Algorithms - way ahead

We are aware about algorithm being used for trading and also for predicting weather. But it was a new one to know that it has now come to the rescue of someone lost in the Rocky Mountains in the USA.

So how does this work? It is an artificial intelligence (AI) system. It can locate the current location of a person or thing using data set of known previous locations. Like the location of a bear’s cave is located based on animal droppings as it is know that bears stay within the same distance of their caves when they go out to hunt.

Thus this AI takes into account all this data, ingests the data and works on “ruling out” model – it negates all that which is impossible like a lake, river and so on, arriving at a feasible solution of the current whereabouts. Like with all AI’s, more the data more is the accuracy.

And it was using this that they recently located a treasure hunter went missing in the Rocky Mountains, and a computer algorithm found him months later. Imagine how much killers, abductors and lost people can be located once this technology gets mass produced, bringing down the cost. But the big question is – will India have the expertise and wherewithal to put in the data – that is the most crucial aspect, without data no algorithm can be worked out.