Foundational Black American, How You Can Prepare Yourself and Your Children for the Artificial Intelligence Age

By Mitchell Street

 

Step into the future with "Foundational Black American, How You Can Prepare Yourself and Your Children for the Artificial Intelligence Age", a ground-breaking, 200-page guide that uncovers the transformative world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its profound implications on society, particularly the FBA community.

 

In today's rapidly evolving digital era, AI is no longer confined to the realms of science fiction or the labs of tech giants; it's an integral part of our daily lives. But how much do we truly understand about it? More importantly, are we, as FBAs, prepared for its implications and opportunities?

 

Written with a dedication to empowering the Foundational Black American community, this book serves as your essential roadmap to understanding and leveraging the power of AI. It explores the basics of AI, its real-world applications, potential risks, and the necessary precautions for navigating the digital age safely. Discover how AI affects day-to-day activities and how it can be harnessed for personal and FBA community benefit.

 

This book goes beyond simply explaining AI. It provides practical strategies to stay informed and vigilant, build supportive networks, and engage in impactful FBA-centric advocacy. Moreover, it calls for a strong demand for transparency and accountability in the ever-growing use of AI in various sectors, including law enforcement.

 

In this crucial guide, the author combines insightful research with an accessible, reader-friendly style, ensuring the concepts are easily understood regardless of your familiarity with AI. This book isn't just a guide—it's a call to action, an invitation to embrace the AI revolution and secure your place in its landscape.

 

Whether you're new to the world of AI, a tech enthusiast, or simply a proactive member of our community, "Foundational Black American, How You Can Prepare Yourself and Your Children for the Artificial Intelligence Age" is an invaluable resource for the journey into the Artificial Intelligence Age. Start your journey today. Embrace the future, together.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brain Wire Press
• Release date: Jun 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223553977

Mitchell Street

Mitchell Street, a proud Foundational Black American, is a seasoned computer programmer with nearly two decades of experience, currently residing in the scenic Prescott, Arizona, area. His life-long fascination with technology began at the tender age of 11, when he built his first computer, sparking a passion that would shape his future career. As the owner and founder of Brain Wire (www.brainwire.io), Mitchell leverages his extensive technical expertise to provide curated experiences to makers, DIYers, and engineers. Over the years, Mitchell has honed his skills and broadened his interests beyond the digital sphere. An enthusiast of both technology and the great outdoors, he indulges in a unique mix of hobbies that include auto repair, welding, cycling, kayaking, and hiking. This blend of interests reflects in his work, where he consistently brings a fresh perspective to the ever-evolving world of technology. His love for computers and fascination with Artificial Intelligence prompted the creation of his groundbreaking book, aiming to educate and prepare the Foundational Black American community for the imminent AI revolution. Mitchell hopes that his passion and knowledge, as encapsulated in his writing, will inspire others to embrace the exciting future that AI promises.

Book preview

Technology has been a double-edged sword since...the invention of the sword.

-Neil deGrasse Tyson

Preface

It was during a conversation with my 71-year-old father that it really hit home for me just how much of an impact AI is going to have in the coming months and years. As we talked, I was surprised to discover that we quickly came to the same conclusion: The Artificial Intelligence Age (AIA) will have an even greater impact and disruptive influence than the internet.

The realization was profound, and it inspired me to embark on a journey of learning and discovery that led to the creation of this book. The fact that I wasn't traveling this path by myself adds to its uniqueness and intrigue. A companion from the very technological evolution I was investigating was standing next to me—a sophisticated AI model. With its extensive knowledge base and subtle language comprehension, this AI transformed into a crucial tool in my writing process, helping me to clearly express difficult ideas, organize this book, and add depth to my research.

I discovered that the potential of this technology fascinated, thrilled, and frequently frightened me as I dug deeper into the world of artificial intelligence with the AI model as my guide. The possibilities are endless, but so are the risks and challenges.

Yet, the most pivotal insight I gathered was understanding the unequal impact the Artificial Intelligence Age could have on my own community. I realized that Foundational Black Americans (FBAs), a community I am proud to be a part of, like so many other areas of people-activity, could be disproportionately affected if we don't prepare adequately. This book is my attempt to bridge that gap.

In these pages, I hope to demystify AI and present it for what it is: a tool. It is a tool that we can use to enhance our lives as well as the lives of those around us if we understand and accept it. In order to help FBAs navigate the fascinating world of AI, it is my hope that this book will serve as a road map and launching pad.

We will begin our journey by elucidating what AI signifies and how it already permeates our lives. Subsequently, we'll delve into potential perils and preventative measures necessary as our lives become increasingly digital. Further, we will examine how we, as individual FBAs and an FBA community, can capitalize on the AI Age. In addition, we'll address ways to equip our children for a world governed by artificial intelligence.

This book is a call to action. This is a request to my fellow FBAs to understand the importance of the AIA and get ready for it. It is a manual to assist you in navigating the AI landscape, securing your position within it, and even thriving within it.

Welcome to your journey into the Artificial Intelligence Age. Let's embrace the future, together.

Chapter One

What is AI?

The term Artificial Intelligence, frequently shortened to AI, is often viewed as a perplexing and elusive subject, seemingly exclusive to tech enthusiasts or computer science experts. However, this perception stands in stark contrast to the actual reality. AI's footprint in our day-to-day lives is swiftly expanding, marking the onset of a transformation set to reconfigure our world. This metamorphosis, being gradual and pervasive, may slip under your radar as it seamlessly integrates into everyday life.

