In this day and age, it is impossible to imagine our life without gadgets. The Internet has permeated all aspects of our everyday life, and the emergence of the Internet of Things is another proof of it. Not only do appliances and gadgets do at least some part of our work for us–and we have managed to delegate quite a lot of things to them!–but they also think for us.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has mastered the art of invisibility. Oftentimes, we do not even notice we are interacting with AI, or that it is saying something to us. It may sound a bit scary, but we are constantly being watched while surfing the Internet, and AI plays an important role in it.
Here is where you can find AI while doing some routine activities.
1. Video games
The video game industry is a classic example of how AI can thrive and develop by leaps and bounds. In virtually every game, be it online or offline, you are assisted or confronted by AI.
Even in single-player modes, you encounter AI-controlled bosses, and storylines can take different twists depending on your in-game actions – all this is also regulated by AI. Remember the AI players you used to defeat when you played strategy games? How on earth do they build armies, construct lumber mills and distribute resources efficiently? The answer is artificial intelligence.
In online games, even when there are no bots (though in most games there are NPCs, whose brains are also governed by AI), you are matched with other players of the same rank or showing similar performance to ensure a balanced battle. This is another way AI manifests itself in video games.
2. Streaming services
From Spotify to YouTube, streaming services have learned how to bring you the content you are most likely to enjoy. Depending on your preferences, time of day, season and dozens of other factors, you will be offered playlists and recommended videos tailored to your taste. By analyzing your previous picks and other data you leave on the internet, these systems can try to predict what you will like – and these attempts are usually far from being wild guesses, especially if you give it some time to learn more about you.
3. Websites
In the world of web development, AI is just as influential as in other areas listed on this page. From site development to monitoring to communicating with users, artificial intelligence helps a website owner achieve their goals.
Such features as personalized offers, online chatbots, and many other solutions designed to enhance user experience are all the result of the implementation of elaborate AI systems. However, customizing content based on your preferences and past choices is not the only way it is used in the field. Servers are often managed by means of AI to optimize their performance. There are tools that enable one to monitor server performance by sending frequent requests, and this is also carried out by AI.
4. Online advertisements
The overwhelming majority of ads you see online are not hand-picked. The flow of ad content is created by AI which processes the information about you, which is found on your Facebook page and other social networks or in your search history and analyzing your behavior on the internet. Whatever you do online, it is almost inevitably reflected in the ads you see. It is an astonishingly lucrative industry, and the information is valued a lot since it helps customize advertisements and thus increase revenues. Big Brother is here.
5. Smartphones: assistants, apps and more
Siri, Cortana, and other assistants are examples of AI that has a personality, or a human face, so to say. Interacting with your smartphone involves a lot of processes handled by artificial intelligence: from taking photos (modern cams can adjust settings and find faces to improve photo quality) to planning traveling routes. Your smartphone is the ultimate manifestation of AI power, as it embraces everything listed above: it enables you to play games, access websites, and do so much more – with the help of AI.