Listen to this article now |
Artificial intelligence, or AI, is a sort of catch-all term for any technological development these days, but, strictly speaking, it refers to a machine mimicking intelligent human behavior.
From recognizing speech to generating images, AI programs can assess a situation and react to it in the same way that a human being might respond. These powerful programs can boost growth, increase efficiency, and ease the burden of many common business activities.
The companies most likely to succeed in the future will be the ones that embrace AI the fastest.
Here are just a few examples of where you will find AI-powered applications and how businesses can benefit from them.
1. Intelligent AI Upselling
Purchase almost anything online and, before you pay for it, you will be bombarded by at least one or more suggestions for additional products. Artificial intelligence was used to find those products.
This type of AI is common on Amazon and other e-commerce platforms. It reveals itself with the phrase “If you like this product, then you’ll like this,” or something similar, that is calculated to nudge you toward maximizing your purchase. Upsells based on the customer’s behavior and browsing history are more likely to succeed than generic recommendations.
2. Assisted Living With AI
AI is helping improve the quality of life for people with limited mobility and cognitive challenges. AI-enabled doors, elevators, and other public features can recognize individuals who need extra help and activate the necessary assistance.
AI routinely generates dynamic captions for online streaming services and cable, network, and web productions. Many live broadcasts, especially sporting events, depend heavily on this machine’s assistance. Applications like Be My Eyes, Seeing AI, and Lookout can help the visually impaired. These apps leverage the strength of AI to recognize objects and create verbal descriptions.
How does this impact businesses? In the future, accessibility will no longer just mean handicapped parking spaces and large-print signage. Businesses can think about their websites and store displays can be more compatible with AI assistive technologies.
3. Translation and Voice Services
AI is being used to recognize speech and translate languages. These AI programs can convert text to speech or communicate verbally with users, an audience, or the public.
Google Translate is a prime example of an AI-powered translation tool. It converts English words and phrases, and web pages, to one of more than 130 languages. Other translation tools include Bing Microsoft Translator, DeepL, and Mirai Translate.
By adding translation widgets, businesses can make their websites multilingual and sell to a wider audience.
4. AI in Human Resources
When many businesses think of automation, they picture the assembly line. But AI is used in human resources for many different tasks. It is common in the recruitment process, where it is used to search for new talent, find specific skills, and check job applicants’ employment history. Factors like age, gender, race, and physical characteristics can be taken out of the hiring process, which helps to maintain an equitable workplace.
Products in this class include Entelo, which can passively search for applicants with an emphasis on underrepresented groups. Another is Harver, which is an employment pre-assessment tool that uses AI to perform multiple levels of candidate screening, including reference checks and more.
5. AI in Healthcare
For healthcare service providers, AI is already a mainstay. It is used in billing departments to help make paperwork easier to complete. It can help maintain accuracy by reviewing details that a human may have missed. This improves the patient experience and helps to ensure accurate care.
AI can help consumers be proactive with personal health and athletes train for competition. Smartwatches like Apple Watch and FitBit and other fitness-tracking gadgets encourage exercise and healthy living.
The Internet of Things provides healthcare options never available before. Smartphones have allowed for exciting innovations like AI-assisted diagnosis. One example of this is SkinVision. This AI-powered app can look at a picture of a mole or blemish, evaluate it, and suggest how the user may proceed with various healthcare options. Another example is WebMD Symptom Checker, an online diagnostic tool that helps users determine if they are ill and if they should see a doctor.
6. AI in Energy
Modern energy production facilities, power distribution networks, and energy consumers use AI and machine learning to continually improve processes and solve complex challenges.
Oil drilling companies use AI to determine where to place wells for oil and gas production. Energy production facilities benefit from increased safety and efficiency with AI-powered apps that can monitor and control critical infrastructure.
AI and robotic technology help to monitor energy distribution using smart grids, smart cities, smart factories, and smart homes. AI can bring power sources online as they are needed, and AI-enabled smart installations can manage local power usage to keep energy costs down.
Energy management applications include WatchWire, a SaaS provider focused on managing the unique power production profiles and energy requirements of sustainable sources.
AI Failures And Drawbacks
While AI has the potential to make many business activities better, it is not infallible. It can make mistakes, and those mistakes may be difficult to foresee.
There is a rich history of AI failures. For example, in 2017 IBM developed Watson for Oncology, a special version of their successful Watson AI for the healthcare industry. After testing in a Florida hospital, plans to expand its use were discarded when it began recommending dangerous procedures for patients in the oncology ward.
More recently, Google’s AI chatbot Bard answered a question incorrectly in its first public demonstration, raising concerns about the reliability of AI to help us gather information.
Many Business Benefits
Still, AI products including Siri, Alexa, and ChatGPT are used by consumers every day to enhance their lives. Businesses depend on AI to help with daily operations and to increase their competitiveness. With thoughtful design and testing, an AI app may offer your business new ways to improve services or increase the safety and efficiency of your current operations.
