Sepp Hochreiter heads the Institute for Machine Learning at the JKU in Linz and is an international star in research on artificial intelligence. In an interview, the native Bavarian, who will also give a lecture at the Digital Days, talks about artificial intelligence in everyday life, where the opportunities lie for Upper Austria and how agriculture is being revolutionized.
OÖN: You have been researching artificial intelligence for more than 25 years. In your opinion, is there any area where AI is not used?
Sepp Hochreiter: Hardly. One might think of interpersonal things or services. At second glance, however, AI is also mostly involved there – in autonomous driving, but also in the work of psychiatrists. AI often does not play a direct role, but plays an indirect role – for example in billing. Wherever AI can help to make things more efficient, it is used. Also in advertising or marketing. But there are industries that are more directly affected than others.
You grew up on a farm – AI is also being used more and more in agriculture. Why?
We only ever hear about self-driving cars in the US, but nothing about self-driving harvesters. There are already combine harvesters that harvest corn, corn or other cereals – automatically. Nobody sits in there. This is perhaps not so pronounced in Austria, but there is also a lot that is new here: for example when picking apples or harvesting asparagus – with intelligent harvesting machines. This is a very exciting field. Or drones: With their help, one can see from above where targeted irrigation or fertilization is necessary and where not. Until now, the farmers have always scattered the whole field. This is harmful because the water washes everything away. But if I only give something where it is needed, you can save a lot and protect the environment. AI also exists in animal husbandry and animal feeding. So the logistics of getting the right amount of food to the right place.
From your point of view, what role does AI play for companies – and especially for Upper Austria?
Artificial intelligence is always about know-how, more knowledge and data that help increase productivity. For medium-sized companies, it depends on the areas in which they are active. AI helps where companies deal with data, where there is something to measure and with sensors. In the logistics area in particular, you can optimize a lot by knowing the condition of the warehouse or what is going on the assembly line. If I produce something, for example in chemistry, I can simply control it better and more purposefully with AI. You can monitor the chemical process – pressure, temperature – and even ensure that the right substances are in the right place at the right time. I see a lot of potential in that. Especially in companies that have something to do with electronics. It’s more difficult in the service sector or tourism. Companies that interact with customers and work with language can also benefit from AI. But you have to be careful because small businesses don’t always have resources. The problem is getting these technologies into these companies. Because they are busy with day-to-day business and have no time to deal with new technologies.
How can AI help maintain market leadership?
By using them. (laughs) In terms of increasing production, of course, to make processes more efficient, or in logistics. But also in marketing, because the companies have to become more international. That starts with the technical description. Can this be automatically translated if there is a special request from Japan? Those are just seemingly minor things. That can be a decisive added value. An AI can help to stay close to the customer. Sensors in machines are also very useful, telling you what’s not going well. Or process optimization: I can find an even better metal that is more flexible by controlling the manufacturing processes more precisely. These are exactly areas where many companies in Upper Austria are active, and these companies could use AI technology to keep the leadership they already have. Both on the market and in terms of the quality of the product itself.
In your opinion, where will there be the greatest progress towards AI in the next few years?
The greatest advances have been in image and language processing. So recognizing images, recognizing speech, generating speech and answering questions. This will continue to develop. There has also been a lot of progress in the area of process optimization and logistics. This is more important for Upper Austria as a location, because when it comes to images and language, this primarily affects the big three: Google, Amazon and Facebook. The trick is to make processes better on a small scale.
Where do you use AI in your everyday life?
I’m just like everyone else there. I use my cell phone when it comes to complicated translations or when I need to look something up. Often we encounter the AI and you don’t realize it. For example when shopping.
Source: Nachrichten
