A 2017 study showed that 71% of US citizens feared AI would take over their lives. In 2019, that number fell by over 20%. This growing acceptance of AI could be linked with their increasing use. This article aims to explain some of the ways in which AI is being used in our daily lives.
Social media
Social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook all use AI behind the scenes. This comes into play when suggesting tweets, targeting ads to specific users, and filtering abusive comments. TikTok uses its infamous AI algorithm to funnel extremely niche content towards its users, creating highly individualized experiences for each person using the app. Facebook and Instagram use the PyTorch framework, a deep learning technology that focuses on neural networks. This helps Facebook to extract value from its data sets.
Food ordering websites
AI on food delivery apps and websites use AI to learn what food you enjoy ordering, as well as when you are more likely to order. Based on your preferences, food delivery websites use AI to suggest cuisines you may like, as well as programming notifications around the times of day in which you might be more likely to place an order.
Music streaming websites
Spotify, a music streaming service, has set the standard for using machine learning and AI within their industry. One of its features that makes it so popular is its ability to recommend new music to its users based on highly specific data. Spotify’s AI scans each track’s metadata, as well as blog posts, articles, and social media mentions about the artist. It studies what people might be saying about the song, and which other music is being discussed alongside it, in multiple languages. It uses this data to create recommendations in very specific niches.
Autocorrect
Autocorrect and predictive text can be essential for people who write quickly, or who write in great quantities. The way it can predict what you might want to write is through the help of pattern recognition AI. This AI saves your most frequently-used letters and combinations. It establishes a pattern within your device’s memory, which it can use to learn and create suggestions in the future.
Online banking
These days, many large banks allow you to deposit cheques, send money overseas, and even set up standing orders just with a few taps on your smartphone. Sometimes, these transactions can require an online signature. AI and machine learning software can read your signature and compare it to the copy that is currently with your bank. This AI will then authorise your transaction if it finds a match. This is a huge convenience for people with reduced mobility, who might otherwise struggle to travel into their banks. Better yet, it is an extremely secure technology so you would not need to worry about for instance what to do if you experience credit or debit card fraud.
Digital Assistants
Many people have digital assistants in the home, or installed onto their smartphones. Among them are Siri, Cortana, Alexa, and Google Assistant. They are designed to be personable, telling jokes and giving gentle reminders. This is because they use a software that recognises speech patterns and offers the natural language processing features. Its AI allows it to listen and speak just like a person. These assistants can learn about their users, monitoring screen time, work hours, streaming habits, and other data. This deep learning allows digital assistants to give personalised recommendations to their users.
Other examples
There are also other forms of AI that you may not realise you are using on the daily. From healthcare management to automated financial investing, marketing chatbots to virtual travel booking agents, Al is a significant part of our lives. Likewise, if you use budgeting apps, many have artificial intelligence which help to analyze your spending habits. Further common examples include voice assistants and image recognition to unlock mobile phones. The benefits of AI are therefore vast so it is worth taking a step back to appreciate its useful technological impact.
