Understanding Artificial Intelligence and its applications in different industries

Understanding Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence, put simply, is the method of theorizing and developing computer systems such that they can think like human minds and consequently performs tasks requiring human intelligence such as speech recognition, decision-making, comprehending human prompts, and translating between languages. Artificial intelligence uses real-time data to replicate human intelligence with the help of algorithms, robots, and computers. The scope of applications for artificial intelligence, however, is not limited to just these basic functions. With rapid technological advancements in the field of artificial intelligence, the scope of artificial intelligence and its use cases has expanded exponentially. Artificial intelligence is being used in most industries and sectors to benefit from the multiple features of artificial intelligence for industry growth.

Artificial Intelligence use cases by industry:

Artificial intelligence finds its uses in almost every modern industry, from technology to healthcare, to education. An increasing number of industries and companies are investing resources to develop or modify artificial intelligence tools that can help with their workings and offerings.

  • Cloud Computing – Some of the major cloud companies such as Google and Microsoft have invested resources into the development of personalized cloud AI tools. These tools can help with a range of functions such as internal company workings, customer contact support, visual interface support for company websites, predictive analysis, etc.
  • Manufacturing – Artificial intelligence tools are being adopted in the manufacturing industry to streamline production methods, improve the quality and quantity of output, and increase the safety of workers in factories. One of the most important use cases of artificial intelligence is automation in manufacturing. Automation services help in streamlining the production processes and meeting minimum quality requirements. They also help in filling the gap in labor supply and demand and allow for increased working hours.
  • Healthcare – AI finds numerous uses in the healthcare and medical device industries. Artificial intelligence is used for early diagnosis of diseases, medicine compatibility tests, research and development for vaccination creation and disease prevention studies, etc. Artificial intelligence can also be used to analyze medical data at a large scale to establish patterns, determine symptoms of diseases, study success rates and side effects of cures, as well as to personalize health treatment needs for individuals.
  • E-Commerce – Various e-commerce aspects such as marketing and sales benefit from the usage of artificial intelligence tools. Artificial intelligence can be used to gather and analyze customer data to optimize the planning of targets, and action plans. Artificial intelligence algorithms can also be used to provide personalized recommendations to users based on their online activity tracking to boost purchase decisions. These tools can also be used for marketing activities such as advertising and copywriting to engage with the target audiences based on their preferences.
  • Education – One of the most impacted sectors of artificial intelligence is education. The latest technologies in artificial intelligence have enabled the revolutionization of education techniques. Interactive AI tools allow for more stimulating learning experiences for students, resulting in increased engagement and better comprehension of concepts. Other aspects of AI in education include helping students in researching complex topics and providing a vast library of resources for a wide variety of subjects instantly.

Companies making a significant contribution in  Artificial Intelligence market.

All major global tech companies are increasingly investing resources in artificial intelligence, which is a testament to the ingenuity and potential of the technology. Global leaders in technology such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, etc. are all prioritizing artificial intelligence development in a bid to become industry leaders in this emerging sector.

  • One of the most renowned companies in the artificial intelligence development industry is OpenAI. Based out of California, U.S., the company is founded as a nonprofit involved in the research of artificial intelligence creation. One of the leading AI tools in the world, ChatGPT, was developed by OpenAI. ChatGPT is a chatbot based on artificial intelligence that is designed to engage in virtual interactions with humans. However, OpenAI is also renowned due to its DALL-E AI software, which allows for image creation based on input prompts with the help of artificial intelligence. It has many use cases for commercial and personal usage. The company was originally founded by Elon Musk and has been funded by several organizations.
  • Microsoft, a global leader in tech solutions for decades, has been heavily investing in artificial intelligence tools for the future. Most noticeably, Microsoft invested US$10 billion into OpenAI’s ChatGPT tool. Microsoft has also integrated GPT-4 capabilities into its Bing search engine to allow for conversational generative AI-based search engine results. Bing search engine is also currently the only way to use GPT-4 features for free, whereas ChatGPT charges a monthly subscription fee for GPT-4 access. It has been reported that Bing’s AI chat service incorporates more visual features in its responses than ChatGPT which leads to increased customer engagement.
  • Following the success of ChatGPT and Microsoft’s integration of the GPT-4 software in its search engine, Google quickly introduced its artificial intelligence chatbot service called Bard. It is similar in function to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, however, the most noticeable difference is that Bard uses Google’s search engine services to scrape information from the web. The software is powered by Google’s language model for dialogue application, PaLM 2, which enables Bard to perform at a higher level of efficiency and speed while fixing any previous bug issues. However, there are still certain concerns regarding its effectiveness as the chatbot has been reported to offer factually incorrect information at times.
  • ChatSonic is another generative AI conversational tool, developed by WriteSonic. ChatSonc is ideally used for content generation, ranging from social media and marketing content to research and academic content, based on prompts that are inputted by the user. The generative model can also be programmed to generate conversational messages, which finds applications in customer support functions
  • Another important use case of artificial intelligence is in virtual assistance programs. Amazon has utilized artificial intelligence algorithms in the development of its Alexa virtual assistant software. The software is available as a separate virtual assistant product or embedded in a host of Amazon products and websites to assist with operations. The developments in speech recognition, conversational abilities, etc. have helped in increasing the demand for such virtual assistance tools. Additionally, the trends of smart home products and features have further helped in expanding the scope of virtual assistance tools like Alexa and Apple’s Siri due to their abilities to integrate and control all smart home products under a common interface.

In conclusion, the scope of artificial intelligence is ever-increasing in numerous industries and its applications are being improved constantly due to rapid developments in artificial intelligence technology. In the coming years, the prevalence of AI in carrying out routine or common tasks is expected to increase.

However, there are certain barriers to the adoption of AI such as lack of expertise, high costs of certain AI tools, data complexity, lack of platforms for model development, etc. Additionally, there is an underlying issue of trustworthiness for AI tools. Conversational AI tools have been reported to have shown biases in their responses due to a lack of proper programming from the developers. There have also been cases of erroneous information presented by these chatbots. These are certain factors that are hindering the growth potential of artificial intelligence.

As per IBM’s report on AI Adoption in 2022, it is reported that approximately 13% more organizations are likely to adopt AI tools in their workings in 2022 as compared to 2021 and that around 35% of companies have reported the use of AI tools for their businesses with an additional 42% companies exploring the possibilities of its adoption.