“Artificial Intelligence” (AI), has become a buzzword in many of the technologically related discourse in the current times. Self-driven cars, high-end robotics, AI-driven traffic management, Smart grid maintenance, etc. are few things which one alludes to when talking of AI, which sounds futuristic in-spite of the random news we get to hear about the developments made in this direction.
However, it might be surprising to note that AI is already a thing of the present, and we are surrounded by it in our daily lives.
The following are some of the examples from our daily life where Artificial Intelligence finds a place.
Travel & Navigation
At some point in our lives, we might have used navigation service or others to find our way through. For many, it is part of the daily lives. Whether it is the use of maps for navigation or using a taxi-hire service like Uber, you are using AI-enabled services to travel from one place to another.
Google, Apple, and many other navigation-related service providers utilize AI to interpret the scores of information being received and provide you with information that helps in navigation as well as get live traffic updates, helping you to commute more efficiently.
There is plenty of Geocoding and Maps API available for you to convert an idea into reality.
Smartphone Apps
Imagining our lives without mobile phones does sound to be a challenge. Different applications on our mobiles have become an integral part of our daily lives. Many of these applications are based on AI.
Built-in smart assistants on our phones like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant are the more obvious examples of AI that most of us are aware of and use.
More mobile technology platforms are developing solutions that make use of AI for managing different aspects of the device like battery management, event suggestions, etc. One of the standard features, like using a portrait mode on the phone, also uses AI.
AI-enabled services are now a significant part of the updates being brought about on both iOS and Android platforms.
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Social Media Feeds
Moving on applications on your smartphones to the presence of AI within various social media apps. Whether it is your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or other platforms, what you see and do on these applications is, to a large extent, influenced by machine learning. AI very much controls the feeds that you get to see while browsing through these platforms or the notifications that you receive.
It takes into consideration your tastes & preferences, your history, and imprint on SM, etc. to curate the information to transmit feeds that you find more relevant and are inclined to see.
Advertisements
How many times have you wondered, looking at an online ad, “I was thinking about buying this product “?
It is AI at work.
There is no magic here wherein AI is reading your mind. Instead, it is keeping track of what you do online. The products you browse on various shopping sites or search engines are tracked, and advertisements related to these products are fed on to you. AI also uses information related to demographics, like your age, gender, profession, etc. to determine the adverts of products that most likely are your preference.
This is becoming more relevant, with many businesses using digital marketing tools to target their preferred customers.
Smart Cars
Another area where AI is increasing its presence in our daily lives is the smart cars.
It is not only companies like Tesla which are at the forefront of using automation in vehicles, but many of the car manufacturers are also looking at integrating AI with Automobiles to provide seamless services of various technologies that you use.
Information is being shared and communicated between the cars to maneuver themselves better amidst the traffic. Inputs around traffic, real-time update on roadblocks, etc. are immediately being transmitted to alert the other vehicles on the grid enabling re-routing.
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Music and Video Streaming
While YouTube recommendations and suggested playlists on music apps have been around for some time, one can see these recommendations becoming more relevant to your likes as the time goes on. This is AI at work, which tracks the videos and the music you listen to most and come up with suggestions relating to the same.
Various variants like artists, genre, etc. are factored in to provide recommendations on these streaming services. Many of these recommendations are those which you are unlikely to know, helping you watch or listen to newer content.
Smart Home
Alexa and Bixby, come on top of the mind when one talks of using AI in developing smart homes. However, these applications of AI are not just limited to these Smart-voice assistants.
Thermostat devices that make use of AI to automatically adjust the temperature, AI applications that conserve energy by automatically switching on/off the lights based on human presence, smart speaker, apps that change the color of the light based on the time of the day, etc. are few of the applications where AI is being used to make the homes smarter.
The AI being used is evolving, and more and more solutions are being developed that understand our behavior and function accordingly.
Smart Input
Are you wondering where AI is used in input?
No need to look farther beyond your own mobile device. Typing out text has become more comfortable with the integration of AI, wherein it predicts words, phrases, and emoticons based on your regular usage and style of writing.
This is beyond the predictive test used in earlier mobile phones, with the suggestions being more relevant to the context and your style. Phrases can be written with a simple swipe across the screen.
Few of the mail apps provide suggestions for subjects and, in many instances, the text as well based on the body of the email that you have inputted.
Security & surveillance
The thought of AI does bring notions of it being used for larger-scale surveillance. While ethics is a case for debate, it is a known fact that AI is used increasingly in this domain. Monitoring the immense feed being transmitted from various cameras and other devices is not only a cumbersome activity but also has its limitations.
AI uses technologies like face recognition, object and location recognition, etc. to monitor the inputs received and analyze them.
Finance services
Banks are one of the domains that have adopted technological inventions sooner than most of the other fields. Banking has now moved on from the need to go to a physical space to conduct the operations from your mobile.
Banks use AI in many areas, including detection of any fraudulent activity, analyzing the investment trends of customers, provision of customer services, etc.
Have you ever received a notification from a bank when you do a transaction from a new device? This is a case of AI being used for the detection of any potential fraud. The notifications received from banks & financial institutions regarding their services and products are examples of AI in understanding your preferences, requirements, and financial strength to suggest relevant products.
Conclusion
AI is helping humans to become more productive, live a better life. We should appreciate that instead of considering it as a competition. If interesting in learning or build a career, then check out this resource.
