Chapter 8 — Chapter 8 — Applications of Computer Science

Emerging technologies are advanced innovations that are transforming how people live, work and communicate. AI, the Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud Computing and Blockchain are reshaping industries and creating smarter systems for data, automation and connectivity, driving innovation in healthcare, education, transportation and agriculture, but also introducing issues such as data security, ethical concerns and dependence on automation. Artificial Intelligence is a branch of computer science that enables machines to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence: it analyzes data, recognizes patterns and makes decisions with minimal human input. AI learns through machine learning — algorithms trained on large datasets; the more data, the more accurate the results. It uses Neural Networks and Natural Language Processing. Applications: voice assistants (Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant), chatbots, image recognition, recommendation systems (YouTube, Daraz, Amazon) and self-driving cars. Benefits: efficiency, accuracy, convenience — e.g. DeepMind's AI analyzes 3D eye scans to predict glaucoma; Amazon and Daraz chatbots answer 'Where is my order?' for thousands at once. Challenges: data privacy, job displacement and bias in algorithms.