It seems like AI is everywhere today, right? From people sharing their funny encounters with ChatGPT to interacting with chatbots, artificial intelligence surrounds us in more ways than we might realize. And as artificial intelligence technology has become more accessible and widespread, its usage has also expanded, meaning that almost every sector is affected in some way by AI.
In this article, we’ll dive into 10 ways AI is used today, in addition to discussing some of the reasons why AI has gained so much popularity so fast–and what we can expect in the future.
Ready? Let’s jump right in.
Why is AI Everywhere?
Before we can check out specific applications of artificial intelligence in our day to day lives, it’s important to first highlight the rise of AI and how it came to be such a powerful force that’s on the front of everyone’s minds, regardless of their profession. And although it feels like we woke up one day suddenly surrounded by AI technologies, the reality is that the technologies behind AI have been advancing rapidly in recent years and what’s truly new is the accessibility that today’s AI technologies offer.
No longer limited to large companies with powerful machines or the budget to afford tailor-made AI tools, everyday people and businesses can now use AI for simple tasks, without needing to shell out a lot of money or have a deep understanding of the mechanics of these tools.
In addition to the increase in access to AI tools, here are some other reasons why AI is seemingly everywhere:
More and more people are digitally literate: even if we remove AI from the equation, the general population has become significantly more digitally literate in recent years and this means that adopting AI tools is simply easier and more realistic for a larger group of people.
The benefits of data analysis are incredible: one of the most powerful applications of AI is data analysis, as AI is capable of processing and analyzing large quantities of data incredibly fast. Once companies realized that this was a possibility, they jumped on board.
Automation benefits workers: for workers themselves, the ability to automate tasks frees up their time to spend on more exciting and demanding projects, eliminating the need to spend so much time on time-consuming and tedious tasks.
Customers respond positively to personalized experiences: creating personalized experiences for individual clients, especially in wide-reaching companies, is incredibly time consuming, unless you use AI tools.
Creativity is at an all-time high: with so much competition out there and new products springing up constantly, companies benefit from AI’s creativity to come up with new and captivating ideas to attract and retain clients.
It’s clear, right? Artificial intelligence technology has so many benefits that it’s obvious why so many companies and individuals have pivoted towards adopting artificial intelligence tools, making it seem like absolutely everyone is adopting these tools.
10 Ways Artificial Intelligence is Used Today
To help you better understand specific use cases, below we’ve outlined 10 ways AI is used today; take a look and see if you recognize any applications that you can or could use in your daily life.
Finance
One of artificial intelligence’s strongest abilities is that of pattern recognition and in the financial industry, identifying trends such as spending habits helps flag potential fraudulent activity, accurately predict credit scores, and make suggestions for investments. In addition, chatbots used for customer service can help users get faster answers to their problems and free up human time for more pressing tasks.
Education
Personalized learning is much more effective for students, but 1-1 classes are rarely possible. With the help of artificial intelligence, however, teachers can create customized lessons based on a student’s exact needs, helping them improve in very specific areas without forcing the entire class to focus on one area.
Content
Does it ever seem like your phone knows exactly what to suggest when you’re scrolling on Instagram or watching shows on Netflix? That’s because artificial intelligence technology is adept at recognizing patterns and creating customized suggestions for users to give them an increasingly personalized experience.
Healthcare
In the healthcare industry, AI tools are becoming incredibly valuable as they’re able to view and diagnose scans or test results, in addition to checking large databases for patients with similar symptoms to best diagnose. In addition, healthcare has become increasingly accessible for people outside of the doctor’s office with the help of smart watches or other wearables that use AI technology to monitor their wellbeing.
Shopping
Similarly to how streaming services and social media platforms use AI for personalization, ecommerce sites can also take advantage of AI tools to look at both your past views and purchases and what those with similar characteristics to you are buying to make suggestions that are more likely to convince you to make a purchase.
Transportation
Flying cars were long connected to artificial intelligence technology and although we’re not quite there yet, AI technology in the transportation industry helps your maps app receive updated information about traffic, the best routes, and accidents so that you can best plan your drive. And as the technology improves, we can expect to see even more developments with self-driving cars.
Chatbots and assistants
From customer service representatives being able to use chatbots to answer basic customer queries and freeing up some of their time to asking Alexa to turn on the lights, chatbots and personal assistant technology is fueled by artificial intelligence. As what these tools can do is further developed, we’ll benefit from increasingly personalized and helpful personal, AI-fueled assistants.
Facial recognition
From airplane boarding to unlocking your phone, facial recognition technology, powered by AI, provides an extremely secure way to verify your identity using biometrics. Because this technology is able to analyze our faces and ensure that it’s truly us and not a fraudulent attempt, and is nearly impossible to fool, we benefit from increasingly secure systems.
Spam filters
We mentioned above that artificial intelligence technology is quite adept at recognizing patterns and trends and just as this helps identify fraudulent transactions on your credit card, it also helps keep our inbox clean with spam filters, even identifying potentially malicious emails. In addition, users can create their own filters, creating an even more personalized and neat experience.
Testing
One of the most innovative uses of artificial intelligence technology lies within testing; thanks to its ability to quickly mimic humans and produce results, companies can test their products on a fake audience before heading to production, which is much cheaper and faster than finding a test group and producing products. Testing is frequently used within gaming, but its application is becoming increasingly common in other areas.
Whew, what a list! As you can see, the applications of artificial intelligence today are practically innumerable and we only expect to see this list grow as time passes. If you want to ride the artificial intelligence wave and be part of the incredible transformation happening, we have good news: while you can choose a career in tech, it’s not required. As you can see above, a wide range of industries are adopting AI technologies and if you want to stay relevant as a professional in your field, consider adding some AI skills to your resume.
AI School by Ironhack is the perfect place to do so, with short courses designed for a working professional to study after work from the place of their choice. Take a look at what we offer (and stay tuned for what’s next!) and make sure you don’t fall behind in today’s competitive market.
