How Artificial Intelligence Is Impacting Our Everyday Lives
Ilija Mihajlovic
B.Sc. Computer Science | AI | Machine Learning | Software Development
There are so many amazing ways artificial intelligence and machine learning are used behind the scenes to impact our everyday lives.
AI assists in every area of our lives, whether we’re trying to read our emails, get driving directions, get music or movie recommendations.
In this article, I'll show you examples how artificial intelligence is used in day-to-day activities such as:
- Social media
- Digital Assistants
- Self-Driving And Parking Vehicles
- Email communications
- Web searching
- Stores and services
- Offline experiences
How Artificial Intelligence Improves Social Media
Artificial intelligence makes it easier for users to locate and communicate with friends and business associates.
From tweet recommendations to fighting inappropriate or racist content and enhancing the user experience, Twitter has begun to use artificial intelligence behind the scenes to enhance their product. They process lots of data through deep neural networks to learn over time what users preferences are.
Deep learning is helping Facebook draw value from a larger portion of its unstructured datasets created by almost 2 billion people updating their statuses 293,000 times per minute. Most of its deep learning technology is built on the Torch platform that focuses on deep learning technologies and neural networks.
Instagram also uses big data and artificial intelligence to target advertising and fight cyberbullying and delete offensive comments. As the amount of content grows in the platform, artificial intelligence is critical to be able to show users of the platform information they might like, fight spam and enhance the user experience.
Chatbots
Chatbots recognize words and phrases in order to (hopefully) deliver helpful content to customers who have common questions. Sometimes, chatbots are so accurate that it seems as if you’re talking to a real person.
For example, the chatbot conversation in the image below shows AI being used to schedule a hairdresser appointment.
How Artificial Intelligence Helps You Every Day Through Digital Assistants
Digital Assistents
Apple’s Siri, Google Now, Amazon’s Alexa, and Microsoft’s Cortana are digital assistants that help users perform various tasks, from checking their schedules and searching for something on the web, to sending commands to another app. AI is an important part of how these apps work because they learn from every single user interaction.
How Artificial Intelligence Helps You Every Day Through Parking Your Car And Driving It
Self-Driving And Parking Vehicles
Self-driving and parking cars use deep learning, a subset of AI, to recognize the space around a vehicle. Technology company Nvidia uses AI to give cars “the power to see, think, and learn, so they can navigate a nearly infinite range of possible driving scenarios,” . The company’s AI-powered technology is already in use in cars made by Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volvo, and Tesla , and is sure to revolutionize how people drive and enable vehicles to drive themselves.
How Artificial Intelligence Improves Email Communications
Smart Replies in Gmail
Smart replies offer users a way to respond to emails with simple phrases like “Yes, I'm working on it.” or “No I have not. ” with the click of a button. Smart replies are tailored to the content of each email. Users can reply by typing a manual response or may instead choose a one-click smart reply.
For example, if you send an email to someone about an upcoming game and they reply to let you know that they interested in going to the game, Gmail offers “smart reply” options.
Email Filters in Gmail
Google uses AI to ensure that nearly all of the email landing in your inbox is authentic. Their filters attempt to sort emails into the following categories:
- Primary
- Social
- Promotions
- Updates
- Forums
- Spam
The program helps your emails get organized so you can find your way to important communications quicker. For example, Gmail sorts email into 4 different tabbed categories, and sends the spam mail to a separate folder.
How Artificial Intelligence Helps With Web Searches
AI has been used to help with Google searches for quite some time.
Google Predictive Searches:
When you begin typing a search term and Google makes recommendations for you to choose from, that’s AI in action.
Predictive searches are based on data that Google collects about you, such as your location, age, and other personal details. Using AI, the search engine attempts to guess what you might be trying to find.
Google’s Algorithm
Google search engines evolved over time by studying the linguistics used in searches. Its AI learns from results and adapts over time to better meet the needs of users.
For example, a search of “what are neural networks and how are they related to synapses” offers Google’s choice of “best answer” highlighted at the top, followed by a list of sources that answer the question.
The purpose of Google's algorithm is to deliver the best possible results to the searcher. In order to do this, Google uses AI to try to determine the quality of content and match it to the user’s query.
How Artificial Intelligence Improves Your Experience at Online Stores and Services
Product Recommendations
Amazon and other online retailers use AI to gather information about your preferences and buying habits. Then, they personalize your shopping experience by suggesting new products tailored to your habits.
Below is an example of AI-powered recommendations on Amazon.com.
Music Recommendations
Music services use AI to track your listening habits. Then, they use the information to suggest other songs you might like to hear.
For example, Spotify offers suggestions for new discoveries, new releases, and old favorites, based on your listening habits.
Google Play also offers personalized music recommendations. Its AI-powered suggestions take into account factors like weather and time of day to offer music that can set the mood for activities. For example, you might be offered a playlist of dance music on a Friday night, or soft acoustic music on a rainy day.
Maps and Directions
When apps like Google Maps calculate traffic and construction in order to find the quickest route to your destination, that’s AI at work.
In the example below, Google Maps offers directions based on the fastest route from Berlin to Potsdam according to the usual traffic. Orange sections of the route indicate where traffic is slower.
Commercial Airline Flights
You might be surprised to discover how little flying your friendly pilot actually does in the cockpit. A 2015 survey of airline Boeing 777 pilots reported spending only 7 minutes manually flying the plane during a typical flight, with much of the rest being done by AI technology.
According to a report by Wired Magazine, Boeing is working toward building jetliners completely piloted by artificial intelligence - with no human pilots at the helm.
Conclusion
Artificial Intelligence makes our lives more efficient every day AI powers many programs and services that help us do everyday things such as connecting with friends, using an email program, or using a ride-share service.
If you have reservations about the use of artificial intelligence, it may be comforting to know that most of us have been using AI on a daily basis for many years.
If you interested in topics like this go check out my Medium profile where I publish articles about deep learning, machine learning, and iOS development regularly.
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