David is a beautiful child, capable of unconditional love. David, however, is an artificial child. His poignant story, a technological, futuristic version of Pinocchio, is told in one of Steven Spielberg's most personal films, A.I. – Artificial Intelligence.
It’s just one of many possible examples: few topics have inspired science fiction books and films quite like artificial intelligence, which has its roots in the insights of British mathematician Alan Turing (himself the focus of the film The Imitation Game), who played a crucial role in decrypting the Enigma code used by the Germans during World War II.
In the decades that followed, AI research focused on quantitative computer enhancement, but Turing had already looked beyond that: his Turing Test(which he originally called “The Imitation Game”) already included the possibility of assessing qualitative differences (in test responses) between a person and a machine that was capable of simulating human intelligence and learning.
What is artificial intelligence?
There is no single definition of artificial intelligence (AI); the basic concept, however, refers to a computer that can learn from data so that itcan change its actions without the need for further human reprogramming. Examples of AI, at various levels of evolution, include advanced search engines, speech recognition algorithms, self-driving cars – up to what is known as generative artificial intelligence, which can improve the performance of processes such as the generation of standard texts, images and software code, making them faster through the mix of huge amounts of sources and data it uses.
AI is one of the pillars of the fourth industrial revolution, followingthe first, based on mechanization; the second, based on electrification and mass production; and the third, based on information technology.
It’s a rapid revolution: progress is happening at an unprecedented rate; in fact, AI is already being used in countless, often little-known areas. And we’re just at the beginning.
AI in the electrical industry
In the energy world, because of the huge amounts of data and the value of the information that can be extracted, there are already numerous applications, particularly for the benefit of efficiency and the energy transition, and for renewable sources. Here, artificial intelligence plays an important role right from the start: when it comes to identifying the most suitable sites for a wind or solar plant, AI can give useful - even prospective - indications about available resources and plant efficiency, but also about possible risks related to soil characteristics or extreme weather events.
Artificial intelligence can also help in plant management by providing more accurate and reliable weather forecasts (wind and irradiance), resulting in better estimates of expected production. It can optimize production thanks to the analysis of performance data from sensors. In the case of hydropower,more reliable estimates of water flows help reduce waste, increasing production.
Reducing generation costs makes renewables more competitive, benefiting both customers and the environment. The protection of biodiversity can also benefit: in fact, artificial intelligence can predict the migration and flight patterns of birds so as to better plan the construction and operation of a wind farm in order to minimize its impact.
Robotic monitoring and predictive maintenance
Equally, if not more, important is the role of artificial intelligence in plantmonitoring and maintenance activities. Its use, combined with that of robots and drones, enablesfaster, safer and more effective inspections in 'difficult' environments.
The most promising application concerns predictive maintenance: AI algorithms, thanks in part to remote monitoring systems, can predict with great accuracy the risk of failure in a plant, so that preventive action can be taken before it occurs. This allows maintenance interventions to be planned ahead, avoiding emergency situations and greatly reducing costs and plant downtime.
In the presence of a failure, AI helps to quickly understand the type of damage, the causes and possible consequences, and can speed up decision-making for measures to be taken.
Even in the case of more routine tasks, such as, for example, cleaning solar panels, AI is able to give useful indications about the timing and need for cleaning, so as to optimize the frequency and efficiency of these activities, again increasing electricity production, as well as saving water.
As smart as the grids
Once produced, electricity must be transported and distributed. To fully incorporate renewables into the energy system, grids, and in particular smart grids, are essential – this is an area where AI systems can be of great use, especially in light of emerging power system arrangements, where distributed generation and multidirectional energy flows multiply the variables and their complexity.
Not surprisingly, back in 2019 the International Renewable Energy Agency's (IRENA) report "Artificial Intelligence and Big Data" highlighted the opportunities of artificial intelligence for grids.
To benefit grid management, with AI, forecasts of the volumes that can be generated by wind and solar plants can becross-referenced with estimates of demand and its volatility (derived in turn from AI algorithms). In this way, AI can manage grid flows optimally, including making decisions automatically and quickly. So the grids become more flexible, and thus more efficient and reliable, thanks in part to the use of AI (both at the predictive and decision-making level) in the management of storage systems, i.e., electricity storage, a key component to compensating for the intermittency inherent in renewables.
More security for people
Finally, the energy industry will be able to benefit from the full potential for protection and safety offered by AI: from cybersecurity to the fight against fraud, and especially to safety at work, atconstruction sites and at power plants, which is a top priority for the Enel Group.
This is a particularly promising field: with AI, it will be possible to analyze and catalog past accidents to better calculate risks and reduce them. Confirmation that artificial intelligence, although it will not get to the point where it animates the perfect children of science fiction, is a technology capable of making a fundamental contribution to improving people's lives and work.