AI is EVERYWHERE: How Robots and Algorithms Run Your Daily Life
Artificial Intelligence

AI is EVERYWHERE: How Robots and Algorithms Run Your Daily Life

Mandi D 12 September 2023

Introduction

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly becoming an integral part of our daily lives. From virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa to recommendation engines on Netflix and Amazon, AI algorithms are slowly but surely permeating every aspect of modern life.

While the full potential and implications of AI still remain to be seen, it is already clear that it will radically transform how we work, communicate, travel, relax, and even raise our children. This article explores some of the most common ways AI is shaping and enhancing our day-to-day experiences.

Virtual Assistants

One of the most visible ways AI has entered our homes and offices is through virtual assistants. According to Juniper Research, there will be 8 billion voice assistants in use by 2023. Smart speakers like Amazon Echo and Google Home have made accessing AI-powered assistants incredibly convenient. We can now get weather updates, calendar reminders, music playlists, and answers to all kinds of questions simply by speaking out loud. Virtual assistants save us time and effort by automating routine tasks.

Siri, Alexa, Cortana and other assistants also integrate with and control smart devices through the Internet of Things. For instance, you can use a voice command to adjust your smart thermostat or turn on smart lights. This hands-free control adds an extra layer of convenience to daily activities. And advances in natural language processing mean virtual assistants can understand and respond to more complex voice commands, having increasingly natural conversations.

Smart Devices

Beyond just smart speakers, AI is getting infused into all kinds of appliances and gadgets. Smart TVs use machine learning algorithms to recommend shows and movies you might like. Smart displays like the Amazon Echo Show and Google Nest Hub feature face recognition to deliver personalized reminders and notifications. Autonomous vacuum cleaners like the Roomba use AI and computer vision to intelligently navigate and clean your home. Smart devices with AI enable greater customization and personalization to cater to individual habits and preferences.

Computer Vision

AI also enables computers to see and understand images and videos. This field of computer vision powers many practical applications. Facebook and Google Photos can recognize faces in pictures and automatically tag friends and family. Productivity apps like CamScanner use OCR to convert images of documents into editable text. Computer vision also allows autonomous cars to interpret and navigate their surroundings. And visually impaired people can leverage AI to audibly describe images and identify objects around them. As the accuracy of computer vision improves, we can expect even more innovative use cases to emerge.

Smart Cities

At a larger scale, AI is helping build smarter cities optimized for sustainability, mobility and livability. AI-enabled traffic management systems analyze traffic patterns and adjust signals in real-time to reduce congestion. Smart grids balance energy distribution and predict outages to make electric grids more resilient. AI also makes cities safer through intelligent surveillance and public safety systems. And urban planners are leveraging AI simulation and modeling tools to design more efficient cities. AI will be crucial to developing the smart, interconnected cities of the future.

Commerce & Advertising

The widespread use of AI has also transformed the commerce and advertising landscapes. Online stores like Amazon rely on AI recommendation engines to suggest products tailored to shoppers’ interests. Retailers use computer vision to track in-store traffic patterns and analyses customer behavior. Logistics companies like UPS deploy AI and autonomous vehicles to optimize delivery routes. And marketers leverage AI chatbots and virtual influencers to engage customers. Moving forward, nearly every facet of the commerce pipeline from production to last-mile delivery can benefit from intelligent automation.

Healthcare

AI holds particular promise for enhancing healthcare and medical services. AI diagnostic tools can analyze medical scans and lab tests to detect diseases and abnormalities early. Chatbots act as virtual nurses to provide patients with personalized reminders and assistance. Wearable technology and symptom-tracking apps use AI to monitor patients and chronic conditions in real-time. And AI shows potential for automating routine administrative tasks to improve hospital efficiency. With further development, AI may help address systemic issues like rising costs and physician shortages in the healthcare system.

Recruiting & Hiring

AI has also started transforming business processes like recruiting and hiring. Automated resume screening can quickly filter thousands of applicants to identify the most qualified candidates. Candidate assessment platforms use behavioral analytics to evaluate skills and compatibility for a role. And through AI talent management platforms, businesses can get data-driven recommendations on internal candidates that are primed for growth and advancement. By removing human hiring biases and improving the efficiency of the recruiting funnel, AI allows businesses to optimize how they attract and retain talent.

