Smarter Data Science

CHAPTER 10A Journey's End: An IA for AI

“Some principal characteristics of the Information Age are extreme complexity and extreme rates of change.”

—Clive Finkelstein

Enterprise Architecture for Integration

While the number and variety of use cases for artificial intelligence (AI) can be safely predicted at ∞, the ideas expressed in this book can successfully be applied to address extreme situations, whether in business, military defense, counterintelligence, child safety, or deep space.

Today, space agencies believe they have a good handle on things up to an altitude of 2000 km above the planet—the ceiling height of low earth orbit (LEO). The International Space Station, for example, operates within LEO. Above that altitude, less and less is known, especially about the long-term impact of deep space on the human body. For instance, within LEO, some astronauts experience a syndrome known as visual impairment intracranial pressure (VIIP), which negatively impacts the astronaut's ability to see properly. While technological advancements now allow astronauts to carry a single pair of glasses with an adjustable prescription (a dialable lens), the precise causes behind the syndrome are not fully understood. If we don't understand everything that occurs within LEO, moving into deep space for longer-term travel certainly can pose an additional set of health risks.

Imagine that you're part of a team tasked with planning to take an astronaut to Mars, a journey filled with actual unknown ...