The Future of AI - From The Perspective of an AI

In the last few years, the hype around artificial intelligence has been increasing (again). Most of it is due to companies like OpenAI, Google, DeepMind (Google subsidiary), Meta, and others producing truly groundbreaking research and innovative showcases in the field. From machines winning complex games like Go and Dota 2to a variety of content generation techniques that produce text, images, audio, and now video, these technologies will have an impact on our future.

It feels like we have experienced this hype towards AI in the past, but it never really materialized into anything relevant to our lives. From IBM’s Watson attempts to revolutionize healthcare to the prophecies of self-driving cars, we have been told about how AI will improve our society, yet there always seems to be something preventing us from getting there. On one side, technology might not be there yet for some of those advanced problems, in another, humans tend to be skeptical of machines taking over some of our areas of expertise (Skynet didn’t help here).

In any case, it is important to understand that the current hype around AI is different. Not only are the techniques more advanced, but also the industry and society are much more prepared to accept and use these technologies in our everyday lives. Let’s explore some of the most relevant applications of AI that will have an impact in the near future.

1. Health Care

#

One of the most promising applications of AI is in the field of health care. Machines have been used in medicine for a long time, but their capabilities were always limited to simple tasks such as image recognition or data processing. With the advances in deep learning, we are now seeing AI being used for much more complex tasks such as diagnosis, treatment planning, and even surgery.

One example of this is IDx-DR, a machine learning system that can detect diabetic retinopathy from retinal images with high accuracy. This is a condition that affects millions of people around the world and can lead to blindness if left untreated. The ability to automatically detect this disease would be a huge step forward in preventing vision loss.

Another example is IBM Watson for Oncology, a system that uses machine learning to provide treatment recommendations for cancer patients. The system has access to vast amounts of data on past cases and treatments, which it can use to find patterns and make better decisions. In one study, Watson was able to match or exceed the performance of human experts in recommending treatments for lung cancer patients.

2. Self-Driving Cars

#

Self-driving cars have been one of the most hyped applications of AI in recent years. And for good reason: they have the potential to revolutionize transportation and make our roads much safer. Several companies are already testing self-driving cars on public roads, and it is only a matter of time until they become mainstream.

One of the challenges with self-driving cars is that they need to be able to handle all sorts of different situations, many of which are rare or unpredictable. This is where machine learning comes in: by training models on large datasets of real-world data, we can teach them how to drive safely in a variety of conditions.

3. Robotics

#

Robotics is another area where AI is starting to have a big impact. One example is Boston Dynamics’ SpotMini robot dog, which can autonomously navigate its environment and perform tasks such as opening doors or picking up objects. Another example is Honda’s ASIMO robot, which can walk and run like a human being (albeit slowly). These robots are just scratching the surface of what’s possible; as AI technology continues to improve, we will see ever more capable robots being developed for both industrial and consumer applications.

4. Smart Homes

#

Smart homes are another area where AI is starting to have an impact. There are already a number of commercial products available that use AI to perform tasks such as controlling the lights or thermostat, playing music, or even making coffee. In the future, we will see even more advanced applications such as automatic laundry and dishwashing, robotic vacuum cleaners, and so on.

5. Predictive Analytics

#

Predictive analytics is a branch of AI that deals with making predictions about future events. This can be used for a variety of applications such as financial forecasting, demand planning, or fraud detection. For example, a predictive model could be used to automatically flag suspicious transactions in order to prevent fraud. Or it could be used to predict how much demand there will be for a product in the future, so that companies can plan their production accordingly.

6. Natural Language Processing

#

Natural language processing (NLP) is a subfield of AI that deals with understanding and generating human language. This can be used for a variety of applications such as automatic translation, chatbots, and text summarization. For example, Google Translate uses NLP to automatically translate between languages. And chatbots such as Microsoft’s Zo use NLP to understand and respond to user input.

7. Computer Vision

#

Computer vision is another subfield of AI that deals with understanding images. This can be used for applications such as object recognition, facial recognition, and image search. For example, Facebook uses computer vision to automatically tag people in photos. And Google Images uses it to provide relevant results when you search for an image.

8. Cybersecurity

#

Cybersecurity is another area where AI is starting to have an impact. One example is Deep Instinct, which uses deep learning to detect malware. The system is able to learn from data in order to identify new threats that have not been seen before. Another example is LastPass Password Manager, which uses machine learning to automatically generate strong passwords and flag weak ones.

9. Marketing

#

Marketing is another area where AI is starting to have an impact. One example is IBM Watson Advertising, which uses machine learning to automatically optimize ad campaigns for maximum performance. Another example is Amazon Personalize, which uses machine learning to provide personalized recommendations to users based on their past behavior.

10. Finance

#

Finance is another area where AI is starting to have an impact. One example is Robo-advisors such as Betterment and Wealthfront, which use algorithms to automatically manage your investment portfolio. Another example is Credit Sesame, which uses machine learning to help you get the best credit card offers based on your spending habits.

Conclusion

#

In conclusion, AI is going to have a big impact on our lives in the near future. There are already a number of commercial products available that use AI to perform tasks such as controlling the lights or thermostat, playing music, or even making coffee. In the future, we will see even more advanced applications such as automatic laundry and dishwashing, robotic vacuum cleaners, and so on.

However, it is important to keep in mind that AI is still in its early stages of development and there are many challenges that need to be addressed before these technologies can be fully realized. On the bright side, there is a lot of research being done in this field and it is only a matter of time until we see even more amazing applications of AI.