Customer Service

Another common touchpoint for AI is automated customer service applications. Chatbots and virtual agents can provide instant personalized support at all hours of the day. Voice analytics enable businesses to extract insights from customer calls to identify pain points and improve processes. Brands like Hilton and Wells Fargo have rolled out AI-powered concierges to provide helpful recommendations to customers. And content sites like Buzzfeed and Insider leverage AI to curate and recommend individualized content to drive engagement. As AI improves, expect businesses to hand over more low-complexity customer interactions to automated systems.

Education

AI has varied applications throughout formal education as well. AI tutoring systems provide personalized learning and feedback for students based on their strengths and weaknesses. Universities leverage AI for automated grading and plagiarism detection. Simulated environments allow students to learn and practice skills through immersive role-playing. And back-end university operations like admissions, registration and finances are being optimized using automation and analytics. Education stands to become much more effective and accessible with the continued incorporation of AI.

Dating & Relationships

In our personal lives, AI has also made inroads through dating apps and marital aids. Dating sites like eHarmony and Match use algorithms to find compatible partners based on multiple attributes. Tinder and other apps incorporate AI to improve their user matching process. Relationship counseling apps leverage AI to track communication patterns and provide couples with personalized marriage tips. And digital avatars like Replika act as emotional support bots that users can form bonds with. While still early, these use cases illustrate how AI may shape interpersonal relationships moving forward.

Creativity

Until recently, creativity and uniqueness were considered uniquely human traits. But AI has demonstrated surprising aptitude for creative tasks like writing, drawing, and music composition. AI artists like Obvious generate abstract paintings that have sold for over $400,000. Startups like Anthropic are developing assistants that can write professional-grade emails, reports and articles. Initiatives like Magenta explore how AI can be trained to compose engaging original music. And AI copywriting tools churn out all manner of marketing and business text. As AI becomes more sophisticated, we can expect computer-generated creative content to become mainstream.

Misinformation & Fakes

However, AI does have concerning applications as well, notably in the creation of misinformation and deepfakes. AI text generators can automate the mass production of fake news articles that seem convincing to casual readers. And AI deepfake algorithms allow fabrication of photo-realistic images and video forgeries. These capabilities raise fears about how AI may enable pervasive misinformation campaigns and cybercrimes. Moving forward, technologists will need to focus on mitigation measures to help society counterbalance these risks.

Conclusion

In summary, AI is poised to be a transformative general purpose technology on par with innovations like electricity and the Internet. It will reshape nearly every sector, industry and profession in some capacity. While AI will create new risks and challenges as well, its benefits are too vast to ignore. Rather than turn away from AI, the sensible path is to continue developing AI responsibly and ethically to uplift humanity and enhance society. If harnessed properly, AI can improve our lives in a myriad ways we have yet to even imagine.

List of References:

  • Juniper Research: Research firm providing AI and emerging technology data and analysis. Website: juniperresearch.com
  • Amazon Echo: Smart speaker with AI assistant Alexa developed by Amazon. Website: amazon.com/echo
  • Google Home: Smart speaker with AI assistant Google Assistant developed by Google. Website: store.google.com/product/google_home
  • Siri: Virtual assistant developed by Apple for their devices. Website: apple.com/siri
  • Cortana: Virtual assistant developed by Microsoft. Website: microsoft.com/cortana
  • Alexa: Virtual assistant developed by Amazon for their Echo devices. Website: developer.amazon.com/alexa
  • Roomba: Autonomous robotic vacuum cleaner by iRobot. Website: irobot.com
  • CamScanner: Mobile app for scanning and managing documents. Website: camscanner.com
  • Wells Fargo: American multinational financial services company. Website: wellsfargo.com
  • Buzzfeed: American digital media company. Website: buzzfeed.com
  • Insider: Digital media brand focusing on entertainment content. Website: insider.com
  • eHarmony: Online dating site that matches users based on personality test. Website: eharmony.com
  • Match: Online dating service with AI-powered matching. Website: match.com
  • Tinder: Mobile dating app that matches users based on location and preferences. Website: tinder.com
  • Replika: AI chatbot companion app. Website: replika.com
  • Obvious: AI art collective creating abstract paintings. Website: obvious-art.com
  • Anthropic: AI startup developing conversational AI assistant Claude. Website: anthropic.com
  • Magenta: AI project exploring music generation. Website: magenta.tensorflow.org