Huber: Artificial Intelligence will provide Montenegro with tremendous opportunities

Artificial Intelligence will assist people, providing them with opportunities to go further and faster, with Montenegro set to benefit due to its rich educational system

This message was conveyed by Google expert Jeffrey Huber at the opening of a meetup event on the topic "Artificial Intelligence: Between Myth and Reality," which will last today and tomorrow and is organized by the University of Montenegro with the support of Henley & Partners.

Huber explained that artificial intelligence utilizes machine intelligence that integrates vast amounts of data to provide insights beyond the level of an individual human being, and, as he added, it offers significant opportunities to Montenegro due to its rich educational system.

"We spent some time here at the Rectorate of the University of Montenegro, and a strong foundation in mathematics, science, and statistics provides a phenomenal opportunity for Montenegro, particularly in specialized programs like data science, which are now integral components and drivers of artificial intelligence. Montenegro can and should lead in this area," said Huber.

He believes that the next step should definitely be a focus on artificial intelligence, and there is a great chance to build a foundation for information technology and expand it into various fields such as data science and artificial intelligence, creating programs based on these to educate future generations in Montenegro to become leaders in this field.

Huber emphasized that he worked at Google for 13 years and was initially very excited about Googles mission, which meant organizing the worlds data and making it universally accessible.

"And when I was there in the early 2000s, it was quite a radical decision, and I think Google did a pretty good job. Now you can see the next implications of that in artificial intelligence, where Google is working based on that to become a leader in the next chapter," said Huber.

When asked if artificial intelligence will become competition for humans, he replied that he believes it will be of assistance.

"One of my favorite observations was from Steve Jobs, one of the founders of the Macintosh computer. When he first built the Macintosh computer, he said its a bicycle for the mind because its a tool for faster and further movement. So, artificial intelligence is like an electric bicycle for the mind that allows you to go even more further and faster," Hubers message states.

Its clear that artificial intelligence has many benefits in terms of enhancing human abilities, and "there are numerous applications that will have significant positive implications for how we think about healthcare, advancing science, and creating new innovative jobs."

"I think the downside is that its a powerful tool that can mostly be used by people to do bad things, for example, misinformation, which is one of the biggest challenges we face," Huber pointed out.

Vladimir Božović, the Rector of the University of Montenegro, stated that this institution of higher education demonstrates exceptional activity and dynamism when it comes to attracting people and topics of great interest to the scientific and broader social community.

"The issue of artificial intelligence is at the forefront of global public interest, and I expect this event to raise the level of interest, not only among scientists, researchers, and the academic community primarily involved in artificial intelligence, but much more broadly," said Božović.

He emphasized that artificial intelligence is a reality and has been so long before it became an attractive topic.

"The basic principles of artificial intelligence are relatively old. It laid the foundations back in the 1980s, which we only see in full scope today. This event is an opportunity for this topic, which is very present in the world, to be part of the reality at the University of Montenegro at this very moment and to be with those who represent the top tier in the field of artificial intelligence worldwide. This means a lot for our self-confidence to be at the center of scientific events," explained Božović.

When asked if artificial intelligence can be dangerous, he replied that it is possible if the dataset on which the AI machines are trained is incomplete, inaccurate, or intentionally created to achieve specific outcomes.

"So, it depends primarily on that. But this is simply the fate of all modern, interesting, and important technologies, depending on how you direct them, what utility value you give them, will determine their essence and nature. The same goes for artificial intelligence. It can be very useful, but it can also be dangerous. But it is up to us, and our task is to develop it in accordance with certain ethical principles and for the benefit of humanity," Božović explained.

Rade Ljumović, representing Henley & Partners, said that the company continues its good tradition of bringing successful innovators to Montenegro.

"After Bradley Horowitz, the Vice President of Google, we now have Jeffrey Huber with us, the former Vice President of Google, a man deeply involved in the topic of artificial intelligence. It is a great pleasure to host him in Montenegro and have the opportunity for him to share his knowledge with students, scientists, and the ICT business community. Henley & Partners, as a leader in the field of economic migration, will continue its mission to bring more such people to Montenegro," said Ljumović.