We have all heard of artificial intelligence as a scary and powerful villain that wants to take over society and destroy all humanity, but what if artificial intelligence is something much less devious than that? What if it were actually helpful, especially when using it for creation like websites and applications?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing web development by enhancing user experiences, automating repetitive tasks, and providing valuable insights. For instance, AI-powered chatbots improve customer service by providing instant responses to user queries. Machine learning algorithms analyze user behavior to personalize content and recommendations, increasing engagement and conversion rates.
According to a report by Gartner, by 2025, 80% of emerging technologies will have AI foundations. Additionally, a survey by Adobe indicates that companies using AI to personalize experiences see a 30% increase in conversion rates. Adoption of AI in web development has also resulted in a 20% reduction in development times and a 15% increase in user satisfaction.
Web development is an essential part of the tech world and as time passes, artificial intelligence is making a bigger name for itself. But what are they and how do they interact?
Photo by Maxim Tolchinskiy on Unsplash
What is Artificial Intelligence?
AI, or artificial intelligence, gets a bad rap, but it’s actually already set as a crucial part of the tech world. Britannica defines artificial intelligence as the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings.
The definition contrasts greatly with how the media has depicted artificial intelligence in movies, TV shows, and books, because it’s not similar to a living thing. Nevertheless, it is capable of carrying out a variety of tasks that more simple machines cannot complete.
Some of the most important parts of artificial intelligence include:
Data: for artificial intelligence to make the right decisions, it needs to access a large amount of data. The more data available, the more informed the artificial intelligence will be when it comes time to take action.
Machine learning: ML allows for artificial intelligence to make those inferences and learn based on the data that they have accumulated.
Algorithms: when an algorithm is created, it provides the AI sets of rules or guidelines that allow them to perform different tasks depending on the rules they have set.
Natural language processing: NLP is needed to read, understand, and create text.
Computer vision: image recognition is also an essential part of artificial intelligence and thanks to computer vision, AI can interpret and recognize visual data from images and video.
The components that make up artificial intelligence provide it with the ability to interact with the world and learn from everything it accesses, allowing for artificial intelligence to be leveraged in an infinite number of ways to enhance and automate companies and organizations throughout the world.
Artificial Intelligence Examples
The real world applications of artificial intelligence are limitless; you actually already interact with and use it, even though you may not be aware of it.
Have you ever gone on a website and a chat box pops up with a message, offering you their direct assistance from a worker? That is an artificial intelligence chatbot that relies on different algorithms and natural language processing to provide any user with information they need. Some other real world applications include:
Smartphone assistants
ChatGPT
Manufacturing robots
Self-driving cars
Healthcare tools
Financial assistance
Personalized marketing and social media
These are just some of the diverse applications of artificial intelligence that can be found throughout our society and in the future, it will continue to expand as artificial intelligence engineers improve and innovate more creative and complex solutions to society’s difficulties and hardships.
What is Web Development?
The internet has existed for a few decades and since then, more new technologies and uses have come about. And now, there are more and more websites and applications to explore and use thanks to the ingenuity and effort of web developers. Innovating and building websites and applications, web developers focus on one of the following areas:
Front end development
When you are on a website or application, you are interacting with everything that front end web developers have created and written as code. The front end includes everything from the color palette and font to the images and buttons; if the user can interact with it, then its front end development.
Photo by Igor Omilaev on Unsplash
Back end development
If front end makes up what the user can see, then back end is what the user cannot see or with which they can’t interact. The back end holds the server and is where data is stored. Although users cannot access the back end, it is a very important part of a website or application and it can be referred to as server-side.
Full stack development
Front and back end development combine to form full stack development, where developers have expertise in both front and back end development techniques and coding languages. Working as a full stack developer, you are capable of taking part in all parts of a project instead of being limited to just one.
What Responsibilities do Artificial Intelligence Engineers have?
As mentioned above, artificial intelligence engineers are innovating and creating new products that leverage artificial intelligence to solve society’s issues and improve our lives. To become an artificial intelligence engineer, there are many skills that need to be employed and mastered to develop new artificial intelligence-based tech and software.
Some responsibilities include:
Planning and designing the overall project
Using data to make decisions
Assisting other teams in infrastructure automation and development
Developing AI models that runs data analytics predictions
Remodeling machine learning models into APIs (application programming interface)
Advocating for the benefits of AI
Artificial intelligence engineer may be a position that is fairly new, but it’s becoming increasingly common. As artificial intelligence grows more as an indispensable tool, the position will find its feet and become a more established role in companies.
How do Artificial Intelligence and Web Development Differ?
Although artificial intelligence and web development are both important aspects of the tech world, they are quite different: one is more of a tool, while the other is a profession and career that people pursue; however, this is changing.
Web development services require a lot of effort on the part of web developers that write out all of the code and design the projects. Artificial intelligence is becoming an essential tool for many industries and companies and because of that, it’s becoming more of its own field as well.
Source: Neurosys
How do Web Developers and Artificial Intelligence Engineers Work Together?
These two types of professionals don’t normally work together on projects since they are different positions that don’t share common goals: web developers are focused on building and designing the website or application, whereas AI engineers are developing AI tools for the company, dealing with data, or automating processes.
However, one time that they may cross paths is when dealing with APIs and how applications may interact as artificial intelligence engineers are tasked with converting machine learning models into APIs and web developers create said applications.
Although web developers and artificial intelligence engineers may not collaborate much, that doesn’t mean that the two fields don’t interact. Oftentimes applications and webpages do incorporate AI as tools to assist the client, create more personalized and engaging experiences, or provide other support in completing tasks.
As previously mentioned, artificial intelligence is just taking its first steps in what it can truly achieve and still has a large amount of space to expand and grow as a tool. Web development is also growing alongside artificial intelligence; both are growing fields with lots of potential. Are you going to take it on?
About the Author:
Juliette Carreiro is a tech writer, with two years of experience writing in-depth articles for Ironhack. Covering everything from career advice and navigating the job ladder, to the future impact of AI in the global tech space, Juliette is the go-to for Ironhack’s community of aspiring tech professionals.
