Everyday uses for Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence is set to become one of the big tech trends of the coming year. While we are familiar with the concept of artificial intelligence or “AI” from science fiction and video games few of us know what the practical uses of AI could be. Here are some everyday uses for artificial intelligence that will make your life easier.

Voice Assistants
We all know Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana, and Google Now. These are applications usually on our mobile phones that allow us to ask “What is the weather” or “How to get home?” The command will usually prompt the phone to open an app or perform a search. But you may never have though about it, these are actually rudimentary AI. For example Apple’s Siri will learn how to pronounce your name, that’s right robots learning! Don’t panic yet, we aren’t in Westworld but we are getting there. If you tell Siri that she is pronouncing your name wrong, she will ask you to show her how, and use this going forward. This is rudimentary learning and one of the fun everyday uses for artificial intelligence.

Customer Service
Did you know that when you are chatting with tech support on a website it may actually be a computer? That’s right, much tech support is now having computers implement this as one of the everyday uses for artificial intelligence. They digital customer service assistant will read your questions and attempt to provide a relative answer. They will also great you and say goodbye. In many cases you will not know the difference, if you try asking unusual questions or with strange grammar, you may find the robot can not keep up like a human customer service specialist could.

Cleaning
Introduced nearly a decade ago, iRobot’s Roomba has been sweeping houses ever since. While at first many saw this strange device as more of a gimmick it has become common place in many homes and saved us from millions of hours of sweeping. But does the Roomba count as AI? Yes! Well sort of. The latest model of the Roomba uses GPS and memory to digitally map your home. Where the original models basically fumbled around cleaning wherever they landed the newer more advanced models are learning where and how to get places. These are things that were out of the Jetsons only a few years ago and now are common places in many middle-class homes!

So while you may have never though you were communicating with AI it turns out you probably use it at least once a day, that is not counting all the behind the scenes AI application that go into making products and services.  We hope these everyday uses for artificial intelligence have given you a new respect for your robotic companions. If you think of how far this technology has come in a decade, imagine what the future will be like! Hopefully it is more like Star Trek and less like Terminator 2!