8 ways artificial intelligence is going to change the way you live, work and play in 2018
The development of artificial intelligence will be the story of the coming generations, not just the coming year, but as 2018 gets underway, here are eight ways AI will begin to touch your life.
1. Everybody will have a virtual assistant, and they’re going to be pretty smart
“Personal assistant AIs will keep getting smarter. As our personal assistants learn more about our daily routines, I can imagine the day I need not to worry about preparing dinner. My AI knows what I like, what I have in my pantry, which days of the week I like to cook at home, and makes sure that when I get back from work all my groceries are waiting at my doorstep, ready for me to prepare that delicious meal I had been craving.” — Alejandro Troccoli, senior research scientist, NVIDIA
2. All your voice-based gadgets will work together (and may get confused)
“Because of the popularity of voice-based personal assistants, we’re starting to see the technology embedded across a wide range of devices, from lamps, to TVs, to cars and beyond. In addition, after initial experiments with a single unit, many people have started putting smart speakers all over their homes. The practical net result is that sometime in 2018, a large percentage of personal assistant users will have regular access to multiple assistants simultaneously—often across multiple platforms. Combine that with the fact that in 2018 we’ll likely start seeing vendors enabling people to customize the trigger word for these various assistants to start listening and, well, it’s a quick recipe for disaster. …
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly excited about the potential that voice-based interactions can bring to speakers and all our tech devices, but I’m concerned we could hit some serious roadblocks in 2018.” — Bob O’Donnell, president, founder and chief analyst at TECHnalysis Research, a market research and consulting firm
3. Facial recognition will be the new credit card
“Thanks to AI, the face will be the new credit card, the new driver’s license and the new barcode. Facial recognition is already completely transforming security with biometric capabilities being adopted, and seeing how tech and retail are merging, like Amazon is with Whole Foods, I can see a near future where people will no longer need to stand in line at the store.” — Georges Nahon, CEO, Orange Silicon Valley; president, Orange Institute, a global research co-laboratory
4. Your boss is going to start to talk about AI
“As AI permeates the enterprise, everyone—from the CEO and business unit leaders to your middle managers and frontline employees—will need to be conversant in some basic terminology. Speaking the same language gets organizations on the same page and helps demystify AI’s role in the enterprise and what it means for business processes and workers.
