AI Use Cases in Technology
Introduction
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the all-encompassing term for technologies built and developed to automate tasks previously performed by humans. Back in 1950, Alan Turing published his famous paper about the possibility of thinking machines 1 . However, up until the early 2000s, humanity hadn’t made much progress on AI for various reasons. Some of the biggest reasons for that were lack of computer processing power, funding, and actual data necessary for machines to learn about the real world 2.
However, that’s been changing for the past couple of decades, with the rapid adoption of the internet, a trillion-fold increase in processing power since the 1950s 3 , and the explosion of technologies that collect and catalog data 4.
With this rapid pace of innovation, AI became a viable business tool. The AI market is on track to outpace many industries. The business value of AI is poised to reach over 3 billion dollars within the next couple of years 5 , and many companies are trying to cash in on this opportunity. This report was created to highlight industries that have the potential to experience or are already experiencing technological transformation brought on by AI. We selected the banking, healthcare, and insurance industries for this research to expose a good variety of AI-driven innovations and focus on industries that are ripe for disruption and are already making steps towards AI ubiquity. For example, industries like manufacturing have been experimenting with AI for quite some time now, and so such an exposé for manufacturing might not be as revealing.
Many market players haven’t yet caught up with the pace of change. However, it’s evident that market leaders in the selected industries are already reaping the benefits of artificial intelligence, machine learning, natural language processing, image recognition, and other AI technologies. In this report, we’ll review some of the specific use cases of artificial intelligence in daily life of various industries.
1. AI and Personal assistants
Personal assistants powered by AI such as Amazon Echo, Google Home and Apple HomePod are examples of virtual assistants that can perform basic tasks, but become increasingly intelligent over the years and control more and more of our daily activities. For example, Amazon released a smarter new microwave that works with Amazon Alexa (the AI technology that powers Amazon Echo devices). However, some consumers fear it could eavesdrop on their conversations and violate their privacy by recommending products by analyzing their voice to detect if they are sick or worse.2. AI and Market research
Several AI-based applications, such as IBM's Watson, can perform in-depth research for businesses, perform tasks such as benchmarking competitors and generate detailed reports. In the future, these types of tools will use internal company data to provide surprisingly accurate predictions about the potential success of new products or services.3. AI and Sales
Artificial intelligence can be used to improve every step of the sales process, from generating leads to classifying them and delivering personalized marketing messages to them. All major CRM software vendors are already integrating AI functions into their tools, such as forecasting of customer needs and detailed analysis of purchasing processes.4. AI and Digital marketing
Almost every digital marketing activity can be done better with the right use of artificial intelligence. One of the most impressive - and yet terrifying - examples of this is the creation of content that can be created in written, audio and video form using AI tools. This is impressive because it can save companies a huge amount of time and resources, and scary because it can be used for nefarious purposes, such as manipulating voters during elections. To better understand how AI affects digital marketing, I recommend reading this article from Smart Insights.5. AI and Email marketing
Many major email service providers are already working tirelessly to add AI features to their products. For AI to work, it needs data. When it comes to email marketing, most businesses already have a lot of valuable data to tap into, so AI and email marketing are a natural fit. Here are some examples of data that can be used to improve the effectiveness of e-marketing campaigns with AI:Which titles generated the highest open rates?
What are the lengths and other characteristics of the most attractive emails?
Which keywords gave the best results?
These are just a few examples, but there are many other ways that AI-enhanced email marketing tools can make a huge improvement in a business's email marketing.
One interesting tool called Boomerang Respondable uses artificial intelligence to analyze emails written in Gmail and make recommendations on how to improve them. You can view this tool here.
6. AI and Leadership teams
As we increasingly live in a digital economy, it is increasingly important for business leaders to use artificial intelligence and data in decision making. Several companies, such as the Finnish IT company Tieto, have decided to include artificial intelligence in their management teams. As the business world and society become more complex, AI tools that analyze vast amounts of data will become crucial because they can help managers make better decisions based on data and evidence.
7. AI and Customer service
From the customer's point of view, customer service constantly improves when it's automated and powered by AI-based chatbots. Many of today's customer service chatbots are "rules-based" that work without artificial intelligence, but in the future most will be AI-based and even voice-based.
Probably the chat room that has created the most commercial value is Alibaba's AliMe chat room. It uses a wide range of different technologies, such as voice recognition, semantic understanding and personalized recommendations, and helped Alibaba achieve a record 31 billion dollars in sales in a single day in 2018.
If your business offers customer service, you should already be creating your first chat Even a basic rules-based chat pre-programmed to answer about 30-0 common questions from your customers would be better than nothing
8. AI and Accounting
The financial sector is one of the first industries to be completely destroyed by artificial intelligence and bot software such as robotic process automation. Since most of the daily work of accountants is repetitive and rule-based, AI can automate and automate most of it.
The most difficult and longest automated parts of their work are meeting with customers and explaining things to them. It is clear that people will start doing these activities in the near future. Willrobotstakemyjob.com, a popular website that shows the probability of automation of various jobs with artificial intelligence, shows that the jobs of accountants and auditors have a 9 percent chance of being automated. According to this website, more than 1.2 million people worked as auditors or accountants in the United States in 2016.
