Is AI going to replace humans? The short answer is- ‘Yes & No’. In 2023? Certainly not. Now, the idea that AI is going be a massive rage in 2023 and the years succeeding it is generally correct. However, the rationale and the depth of this idea or understanding does not always come from an informed standpoint. This article is about busting some myths, establishing an understanding of the current state & gauging the direction in which AI is headed. The best way to do this is by understanding its involvement in our day-to-day lives.
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Health
1- Patient Care
In our previous article about AI & healthcare, we explored the concept of AI reducing the time and resources required to discover drugs but also help medical professionals like doctors & nurses. Be it through standardised tests, healthcare apps, app-based diagnostics, wearable sensors or even drugstore chatbots, base applications of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare are on the rise.
It’s been said that 12.5% of women will eventually be detected to have breast cancer. While the indirect applications of AI to help in such scenarios exist (like drug discovery), direct applications like early detection of the disease, drastically reducing the cases of false positives & negatives (to help reduce the shortage of specialists or oncologists) and standardised (self-administrable in some cases like diabetes) tests are looking like the norm of the years to come.
2- Supporting Role of Internet of Medical Things
According to a Deloitte report, there are about 500,000 medical technologies available for end-use. This IoMT ecosystem consisting of everything from wearables to digital medical logs creates a consortium of devices that can prove capable of the real-time, remote measurement and analysis of patient data.
Such an expansion of the IoMT ecosystem can pave the way for other new technologies like kiosks that provide connectivity to care providers. These kiosks will further enable clinicians to monitor and treat patients remotely.
This ecosystem combined with the ability of Machine Learning to use data and suggest decisions can be an unparalleled combination in terms of helping end-user healthcare.
Google’s DeepMind & NHS organisations have developed an AI to read eye scans and spot neck cancer. This points to quick patient discovery.
So, essentially, the need to visit a doctor or a hospital can be reduced with the help of AI. There will be more reliable treatment suggestions. Essentially, it will tend to be healthcare at your fingertips.
Safer Money/Banking
3- Chatbots
For retail banking, a lot of functions are already being resolved by online chatbots on bank websites. Miscellaneous queries such as about transactions and other FAQs are taken care of by automated chatbots that are becoming increasingly trained to be conversational.
This application of AI in banking also has the potential to automate personalised banking. A study by Accenture revealed that 54% of users would prefer having tools to help monitor their budget and help make spending decisions.
4- Improved Lending
AI helps banks and lenders make more accurate underwriting decisions by utilizing a variety of factors that more accurately assess borrowers. Traditionally underserved borrowers like millennials (people who have recently started earning), in the credit decision-making process are undervalued and sometimes unfairly unserved in terms of credit.
5- Cybersecurity
There are two parts to this- security & surveillance. At this point, it is important to mention that blockchain technology has been the most successful in making digital transactions, as it provides a decentralised database of information (more barriers against hacking). Blockchain is thus an effective way to make platforms & transactions secure.
When it comes to surveillance, banks could digitally depend upon Artificial Intelligence. Banks like HDFC have resorted to AI for its digital surveillance solutions that also enable fraud detection.
Home Automation/Use Cases
6- Security
Think about it. Why make it an enemy, if you can make it an ally!
Jokes apart, we’re looking at 2023 that is likely to make automated home security even more affordable. With advancements in sensor-assisted motion detection technology, automated security has become more alert. The affordability of such state-of-the-art technology however was in question. On this note, several studies suggest that the longer the people stay at home, the more the demand for home improvement.
A simple understanding of economics here would suggest that with the increase in demand for home security products, their prices will reduce, as its status shifts from ‘luxury’ to ‘essential’. The likes of Remobell & Wyze are known for their affordability and are increasingly becoming popular as the likes of Amazon & Google inch towards them.
7- Reduced Energy Consumption
A 2017 report by Climate Change News suggested that data centres will be responsible for 20% of the global energy consumption by 2025.
Google, the owner of some of the largest data centres in the world, on the other hand, is using its DeepMind AI to reduce their energy consumption by 30%. What does that mean for an end-user? Apart from the obvious environmental benefits, it would be accurate to assume that when the cost of maintaining data centres go down, the cost of using data will also go down. For digital marketing professionals and people using automation products like assistants, this information means something.
Bonus
8- Safer & cheaper food
How does Artificial Intelligence make your food safer and cheaper? Two words: ‘Crop disease detection using machine learning.' Okay, that was definitely more than two. Deep learning protocols can train camera-based computers or computer vision for patch-detection & image-based plant disease detection. Patch detection & image-based plant disease detection.
A study by Steward & McDonald revealed that automated image analysis methods can be used to analyze disease symptoms of infected wheat.
African farmers lose about 49% of their estimated crop yield every year due to pests & diseases.
Agrix Tech, a Cameroonian startup has developed an AI that uses image-based recognition technology to help identify diseases & pests & offers treatment & prevention measures to farmers. As a result of the reduced wastage of crops, the overall per-unit cost of production reduces, thus reducing the market prices of products. Needless to say that there is less chance of sub-quality products entering the market.
Undoubtedly, AI is here to stay, and its application possibilities seem endless. However, its growth should match the concept of sustainable development, or we might lose more than what we can gain. Technological impact on our lives will only increase from here, and we should be thankful.
Imagine a life without AI- no predictive text, no Google search, no YouTube suggestions, no weather predictions on your phone and the list could go on for days. But fortunately, we live in times when AI is increasingly becoming a reality; 2023 will indeed be the year of technology. We have taken the technology intervention a step further and induced it into how you learn and connect—introducing our micro learning app- Kool Stories. A platform where you can upskill yourself by signing up for 15 minutes micro courses.
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