ASSET SUBSEA INTEGRITY REVIEW
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AI: RISE OF THE MACHINES
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or over 50 years Hollywood movies have featured the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI); from HAL-9000 in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film “2001: A Space Odyssey” to the more universally known 1980’s cult movie (and follow-up series) “The Terminator” with one of the most well-known catchphrases – “I’ll be…"…well you know the rest. The great thing about such movies is you already know the plot; the AI has suddenly determined humanity is a threat and begins a campaign of tyranny and destruction against its creators. Fast forward to 2021, the world has come a long way in the digital revolution however we are by no means on the cusp of an AI uprising of Hollywood proportions. Nevertheless, the storylines of these movies do serve as an important reminder that trust and reliance on artificial intelligence may not always end well for any humans involved.
of examination candidates were given computer-generated exam results based on the modelling of previous years’ candidates. In a high number of cases condemning students from historically poorer performing schools to much lower grades than their educators had predicted based on their proven ability. Thankfully those in authority saw sense and replaced the computed grades with those from, you guessed it……humans.
Whether we realise it or not, AI is part of our daily lives. Whether being used to determine what websites we can or can’t access or whether or not we qualify for a special deal on our next mortgage, AI-driven processes are So how does AI add value to all around us and many industry sectors have derived benefits of utilising machine learning CAN Group and its clients? algorithms in place of humans to achieve more cost-effective and efficient operations. As an Asset Integrity specialist, celebrating So, there is no question there are benefits and 35 years in business this year (a little bit the AI lobbyists are quick to highlight younger than the first Terminator the success stories however, movie), CAN Group continually notably absent from fanfare harness advancements in or press are the times when technology with safety, CAN’s data intelligence replacing human decisions integrity and certainty platform ENGAGE, with machine learning at the forefront of our results in the realisation of operations. Our team utilises AI to help users unintended consequences. of specialists adopt a make informed decisions For example, a recent risk-based approach to on asset integrity by switch to AI-based fraud inspection using AI, Human aggregating data from a detection within some Intelligence and experience variety of sources. banks led to legitimate at its core. In this approach, customers being deemed an engineer will review data fraudulent and locked out of from a variety of sources to accessing their own accounts and make an informed decision on with limited ability to speak to a human which equipment to prioritise and how to challenge the decision (computer says no often inspections should occur. On the face of – and the account holders deciding things, this type of process is perhaps a good “I won’t be back”). opportunity to remove the human element and utilise a machine learning algorithm The argument often boils down to the to determine risk as this would remove assumption that machines are better the engineering cost and would make the than humans because they can never be decisions faster, however what consideration wrong. This somewhat simplistic worldview to unintended consequence? is amplified by the growing reliance on technology on a personal level. However, For instance, corrosion can often occur what is often overlooked is that the in a non-linear fashion and there may machines themselves are designed, built and be external factors at play that are not programmed by humans who are all capable immediately obvious if simply analysing of errors, so any flaws in programming or raw data. These are the types of issues that incorrect assumptions in an AI model will only an experienced engineer can identify ultimately result in a flawed system; an and mitigate. A machine learning algorithm example of this being the poor data modelling can only make its decisions based on the during the pandemic when thousands data used to train the model. This could
result in a blinkered view of the situation and unintentionally increase the risk of failure. If the computer says the pipe should not be leaking, how do you explain the black liquid oozing into the sea? All intelligence has its place; at CAN Group, we see the benefits of AI as an assistive tool rather than a replacement to the human decision-making process. CAN’s data intelligence platform ENGAGE, utilises AI to help users make informed decisions on asset integrity by aggregating data from a variety of sources. This system was designed and developed in-house by CAN Group’s expert Integrity professionals to overcome the technological challenges of assuring and maintaining safety critical asset information to ultimately ensure continued safe operations. A recent development within ENGAGE also uses AI Computer Vision to analyse all imagery. The system will flag any potential defects from the gathered imagery (with the emphasis on “potential”) to ultimately draw attention to objects that may have ordinarily been missed by the human eye and allow the engineer to make an informed decision on risk and further mitigation. CAN Group fully embraces the principles of AI and uses it where it adds value; however, it’s important to remember that humans should be leading the decision-making process when it comes to asset integrity. After all, a significant hydrocarbon event is going to affect us an awful lot more than the machines.
NO HUMANS WERE HARMED IN WRITING THIS ARTICLE
CAN GROUP is a market leader in life of asset integrity services with our business streams CAN, ENGTEQ and VENTEQ providing a comprehensive and integrated asset integrity service to deliver innovative solutions to the energy industry worldwide. For more information on CAN Group’s market-leading life of asset integrity services visit www.cangroup.net
