The year 2016 has seen quite a lot of disruptions in the field of technology, breaking all the boundaries and rising above expectations. Ranging from the concept and trial run of driverless cars to Google’s DeepMind platform, and AlphaGo, these technologies were not even expected in the coming decade. All of these run on an underlying concept of Artificial Intelligence, which has helped companies turn the impossible into reality. Things have only started to come into existence recently, but there is still a world of newer possibilities and modifications that will be witnessed in the coming years.
Artificial Intelligence has been a rage in 2016 in India as well, owing to its utility and advantages. Globally renowned companies have been incorporating AI into their systems, and aiming to tap newer audiences and attract more business. Seeing the current upward movement, it is an accepted fact that AI/Bots will replace workers, which will in turn have a quantum impact on the social, economic, and technical front. The hottest segment of this hottest trend is the market for chatbots. The movement towards conversational interfaces will accelerate in the coming years.
What next? Breakthrough in Emotional Understanding. With increasingly accurate cameras, voice and facial recognition, computers are better able to detect our emotional state. With the help of Artificial Intelligence, all of this has been possible. It gives companies better understanding of their customers also, and insight into their like and dislikes. A similar attempt has been made by the famous outdoor clothing company The North Face, which announced a partnership with IBM Watson and e-commerce company Fluid to launch a new AI-powered shopping tool to make it easier to find the right item.
One major improvement that researchers wish to attain in the field of AI and ML in 2017 is Data Efficiency. This aims to reduce the amount of data that machine-learning systems require to successfully implement models with high accuracy. In other words, how to do more, with less data. Teaching a neural network to identify basic patterns currently needs thousands of data points, which makes the process complex and long. Organizations are taking note of this efficiency, predictability, increased productivity and business innovation that AI offers and are starting to slowly embrace the trend.
According to the recent study, the global artificial intelligence market is expected to grow from USD 419.7 Million in 2014 to USD 5.05 Billion by 2020, at a CAGR of 53.65% from 2015 to 2020. In our daily lives, while not many would have the opportunity to watch robots performing surgeries or pass by a driverless car on the streets, many of us are affected by AI systems one way or another. AI is expected to drive all the major sectors of the economy in the coming years, and is all set to take a leap forward.
2017 will see major players like Google, Tesla, BMW and maybe Apple, make huge strides towards making self-driving cars a commercial mass product. AI and machine learning increasingly will be embedded into everyday things such as appliances, wearable tech, furniture, industrial equipments etc.. Recently a digital stethoscope has been made which has the ability to record and store important data points such as heartbeat and respiratory sounds. In the near future, this stethoscope could collect a massive amount of such data, compare the data with diagnostic and treatment information, and be an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered doctor assistance to provide the physician with diagnostic support in real-time. Another everyday application in the very near future could be AI powered home devices like light bulbs, heaters, microwaves etc. Imagine the heater knowing what time you usually take a bath and also knowing how hot you like your water to be and ensuring that when it is time you go for a shower the water is perfectly warm all by itself!
In a nutshell, we can say that with artificial intelligence our future is going to be nothing less than amazing, and convenient. It will help businesses perform better and get accurate results in a faster and cheaper manner. It is sure to benefit all the major sectors of the economy and transform the way we live our everyday lives.
