banking, the stock market… the list is long. Its future will open up opportunities to apply genomic data to help doctors predict how cancers behave and develop targeted treatment plans, and it is currently used in analyzing data that may unlock the secrets of “black holes” in deep space. As our homes and cars become smart and human-like voices greet us and carry out many of the mundane tasks of our lives, the “Jetsons’” fictional future can’t be far behind!

• Deborah Kotob
Pro to Pro Director
[email protected]