Bots: The What, Why, How and Where they are Going

We often think of robots as they appear in movies like Blade Runner, AI and- more recently- Ex Machina, but robots and AI have yet to fully integrate in today’s world. Bots and AI are concepts dating back to the late 70’s, but with technological advancements of today, we are closer than ever to making truly efficient and effective, artificially intelligent bots.

What is a bot?

A bot (internet bot) is, essentially, a software application which has been programmed to perform automated and, often, repetitive tasks. There are a multitude of ways in which you likely encounter bots, on a regular basis. When you use an online, help-chat service, you are likely speaking with a bot. When online shopping, if you click a button which performs an automated task, a bot performs that task. If you have noticed highly-targeted ads, while online, a bot has indexed product information you’ve searched to provide you more individually relevant advertising.

Why bots?

Bots are becoming more and more recognizable as companies like Microsoft increasingly invest in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Technology experts, such as Mark Zuckerberg- CEO of Facebook, have made comments and projections that bots are going to be the future. Writers and directors, alike, have also made similar projections. Zuckerberg, himself, goes as far as saying that he thinks “advances in AI can save peoples’ lives”. The rise of bots emphasizes just how important AI and Machine Learning are to the future of tech. Read more about Zuckerberg’s thoughts on bots here.

With the addition of cloud computing, bots can store more data and have greater computational capacity, making them smarter and capable of storing, identifying and acting on a greater number of patterns. These new capabilities are certainly adding to the excitement and convictions about the future of bots.

How are bots being used?

Messaging Bots

Facebook messenger employs bots to deliver one-click advertisements and to populate your feed (i.e. CNN shows top news headlines and with one click, you can order flowers from 1-800-Flowers.com).

SMS messenger offers bots like Digit and Assist which help you automatically save money and check bank balances or order food, find hotels and other tasks (which are also available on other platforms). KIK has a bot called Sensay which acts, somewhat, as a life coach. Telegram allows you to search for products on Amazon with Amazon Bot and even sends you photos via National Geographic Bot. You’ve likely encountered similar bots in your messaging and social media services.

Microsoft Bots

At Microsoft’s annual Build conference, on March 30, 2016 in San Francisco, CEO Satya Nadella announced the company’s plans to bring the world of bots to conversational platforms like Skype, Slack, Outlook, LINE and more. He has also introduced the Microsoft Bot Framework which explains how developers can build intelligent bots and states that bots are the next application that can make interacting with other business and services easier and faster. You can also read more about Microsoft’s investment in AI here.

Cortana

As Microsoft’s leading bot, Cortana, is a virtual assistant. With Cortana, Microsoft aims to help pave the way for the future of communication, productivity and interactions with businesses and brands. Cortana’s integration in Skype gives her a broad understanding of your daily, online activities. She can help identify people, places and things in messages as well as display additional information when clicked. Cortana can also block calendar and travel time for events, book hotel rooms, pre-populate conversations to friends with a text and more.

Skype Bot SDK

Microsoft has also launched Skype Bot SDK, a Skype developer platform allowing brands, business and other third-parties create their own bots and use integrated communications to both transform and monetize their solution. Skype bots can utilize both audio and video, offering a different take on video calling: calling a bot in a virtual environment. 

Facebook Bots

Facebook’s powerful bot engine is based on Wit.ai’s work. Relying on machine learning, Facebook’s bot engine can handle may variations of the same question and has other, seemingly, adaptable qualities. In 2015, Facebook (using Wit.ai’s platform) build M for Messenger, a personal assistant inside messenger. M is powered by AI that is trained and supervised by people to help you complete multiple tasks, allowing you to focus on what’s most important. Rather than voice-activation, M uses text- our, typically, preferred method of communication. The Facebook Messenger platform is the best place to find out more information.

Where should we expect to see bots going?

With such expedited advancements in AI and machine learning, it’s getting exponentially harder to ignore the potential of utilizing bots. In the near future I see bot development become even more easier, with simple object oriented programming and commands in plain English. A world where enthusiasts can build bots for use in their personal life and at work. These open source and crowdsourced bots can be available on a GitHub for other people to build upon as per their own vision. A true way to harness the collective intelligence of creative and brilliant minds globally.

Even today, we are seeing great achievements which can not only change our life on an individual level, but make worldwide change- for the better. Machine learning is making great strides in health care with diagnosis, categorization and predictions. A team of researchers from Harvard University and the University of Vermont conducted a study on using machine learning to diagnose depression. We are even seeing machine learning being used for social programs, you can read more the study published in the journal Science by author Neal Jean, on how machine learning is being utilized to predict global regions of poverty.

As we start seeing the ever growing potential of machine learning and bots to help us make better personal, environmental, psychological and all other kinds of decisions; it’s an exciting time for the tech industry and our societal climate!!

I welcome any feedback and questions, looking forward to connecting with you.

I have published other blogs on similar topics on my LinkedIn profile and you can also find me on Twitter @kapilt