The idea of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is exciting to some and terrifying to others. The portrayal of AI in entertainment only serves to further confirm these sentiments, thanks to movies like Ex Machina or I, Robot. But AI isn’t really lifelike robots coming to take over the world, it has endless practical uses in today’s rapidly modernizing world. Machine learning and artificial intelligence is pervasive throughout our daily lives, whether or not we are fully aware of its effects. From smart cars to fraud protection, your phone, your car, your house, your bank, your news provider, and your favorite retailers all employ the benefits of AI daily.
But at what point is this technology making our lives too easy? Taking away jobs? Changing the way people interact with each other? Spying on us? The upsides and downsides are many, depending on the person, but one thing is certain: AI is here to stay.
From the beginning, technology has been evolving to adapt to the way humans communicate. In the mid-90s, the spread of cell phones made us collectively more mobile. Towards the mid-2000s, the advent of touch technology came to the forefront of tech innovation. And now in the mid-2010s, voice activation is the current trend. Each advancement, although certainly not without its speed bumps and resistance along the way, has since become the norm and made our lives easier.
Each step along this process is one step closer to making our wildest science fiction dreams come true. The creators of Amazon’s “Alexa” even said that the inspiration for their innovative device came from the Starship Enterprise. The bottom line is that as AI quickly becomes more mainstream in our everyday lives, it will slowly become an essential component of business and enterprise, and companies that do not embrace it will almost certainly be left behind. It enhances everything from productivity to customer service, not to mention saving money along the way, and like any new technology it is being used to fill the gaps and solve the problems of our everyday lives and consumer experiences.
For more information on companies and products that use AI, check out our take on the newest virtual assistant or the latest in smart home technology.