Page 28 - Security Today, March 2021

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AI technology has been a pop culture fixture for generations By Alex Walthers
It doesn’t feel right to call artificial intelligence (AI) a “new technology.” After all, intelligent machines have been a pop culture fixture for generations, and although Hollywood’s depiction of AI isn’t always the most realistic, it has — for better or worse — contributed to the technology’s consider- able hype. Today, manufacturers and developers have been work- ing diligently behind the scenes to bring practical AI closer to reality. Through years of baby steps and continuous improve- ments, they have established a solid foundation for the future of AI—and across countless industries, businesses are exploring the advantages the technology can provide.
This race to embrace AI has, unfortunately, led to some confu- sion in the market. After all, what is “AI,” really? What can it actu- ally do, and how is it most effectively used? In the security industry, it is particularly important to beware false claims. AI has greatly enhanced the capabilities of many cameras and other sensors, but it is critical to understand that implementation of the technology is still in its relatively early stages—and much of the AI hype remains speculation. Rather than looking to the future, today’s businesses should focus on what today’s AI is actually capable of.
UNDERSTANDING AI AND ITS EVOLUTION
The analytics enabled by AI and its various subsets are signifi- cant, but misconceptions abound. Hollywood, once again, is not innocent here: how many people watched Tom Cruise investigate “pre-crime” in Minority Report or saw Jack Bauer “enhance” blurry security footage to reveal a crystal-clear license plate on 24? On CSI, you can expect to see someone identified by their reflection in a hubcap roughly once an episode.
This level of hype for the future of analytics persisted for years, but the fact that reality never quite seemed to measure up led many to view the technology as a disappointment. Today, we have in many ways caught up to those prior expectations — Jack Bauer would be thrilled with today’s advancements in video qual- ity — but new misconceptions persist.
As with most things, change in the artificial intelligence world has been incremental. Video analytics is a great example of this. In the past, traditional video analytics looked primarily at the change in pixels within an image. Want to know whether some- one crosses a designated line? No problem: draw a line and mea-
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MARCH 2021 | SECURITY TODAY
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
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