Artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful tool that is increasingly a part of our daily lives, often without us even noticing. With AI, we can do everything from finding the quickest route on the road to finding interesting content. With all the things that AI is good at, it can be easy to assume that it can do much more than it, in fact, can. Yet, to make informed decisions about when and how to use AI, it’s important to understand its limitations and strengths clearly. This article is the second in a series about what AI can and can’t do. This one will look at different aspects of talking to AI. It can be beneficial in some scenarios but cannot replace humans in others. Let’s discover how AI compares with humans in terms of understanding context and nuance, conversational abilities, remembering details, language fluency, and availability.
Natural Language Processing
First, let’s remind ourselves what it is about AI that can sometimes fool us into thinking it has the same communication abilities as humans. Many tools used daily by a wider public, such as AI chatbots, personal assistants, search engines, and translation tools, use Natural Language Processing (NLP). NLP allows computers to understand, interpret, and generate human language. Put simply, AI can understand and communicate in the language we use every day. This has been the key to opening the world of communicating with AI to a broader public that otherwise would not have the technical skills to do so. Many of today’s AI tools are highly advanced at NLP and constantly improve by learning from our written text, videos, and songs. But appearances on the current state of technological advancement can be deceiving! Here are a few ways how.
AI’s Understanding of Context
AI is very limited in its inability to understand the context of something that is said fully. Our words contain emotional subtext, cultural references, and personal experience. Years of living and communicating with other humans have taught us to recognize and understand that context. AI can only understand context based on the data it has been trained on. It can simulate understanding according to how it is programmed, but it lacks the empathy that humans have to understand it on the same level we do. For example, different cultures use various forms of “How are you?” as a greeting. While humans can grasp the emotional and cultural subtext and respond appropriately, AI will answer how it is programmed without any more profound concept of why.
Conversational Abilities of AI
As we previously said, AI can engage in dialogue with us thanks to NLP. In some cases, this dialogue can seem like a complex conversation by using prompting and building on previous answers. However, that dialogue lacks the depth and adaptability of human conversation because the AI chatbot is answering based on learned and programmed responses. Humans can understand and respond to emotions, adapt their tone, and navigate complex social interactions. AI, on the other hand, produces dialogue based on pre-learned patterns. This means that while AI can hold conversations that appear coherent, they don’t have genuine connection and emotional depth. For instance, while AI can provide companionship in a basic sense, it lacks genuine depth and connection to human long-term companionship.
Understanding Nuance
Nuance is another area where AI has difficulties. Human communication is rich with sarcasm, humor, double meanings, and other subtle nuances that AI often struggles to grasp. While AI can sometimes patterns in data that hint at these nuances, its interpretation is usually superficial. This limitation can lead to misunderstandings or inappropriate responses in conversations where nuanced understanding is crucial. For example, AI might misinterpret a sarcastic remark as a literal statement, leading to confusion or incorrect advice. That said, AI can be trained on data sets that are specifically designed to improve its ability to recognize sarcasm, humor, and other subtleties.
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Ability to Provide Information
Now that we’ve looked at some limitations of communication with AI, it, of course, also has its strengths. To start with, AI can process and recall large amounts of data instantly. This makes it incredibly useful for dialogue that involves quickly getting even lesser-known or complex pieces of information. For instance, AI can quickly scan vast amounts of travel information to provide up-to-date recommendations, making it an invaluable tool for travelers seeking quick answers and solutions. It is important to remember, however, that AI has learned a few negative things from humans, like sometimes giving biased and incorrect answers!
Language Fluency of AI
Another notable strength is AI’s ability to communicate in multiple languages. AI models specifically trained as interpreters can instantly translate text and speech from one language to another, making cross-cultural communication more accessible. Instead of carrying around dictionaries and phrasebooks, we only need a smartphone with the right app installed, and communication in various languages can be unlocked instantly. As we said before, these translations may lack the precision of human translators. But they can be enough for everyday use, such as translating travel guides, menus, or basic conversations. This capability helps bridge language barriers, facilitating smoother interactions in diverse environments.
AI’s Availability
AI also doesn’t tire, so it can be available 24/7. Unlike humans, AI does not need breaks, sleep, or downtime, making it an ideal candidate for continuous operation. This constant availability ensures that users can access support and information anytime, enhancing customer service and operational efficiency. For instance, AI chatbots can provide immediate help to travelers needing information or help outside regular business hours.
AI a Great Conversational Companion? It depends
Understanding what AI can and can’t do is essential for making the most of its strengths while being aware of its limitations. In an age where AI is advancing quickly, and many companies are taking steps to intentionally make their AI tools seem closer to humans than they actually are, knowing the truth is important. AI is fantastic at getting information quickly, communicating in many languages, and being available 24/7. Yet, it doesn’t understand context deeply, can’t hold meaningful conversations like we do, and often misses the subtle nuances in our interactions. By recognizing these limitations, we can use AI as a helpful tool that complements our abilities rather than replacing the critical human elements of empathy, creativity, and complex problem-solving. With this knowledge, we can integrate AI into our daily lives, using its abilities while fully aware of where it can’t help us.
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This is the second article in a series. Check out the first one here in case you missed it.
The image accompanying in this article was provided by Better Images of AI, an organization that is dedicated to providing free images of AI that provide a more nuanced, balanced view of AI.