You are using artificial intelligence everyday

Artificial intelligence is making headlines with pretty much every innovation. With all the hype surrounding AI, it can be confusing to understand just how it's influencing the lives of regular people. Students studying masters in statistics in India and across the globe already know that most people use AI in their day to day lives. 

You have likely used AI on your commute to work, online communications, and your online shopping spree. In the following article, we will take a look at a few instances where you have most likely interacted with artificial intelligence.

1. Virtual personal assistants

Digital personal assistants like Siri, Google Now, and Cortana are all artificial intelligence. They help you find information when you ask for it using your voice. You can ask anything you need to know and the assistant will answer by finding information or sending commands to other apps.

The AI is what helps these assistants collect the information you requested. Furthermore, the AI also learns to better recognize your speech and eventually provides answers that are tailored to your preferences. Microsoft says that Cortana, “continually learns about its user” and it will eventually develop the ability to anticipate users’ needs.

2. Online customer support

These days many websites offer online customer support in the form of chats. However, it isn’t necessary that there is a live person sitting on the other side of the computer. In many cases, you are talking to basic artificial intelligence. Many of these chatbots do nothing more than send out automated responses, but some of them can extract information from the website and provide you with what you are looking for.

3. Purchase prediction

Retailers like Amazon and Flipkart can make a lot of money if they can predict customer needs. Retailers use AI in a variety of ways like sending you coupons, offering discounts, or using targeted advertisements. According to Amazon, they use artificial neural networks to generate product recommendations. All the recommendations you see under “customers who viewed this item also viewed” and “customers who bought this item also bought” is the work of artificial intelligence.

Applications of AI have only scratched the surface so far. Artificial intelligence is set to become more advanced in the future. How much of AI will you be utilizing in your daily life a few years from now? Co-founder of Wired believes that AI will be so deeply integrated with our lives that it will spark a second industrial revolution. Students studying Msc statistics in Pune and other cities are already a part of this future revolution.