Have you ever wondered how your email filters out spam? Or how digital assistants like Siri or Alexa understand and respond to your voice commands? Have you ever been amazed by how accurately Netflix or Amazon recommend shows and products you might like? All these are made possible by AI. In fact, it’s estimated that each of us interacts with AI systems dozens of times each day without even realizing it. These unseen interactions weave into the fabric of our daily lives, subtly guiding our actions and decisions in the way we communicate, shop, work, or even entertain ourselves. Such is the pervasive reach of AI in our modern digital era.

At its core, to qualify as an Artificial Intelligence, a machine or system must only have some aspect of intelligence, however small or limited in scope. AI is truly about creating machines that can think and learn like humans. It's about building systems that can understand, reason, learn, and interact. These capabilities are increasingly becoming a part of various products and services we use every day, improving their efficiency and personalizing our experiences.

AI extends beyond being merely a technological convenience tool. It possesses an inherent capacity to reshape economies, spark the genesis of new industrial sectors, and address some of the globe's most pressing issues. To seize these prospects and circumvent potential hazards, an initial comprehension of AI, its functioning, and its potential ramifications is imperative.

For this reason, the initial segment of this book is allocated to elucidating AI, its diverse facets, and its practical applications in the real world. We will embark on an expedition through the AI terrain, starting with the elementary principles and progressively advancing towards more intricate notions. Furthermore, we will explore the practical utilization of AI and its consequential effects on our lives.

So, whether you're completely new to AI, have a basic understanding, or are just curious, this section will provide a solid foundation and prepare you for the chapters ahead.

Remember, AI is not a destination, but a journey. Let's start this journey together.

The Basics of AI

Artificial Intelligence is an incredibly vast and intricate field bursting with possibilities. At its core, AI revolves around the creation of machines and computers with the remarkable ability to perform tasks traditionally requiring human intelligence. The range of these tasks is expansive, encompassing everything from comprehending human speech and recognizing complex patterns or images to making insightful decisions and leveraging past experiences.

While AI has been a part of our world for decades, the concept itself is not new. In fact, the term AI was first coined in 1956 by John McCarthy during the groundbreaking Dartmouth conference[1], which laid the foundation for extensive AI research. Over time, AI has undergone significant transformations, evolving from the early era of rule-based systems to the current epoch dominated by the remarkable capabilities of machine learning and deep learning.

In the early stages of AI, the primary focus was on designing systems that could emulate the decision-making processes of humans. This involved establishing specific rules for AI to follow. However, it became evident that rule-based systems had their limitations. They were only as effective as the predetermined rules programmed into them, struggling when confronted with unfamiliar situations not covered by those rules.

Consequently, the advent of machine learning—a remarkable subfield of AI dedicated to creating algorithms that enable computers to learn from data and make informed decisions or predictions—came to the forefront. The more data a machine is exposed to, the better it becomes at making accurate predictions or decisions. This marked a significant departure from the rigidity of rule-based systems, granting AI the power to adapt and improve continuously over time.

Deep learning, a subset of machine learning, has emerged as a driving force behind the frontiers of AI. Inspired by the remarkable structure and functionality of the human brain, deep learning involves the creation of artificial neural networks with multiple layers that faithfully simulate the intricate workings of our own minds. Deep learning models possess the exceptional capacity to learn directly from raw data, demonstrating exceptional prowess in recognizing intricate patterns.

AI is inherently multidisciplinary, drawing insights and inspiration from a diverse array of fields, including mathematics, computer science, and cognitive psychology. Among these disciplines, data science holds a particularly special place. Data science harnesses the power of scientific methods, algorithms, and systems to extract valuable knowledge and insights from both structured and unstructured data. It serves as the lifeblood of AI development, providing the crucial raw material—data—from which AI systems learn, grow, and thrive.

In the forthcoming sections, we will embark on an exhilarating journey, diving deeper into these captivating concepts. We will begin by exploring the intricate relationship between AI and big data, unraveling the mysteries behind its immense potential. Our exploration will continue with an in-depth examination of machine learning, shedding light on crucial topics such as supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and reinforcement learning. Additionally, we will delve into the captivating realm of Large Language Models (LLMs), Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), and ponder the possibilities and implications they hold.

While the realm of AI may initially appear complex, the purpose of this book is to make these concepts accessible and comprehensible. To assist in achieving this goal, a comprehensive glossary of AI terms will accompany our journey, ensuring clarity and understanding. Equipped with this foundational knowledge, we will embark on a thrilling exploration of the practical applications of AI, connecting these theoretical concepts with real-world contexts and ultimately illuminating the path to a future where AI transforms our lives and communities.

Delving Deeper into AI

As we delve further into the world of AI, it’s crucial to understand the concept of 'big data'. This term is more than a buzzword; it's the fuel that drives modern AI systems.

What is Big Data and How Does it Relate to AI?

Big data refers to datasets that are so large and complex that traditional data processing techniques struggle to handle them. This data comes from a variety of sources, such as social media platforms, internet search engines, e-commerce sites, and even the traffic cameras at intersections. With the proliferation of digital devices and the Internet of Things (IoT), we're generating and collecting data at an unprecedented rate. It's estimated that we produce 2.5 quintillion bytes of data each day[2], a number that's only going to grow as we become more connected.

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Mitch's Sidebar: The Road Ahead - AI and the Automotive Industry

The quality and source of big data can determine the success or failure of an AI model. When considering the swift and potentially transformative impact of AI on any industry, the availability of abundant, high-quality data should be top of mind. A prime example of this