Smart Systems which recognise their environments and can react to them are already found today in many different areas. The number of such systems will continue to grow, as will their intelligence. In the future, it may happen that they become responsible for their own actions.
Until now, even the most highly developed machine could only process relatively simple tasks automatically, and even then each individual task had to be simulated beforehand by a human. Yet today we find ourselves in the middle of a development process which will fundamentally alter this: machines are increasingly becoming self-learning, autonomous systems with performance capabilities which – at least for highly specialised tasks – reach the same level as the human brain. As early as two years ago, market researchers from Gartner speculated that the performance capabilities and reliability of these types of “smart machine” would increase so dramatically by 2020 as to have a noticeable effect on economic life. According to Gartner, only those companies which begin to develop plans and strategies for “digital workers” today will be amongst the top companies in terms of productivity and profitability in 2020.
Detection, analysis, reaction
It is far from the case that smart machines and devices are only found in production processes. Whether in smartphones, assistance systems in cars, home technology, even the care of elderly or ill people, they have been infiltrating every aspect of our everyday lives for a long time already. Until now, however, there hasn’t really been an official definition for the term “smart”. All experts are agreed on one thing, though; namely that Smart Systems comprise a combination of sensors, actuators, data processing and evaluation, as well as informatics and communications. This means that these systems can, in turn, detect, analyse and react to any changes in their environments. They are able to communicate and interact with humans and other intelligent devices. According to some definitions, miniaturisation is also a characteristic of Smart Systems, as it enables almost each and every product or device to be equipped with the associated functions. Other experts recognise a further mark of smart, intelligent behaviour in the devices’ ability to make decisions in a predictive manner. The intended use of these types of systems can be very varied, however: flexible textiles for health monitoring equipped with sensors and their own power supplies belong to this group just as much as intelligent control systems in aircraft.
More intelligent data processing
Smart Systems must be able to process an enormous quantity of data and information. The cloud is therefore often an important prerequisite for intelligent action, as it provides the necessary memory and computing power. In addition, intelligence is not merely a question of hardware, but also of the software which analyses the data and makes the appropriate decisions. Semantic technologies are increasingly being implemented in areas related to the processing of “big data”: here, Smart Systems can also understand the meaning of data and their contexts.
The advent of machine ethics
With the increasing independence and autonomy of devices and machines, one aspect is growing ever more important: the reliability of such Smart Systems. “Clearly, people must trust smart machines if they are to accept and use them,” says Gartner analyst Frank Buytendijk. Although he doesn’t anticipate that machines will develop their own consciousness for the foreseeable future, he does assume that this will happen at some point. Then a machine will be able to reflect upon its own actions. As of this point, it will be responsible for its own behaviour. Buytendijk therefore reminds companies who are developing smart devices to also prepare for a debate on ethics and the programming of such systems: “The questions that we should ask ourselves are: how will we ensure these machines stick to their responsibilities? Will we treat smart machines like pets, with owners remaining responsible? Or will we treat them like children, raising them until they are able to take responsibility for themselves?”
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