9. AI and Human resources
One of the areas in which the application of AI and robots has been most criticized lately is human resources and hiring. Although the use of different AI technologies can save time and resources in the hiring process, critics argue that many of them are biased and unethical.
Despite the skepticism, it’s evident that AI can be a very useful tool in the initial screening of candidates in several ways. For example, AI tools can be used to analyze candidates’ video presentations through the use of voice recognition and computer vision technologies. AI can also meticulously analyze any content candidates have posted on social media sites.
10. Law and legal teams
As in accounting, many of the activities of lawyers are repetitive and rule-based. A competition was organized between the artificial intelligence platform LawGeex and experienced human lawyers. The exciting results described below demonstrate the amazing ability of AI to outperform human legal teams.
Time limit: 4 hours
Task: Identify legal issues in non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).
Accuracy rate:
Human team: 85 percent
AI: 95 percent
Time:
Human team: 92 minutes
AI: 62 seconds
The results of the accuracy rates are pretty straightforward and similar to those of many other tests. However, what really showcases the remarkable power and effectiveness of AI is the speed with which it was able to successfully complete the task. 62 seconds compared to 92 minutes is an enormous difference, which exemplifies why many companies are looking into implementing AI for tackling their legal issues.
11. AI and Robotic process automation (RPA)
Many large and medium-sized companies are starting the automation process with robotic process automation. The basic idea behind RPA is to identify repetitive and high-volume tasks. One example of this would be order processing. Most robotic process automation is currently "rule-based", meaning it does not involve artificial intelligence. However, the majority of RPA software is expected to be AI-based in the future. Using RPA can provide many benefits, such as increasing productivity and giving employees more time for creative tasks and those that involve interacting with other people. Another important advantage is that RPA can be integrated into a company's existing business systems and projects and therefore does not require major internal changes.
12. Artificial intelligence and Finance
So-called "robo-advisors" and other AI-based applications can perform tasks that were previously only possible for humans. Because it has a lot of rules and deals with numbers that involve tasks that AI can easily be trained to perform, the financial industry is one of the first to adopt AI.
13. Artificial Intelligence and Travel Industry
Virtual assistants and chatbots to help tourists before, during and after their trip will be commonplace in a few years. Several airports, fairs and museums are already testing check-in with facial recognition, which significantly shortens queues and allows people to move faster.
Facial recognition is already being used in Chinese airports. The video below shows how a passenger simply walks in front of a screen that, thanks to this technology, shows all the travel information for him.
14. Artificial Intelligence and Health
Robotic surgery and virtual nurses help to achieve better results and assist doctors in operations. In addition, artificial intelligence systems help to conduct better and more accurate medical examinations, and the analysis of X-ray results uses computer vision produced by artificial intelligence.
15. Artificial Intelligence and Transportation
Autonomous cars, planes and boats will change the transportation industry completely. 5G-enabled smart transport will allow vehicles to communicate with each other to ensure smoother traffic and less accidents.
16. Artificial Intelligence and Retail
Retail is one of the industries most affected by the development of artificial intelligence. Cashless shops and supermarkets will be a reality in the coming years. Artificial intelligence technologies will significantly improve inventory and supply chain management. Robotic assistants share purchase information with customers and perform many repetitive tasks in retail stores. BBC Click documentary on AI and jobs, about 25 minutes long, spends about 20 minutes showing the various use cases for robots that are already being implemented in retail. Everyone should watch this video to better understand the impact of AI on retail.
17. Artificial Intelligence and Journalism
AI-based applications can be trained to generate large amounts of news. Similarly, journalists can use various AI-powered applications to help them conduct research more efficiently.
18. Artificial Intelligence and Education
Educational chatbots and tutors powered by AI radically improve the educational experience and help deliver personalized training. Using facial recognition, you can also analyze the effectiveness of teaching and receive feedback directly from students. In addition, students can analyze real-time job opportunities using artificial intelligence applications.
18. Artificial Intelligence and Agriculture
Agricultural drones, autonomous tractors and vertical agriculture based on artificial intelligence technology are revolutionizing the agricultural industry, allowing farmers to use less water and natural resources.
AI-enabled vertical farming can help us provide healthy food in cities.
19. Artificial Intelligence and Entertainment
There are already movie trailers edited by AI and pop songs produced by it, and they are getting better. Big Hollywood production companies are also using facial recognition technologies to detect audiences’ reactions during test screenings. This feedback can be used to improve the plots of the movies.
20. Artificial Intelligence and Government
Governments can use AI in a number of ways, such as improving public safety through facial recognition and other artificial intelligence technologies. Governments can also use AI to analyze large amounts of citizen data to create predictions and better prepare for various public health, education and other critical situations.
The above is just a small summary of the drastic changes that AI has already brought about in various industries and sectors. However, we will see many other use cases and examples of artificial intelligence in the future.
Companies and managers who can understand and prepare for these radical changes will gain a greater competitive advantage, while companies that ignore them will suffer great difficulties. I recommend going through 9 Reasons Why Artificial Intelligence Matters Now and Frequently Asked Questions and Answers About Artificial Intelligence.
Although many AI applications are still in their early stages, it is critical that all companies begin to explore AI applications in the next three to four years.
