The rise of Artificial Intelligence: How AI is changing the industry and our lives
Artificial Intelligence is not a new topic, in fact we have been using it for years in Big Data and Automations, but perhaps we hadn't noticed.
The topic of Artificial Intelligence in our lives is not something new. It is believed that all started with Alan Turing who, in 1936, published his famous article on "Computable Numbers". It was theorized about machines that could work on their own and thus the invention of the "Turing Machine" was born which was the forerunner of digital computers.
But it was not until 1956 that the concept of Artificial Intelligence as such arose, thanks to John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky and Claude Shannon. Three outstanding scientists who coined the term during the Dartmouth Conference as "the science and ingenuity of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computing programs".
"The science and ingenuity of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computing programs". John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky and Claude Shannon.
The 90s were the beginning of the golden age for AI, when IBM launched Deep Blue, a computer that was able to beat Gari Kaspárov, world chess champion. After that event, companies like Microsoft and IBM betted large sums of money to innovate in this technology, up to the most recent advances.
I will never forget how exciting and challenging the Iron Man movie was in 2009. Although it was fiction, I think all engineers wish to be like Tony Stark and have their own assistant Jarvis 😉
Nowadays, tools like OpenAI are trendy, which allow us to have conversations with AI. The response capacity is incredible, although the tone of the conversation may vary (from sounding like a robot to more human), solving cases such as:
Helping us understand code
Doing research for us
Answering questions or concerns with information sources
Translating a text into different languages
Creating content for us to write articles or Marketing copy
Giving us ideas to create a product name
Among many other capabilities, there are also image editing tools and visual art generation with just entering text, such as DALL•E. A few days ago I tried an application called Lensa that lets you create avatars with your face using AI. I must admit that not all results are good so far, but the concept is very promising and something that can improve over time.
But what is Artificial Intelligence and what is it for?
Artificial Intelligence is a branch of computer science that studies how to make a computer simulate human intelligence. It is used to achieve results that would otherwise be very difficult to achieve such as automating processes, improving learning and decision making, and reducing human errors.
So-called deep learning algorithms, a subcategory of AI, are used to analyze large amounts of data to find patterns and discover relationships between them. These algorithms can be used to detect trends, predict outcomes and better understand data.
Its popularity is increasing day by day because it helps professionals automate time-consuming manual processes. Improving and increasing employee productivity levels. In addition, it has become an excellent ally for writing and creating content.
The Advantages of Artificial Intelligence: Endless Possibilities
AI offers several significant advantages not only for jobs such as advertisers and writers, but virtually any role whose activities include creating content. And who doesn't create content these days? From management reports, mailings to clients or our own boss, presentations with quarterly projections, paid advertisements, writing code or programming, making a sales pitch, etc.
In addition, AI can help us save time and effort. Deep learning algorithms can be used to generate basic content automatically, allowing us to focus on creating quality content and this is where we put most of our focus.
The speed of processing large amounts of data is another major advantage of AI. Algorithms can analyze large amounts of data to find patterns and discover relationships that would take us as humans years if we wanted to do experimentation and analysis.
AI for writers
In fact, some freelance writers are aware that making use of their creativity to create compelling and persuasive content becomes an often very tedious and laborious writing process. This is where the power of AI comes in. It can brainstorm new content ideas, compare what related topics have been published before, detect what kinds of topics are trending, and even reduce the time it takes to publish a book.
AI for consumers
AI is also having a significant impact on consumers. We as consumers can receive more relevant and accurate content, even personalized to our tastes or purchasing decisions. Hasn't it happened to you that for some time now, searching for information on Google has become more complicated? Personally, I find it more and more difficult to find relevant information at the first result of a Google search.
Because there are millions of websites competing to rank in terms of SEO. Even though some websites are of dubious provenance, they appear in the top search results because of their good SEO. This is a critical point for companies like Google as they will have to find a way to get back to showing quality and relevant information to us their users. Undoubtedly this is an area of opportunity that will make Artificial Intelligence even more relevant in the coming years.
AI for Digital Marketing
Let's imagine we work for an advertising agency and we are concerned that our clients have the best campaigns for Black Friday or Christmas. With an ally like AI, it would allow us to gather enough information to predict which content will be more successful, identify trends with greater impact and how we can improve our content to get better results.
Adding to this example, while the AI takes care of all this analysis, we can focus on more strategic tasks instead of spending exhaustive time creating content. Streamlining work, performance and results in a company.
Sounds very promising, doesn't it? But it's not all rosy. AI still has a long way to go and there are clear obstacles to the use of this technology.
Challenges for Artificial Intelligence: A Long Road Ahead
Despite the benefits of AI, there are still some challenges facing all content creators. Entering the world of Artificial Intelligence and machine learning is still very complicated. It requires a large learning curve and technical knowledge that not everyone possesses.
Another point against it is that Artificial Intelligence also needs to learn. Being very young, it requires training to process quality data and be able to improve its answers. In addition, it is also an expensive technology at the moment and not everyone can afford it. Some platforms offer different plans with a limit of characters per month, but an increase in the use of the service could raise the price considerably.
There is great discontent among the artistic community that publishes their works on the Internet, as they claim that Artificial Intelligence is stealing their creations to generate "their own art". The problem is that there are still no clear rules and norms regarding the use of art, photographs, videos and public works found on Deviantart or Behance.
Finally, the great concern about privacy and security of personal data is alarming. In China, this technology has been used for several years to control the entire population through facial recognition. This is how each of its inhabitants is identified in order to have access to public services. Unfortunately, AI is also used to promote discrimination between different races in the country.
One last word
Undoubtedly, there is still a long way to go for Artificial Intelligence to become a standardized technology. Some will be more in favor of its use. Other positions or job roles will be even less favored.
The advantages AI offers are also outstanding for many industry sectors. It could even accelerate the development of cures for deadly diseases that have long plagued the world. The increasing use of AI in science and health poses opportunities and challenges for governments, providers and communities.
Like any new technology the advances can yield entirely positive results. However, misuse can bring serious harm. Whether we like it or not, the transformation has been going on for some time now and we will have to see how this technological boom unfolds in the coming years.
What is your posture on the use of Artificial Intelligence in your work? 🤖