AI continues to be the hottest topic in digital transformation. Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning has sparked debates and created great buzz. AI is not just hype, in fact AI is so hot that researcher Alexandre Robicquet was featured in Yves Saint Laurent’s brilliant Y campaign. AI functions seamlessly in our daily lives We can’t review AI without first looking at its impact in our day to day lives. AI has made an impact on society in many ways such as the way we work, communicate and make decisions. AI is already a part of daily life from relying on google assistants, smart cars, smart homes, healthcare apps, security systems, banking, video games, movie recommendations, social platforms, news, online customer support and more. In terms of work, there is some anxiety regarding AI and jobs. Machines may eliminate some jobs but according to research from Accenture and Frontier Economics, AI could deliver a 38 percent improvement in worker productivity by 2035. AI and customer experience Marketers and businesses have access to vast amounts of data on customers. AI delivers significant insights on customer behaviour and expectations. Companies such as Netflix and Amazon are able to make powerful recommendations to their customers based on past behaviour and future expectations. Algorithms and software bots are proving to be efficient in analysing customer preferences and biases. The exciting potential for marketers is the power to create customer engagement based on each customer’s purchasing path and individual preferences. Creating excellent customer experience is key for long term business success and brand growth. Chatbots are efficient in responding to customer requests, taking orders on Facebook Messenger, replying to comments and queries on social media. Chatbots can learn from each customer interaction by gathering information and predicting expectations. This information can be used to offer solutions, marketing promotions and advertising based on the customer’s requirements. Research shows that consumers don’t care if they are speaking to a person or software bot, as long as they are receiving fast and efficient service. Intelligently integrating messaging tools such as Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp can streamline the customer journey by providing highly personalised customer experiences. Facebook recently introduced Messenger plugins for business websites. Messenger reaches an impressive 1.2 billion monthly users and is growing. The Messenger platform supports features like payments, bots that understand natural language, rich media and more. Even after leaving the company website, customers can still continue or view their conversation from their phone or tablet, using their Messenger app. Algorithms and big data We are seeing more rapid advancements in AI with some remarkable accomplishments. Google’s AlphaGo Zero recently trained itself entirely on its own without human input through reinforcement learning. In an interview in Nature, AlphaGo researchers explained, “it’s all very well to train AIs on human decisions, but the datasets derived from human experts are often expensive, unreliable or simply unavailable.” According to the researchers, “by contrast, reinforcement learning systems are trained from their own experience, in principle allowing them to exceed human capabilities, and to operate in domains where human expertise is lacking.” Nature.com The reason why this is significant is the fact that AI systems could develop superhuman capabilities, as proven in AlphaGo Zero’s example. Big players such as Microsoft, Facebook, IBM and Amazon have also been trying to develop new ways to leverage algorithm based AI systems. Facebook for example uses graph analysis and indexing to analyse and serve up photos via Photo Search to its billions of users. Amazon uses AI to create personalisation and predict customer behaviour, which enables the giant retailer to make valid recommendations. Amazon recently invested in a new research centre in Germany with a focus on developing AI to enhance customer experience, especially in visual systems. “With our Amazon Research centre in Tübingen, we will become part of one of the largest research initiatives in Europe in the area of artificial intelligence. This underlines our commitment to create high-skilled jobs in breakthrough technologies,” explained Ralf Herbrich, director of machine learning at Amazon and MD of the Amazon Development Centre Germany. Artificial intelligence meets virtual reality Virtual reality provides an exciting immersive experience and let’s face it, people enjoy the momentary escape from reality. We are always seeking new experiences from the latest Hollywood movie, adventure travel, alcohol consumption, playing video games etc. According to Dave Ranyard, “advances in artificial intelligence could be most significantly enjoyed through the use of virtual reality.” Ranyard, the Dream Reality Interactive founder spoke at the Nordic Game Conference, where he explained, "I believe VR and AR are going to be our interface to AI. In terms of storytelling, that's amazing.” The popular Oculus Rift has provided us with an introduction into a virtual reality experience. Oculus Rift advertises, “Rift is unlike anything you've ever experienced. Whether you're stepping into your favourite game, watching an immersive VR film, jumping to a destination on the other side of the world or just spending time with friends in VR, you'll feel like you're really there.” Step into Rift Concluding remarks The opportunities that AI technology is creating seems endless. AI is helping to create more productive businesses, transforming health care, managing decisions, automating mundane tasks, providing efficient customer service, acting as personal assistants, winning at the game of chess, creating music and so much more. It seems as though there is nothing that AI will not be able to do in the future. Read more on the exciting topic of AI How Artificial Intelligence is changing how we live, how we do business and how we market Meet the first humanoid robot citizen - Sophia Comments are closed.
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