Is your house smarter than you?

I was at a dinner party last night and, like most young to middle-aged professionals, we started talking about our homes, upkeep and maintenance - truly exciting and normal dinner conversation. One couple had two Roombas - those robot vacuums - one for their upstairs and one for their downstairs. They also had the Ring which is a device that you put on your door so when people ring, it sends a message to your phone and a video or photo (I don't have one so I'm not 100% sure this is how it works) so you know who is at your door. They then talked about how the Echo they have can take voice commands and dim the lights, turn them off or on, control their music and even their TV. They can even ask it for recipes or directions.

I was blown away. While I think I had heard about these things individually, I'm not sure I had really encountered "real people" who were employing this artificial intelligence in its entirety - and to this extent. They were looking for the next big thing to come out - and they were also the youngest among us at the age of 24. They were also looking for "Alexa" to understand their voice commands.

The other couple in the room, about 10-15 years older than the 24 year old couple we were sitting with, said they got frustrated with the fact that they had to say things exactly right to get their device to do what they wanted it to so they just didn't use it, but before we left, they had to show us their "smart light bulbs" which you control by phone and can turn your living room into a beach paradise with an orange/ pink hue or a peacock paradise in shades of blue and teal. While they may be behind, they're still in the game!

I scoffed at the whole "smart home" concept, I then remembered I, too had a Roomba to take care of the dog hair on my floor as I'm too lazy to vacuum more than once a week, and just got a "smart watch" so I could track my fitness routines, share info with work out partners, and generally be connected. I then realized my phone connected to my car to provide me directions and make sure I'm playing my favorite playlist while taking voice commands to text my friends back so I can keep both hands on the wheel. Things that really make my life more convenient - and things I didn't necessarily associate with artificial intelligence or roboticizing my life.

I wrote an article about robots taking over the world last week, but I didn't really realize the impact that artificial intelligence was having on my life and the lives of those around us. I'm wondering what the next big thing will be - and if I'm behind because my house isn't as smart. Perhaps I'm missing out!

I'm assuming it's the same in business. New, agile companies are coming into the marketplace and innovating - starting from scratch with artificial intelligence and using it in anticipation of the next big thing while older companies, and perhaps larger ones, are lagging behind because of frustration or lack of understanding.

I'll be looking to cover more on this topic in the coming months, but it's something here at Corinium, we're looking really closely at. We're trying to guide companies as they start their journey and give them the building blocks they need to keep up with the inevitable technological advances.

If your company is looking to start its AI journey, or if you provide a solution in the AI Space that companies need to know about. Perhaps you're someone who can help start these businesses on their quest to keep up - I want to talk to you.

We'll be on the road in Q1 of 2019 with a series of events so look out for details!

In the meantime, email me at [email protected] or call me at +1 813 405 9583.

Thanks for reading and tell me your thoughts! Have a wonderful week!