5 Ways AI is Already Part of Your Daily Life

News Dec 03, 2018

5 Ways AI is Already Part of Your Daily Life

 

When we think about AI, we tend to envision a futuristic technology which is yet to become integrated with society. The reality is actually very different. Most of us interact with AI on a daily basis, but are simply unaware of its presence.

Here are 5 ways AI is already a more significant part of your life than you think.

1 – Media Streaming Services

Almost everyone uses a streaming platform of some description. Netflix, Spotify and YouTube are all good examples. However, not so many of us are aware that your next suggested song or video is being recommended by AI. Algorithms analyse what you watch or listen to, and once enough data has been collected, will start suggesting content which matches your interests. A very similar process occurs with online shopping and recommended products.

2 – Voice Assistants

It could be Siri, Cortana, or Alexa. Voice assistants have become a common accessory, with almost every smartphone having one. But did you know these smart assistants use a form of AI known as Natural Language Processing (or NLP) to understand what you are saying? They learn from your requests and commands, creating an increasingly tailored user experience based on the information you provide.

3 – Spam Filters

Junk mail is one of those annoying facts of life, fortunately filters usually do a great job of identifying what is and isn’t spam. The filters utilise Machine Learning, where the machine (algorithm) is trained to differentiate between genuine emails and spam. This process works by highlighting keywords which are typically associated with spam, and using them to assess incoming mail.  Sometimes junk mail may slip through the net, but by flagging it as spam, you are essentially teaching the algorithm to filter similar emails in the future!

4 – Fraud Detection

Almost 1/10 adults in the UK (9%) have been a victim of card fraud, and this figure is expected to rise. As a result, banks have implemented sophisticated fraud detection systems which can identify suspicious activity on your card. But how do these systems work? AI is used to gather behavioral information, such as your spending habits and location of transactions. It can then use this information to identify suspicious activity, like unusually large or frequent transactions in a short space of time, and notify your bank.

5 – Customer Support

Customer support has become increasingly AI-based over the past decade. This has mainly been achieved through the use of chatbots. Just like voice assistants, these bots use NLP to process customer queries and formulate a helpful response with the information they have access to, i.e. opening times, return policies or contact information. If a question is asked that the bot cannot answer, or does not understand, it can notify a member of the customer service team to step in and continue the conversation.

Overview

Hopefully this has demonstrated how AI is already a significant part of our daily lives. There are many other examples outside of this list, and as time passes we will see this technology take on even more responsibility in both the workplace and at home.

Written by: Mark Ajder

Brainpool AI

We provide AI Consultancy & strategy services across industries. Over 300 Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning experts in Brainpool Network to provide best-in-class AI solutions.