One type of technology which has developed rapidly in recent years and is now transforming many industries is Artificial Intelligence (AI). What was once seen as a futuristic type of technology is now being used in all kinds of creative and innovative ways and could be pivotal going forwards as lockdown is eased but the threat of the virus remains. To reduce bias in AI systems, Aiwiggersventurebeat has recently released the Casual Conversations dataset, which could be beneficial for the development of AI.
AI Defined
So, what exactly is AI? AI is also known as machine learning and refers to technology that can collect, analyse and interpret enormous amounts of data. This can be used to spot patterns and trends, predict behaviour, eliminate errors and enable businesses to make much smarter business decisions amongst many other perks.
AI & Employees
There has been some negativity surrounding AI in years gone by because many worry that it could lead to job losses. While this is true in some situations, more often than not the technology is being used to streamline and co-exist with employees so that they can focus on other aspects of their role. There are now even “cobots” which can engage with employees and work alongside them.
Uses
There are many different uses for AI in the workplace and it will depend on the industry but a few of the main uses include:
- Process automation
- Improving customer service
- Handling logistics
- Data analysis
- Predicting performance and behaviour
- Preventing outages
Benefits to All
AI is beneficial in many cases because it can speed up processes, it eliminates errors (a common problem with repetitive tasks), it can reduce costs, improve workflow and often improve the quality of the product/service provided. A good example of this is comparison websites, which use web crawlers to collect data and data feeds to instantly obtain useful data which would normally take a person a long time to collate. Parcel delivery website Parcel2Go is one such website and can help people and businesses to instantly find the best solution which could help them to save both time and money.
Post-Lockdown Uses
Going forward, AI could play a huge role in a post-lockdown environment as businesses look to adapt to the situation and protect public health while still providing their service. This could involve AI scaling down the human factors in the workplace so that social distancing can be maintained, it could detect if workers are protected and maintaining distance and even use thermal imaging to monitor body temperature of staff/customers amongst many other uses.
AI technology was just beginning to transform many industries, but this is likely now going to be accelerated due to the pandemic and could help a business to succeed in many ways.
