It is a fact that artificial intelligence is already among us. It’s not always like it was shown in science fiction movies a few years ago, but it’s there: in many of the things we spend our time on during any given day.

When we use a mobile phone, surf the internet or simply drive a vehicle within a city, in all these cases, most of the time inadvertently, artificial intelligence is involved in one way or another.

The aim of this article is none other than to show some of the faces that such reality assumes. To do this we’ll look at several examples of artificial intelligence , which are already in use or will be in use soon.

6 examples of artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the field of computer science responsible for devising, designing and producing machines or algorithms that display operating parameters that bring them closer to human information processing . Thus, they usually include functions such as the resolution of very complex problems, the comprehension of texts and the planning of protocols in very diverse areas; although in the last few years they are being extended to progressively broader domains (such as those that will be touched here).

Today’s technologies make it possible to materialize what just a few years ago could not be conceived even by science fiction. From the use of robots (increasingly humane in appearance) capable of diagnosing some health problem, to vehicles capable of moving autonomously (unmanned). The main emphasis is moving towards the conception of intelligent machines, capable of learning without the need for human supervision, and even using a structure similar to that of our own central nervous system. In fact, the affective consequences associated with living with robotic beings are beginning to be studied , with the emergence of theories such as that of the Restless Valley.

This is an area of exciting technological development, and one that will probably in the near future involve daily coexistence with artificial beings capable of understanding themselves and even developing a kind of consciousness. In other cases it explores less “tangible” types of technology, which take the form of algorithms and/or codes on which many “invisible” processes in daily life are based: from air traffic control to the custody and analysis of huge volumes of information. All this through advanced statistical strategies .

Thus, as science fiction loses its surname and becomes just science, it is necessary that the human being begins to assume that he is shaping with his own hands a paradigm shift in the way we understand the world. As an illustrative example of this, here are just a few examples of artificial intelligence that are coming, or are already among us. In order to organize the information in a more comprehensible way, it will be detailed by areas.

1. Advertising

Artificial intelligence in the particular field of advertising pursues the aim of optimising digital marketing campaigns, through the use of algorithms with a progressive sophistication and aimed at identifying all the needs of a potential consumer in order to show the “spots” that could be most interesting to him. In this sense, it is a fusion between the use of data, creativity (always patent in this sector) and the use of information and communication technologies.

Artificial intelligence in this field carries out a process of monitoring in real time the “online traffic” and the profile of each navigator, in order to optimize the process of selecting the different spaces in which to display the products or services to be sold (economic return). The aim is for the right message to reach the right person at the right time, which speeds up the process of persuasion to which this area of knowledge is directed.

This form of artificial intelligence is being criticised for being considered to infringe on the user’s privacy , although it is now widespread throughout practically the entire network (with varying degrees of complexity). The latest laws on data protection policies make it compulsory to warn visitors to any place on the Internet about the use of such practices (cookies, collection of activity, etc.).

2. Transport

Artificial intelligence is undergoing an unstoppable expansion also in the transport sector, both public and private . The purpose of these technological developments is to increase the safety of vehicle passengers, as well as of the passers-by who are around them during the act of driving, or even to regulate the use of the roads that are made available for this purpose. Some companies also intend to reduce environmental pollution in the future, also through advances in this area.

Autonomous navigation systems are beginning to be implemented for all kinds of vehicles; and not only in aircraft, where it has been in use for a very long time (as the pilot “only” takes control of the aircraft during take-off and landing, or when the weather situation requires it). In these cases, a succession of algorithms orchestrated by a central unit is responsible for processing huge volumes of information about the relative position in space and what it contains , in order to make decisions with much more speed and precision (efficiency) than any human being.

Computerized tools are also beginning to be used, more and more advanced, to manage the volume of traffic on roads or highways; controlling all environmental conditions and predicting traffic jams from contextual information and statistical processing of preceding events. It is even possible to detect who is using their mobile phone while driving, and to alert the authorities!

3. Finance and Economics

As societies expand and become progressively more complex, the naked ability of human beings to capture/process the information generated inevitably confronts their limitations, to such an extent that the search for and implementation of alternatives that give viability to the mechanisms that have been used to subsist until now becomes fundamental. A technological revolution is therefore needed. And in this sense, artificial intelligence has found an inexhaustible space of application in the field of banking and the economy .

The volume of information currently being analysed in the finance sector is truly overwhelming. However, it has the peculiarity of using fundamentally quantitative data (such as investments, commissions, debts, etc.) and of great regularity, thus facilitating the implementation of artificial intelligence with algorithms that in the future will extend to practically all areas of these business areas.

Currently, artificial intelligence in finance is still considered an adolescent technology, although it is on the rise (only 25% of entities currently operating do not contemplate using it within 24 months). The most common use today is the detection of tax fraud and the management of assets , although it is beginning to extend to personal finance and loan applications.

4. Education

Artificial intelligence in education seeks to dilute the barrier currently erected between formal education (in the classroom) and autonomous and independent learning by students. The aim is to minimise redundancy in the tasks taught to young people , promoting collaborative methodologies in the construction of knowledge and in the stimulation of autonomy. To this end, the use of personal communication systems (internet, mobile devices, etc.) is made beyond the traditional spaces where the teaching-learning process was developed.

Artificial intelligence can contribute to the continuous assessment system by monitoring the student’s performance in real time and anticipating possible difficulties that may arise during the time of study, optimizing the demands and informing the teaching staff about these circumstances.

It would also allow the early detection of special educational needs, and even of specific learning disorders, in order to articulate faster and more efficient solutions by the different professionals involved in their treatment (therapeutic pedagogy, psychology, speech therapy, etc.).

5. Industry

Currently, artificial intelligence is used massively in the industrial sector, automating production processes and perfecting material/human resources . For example, its use is very frequent for the elaboration of flours and breads, in which highly complex algorithms are used that are capable of predicting events that could condition their quality or their nutritional matrix. With this type of technology, decisions are made to solve contingencies that until recently required manual intervention.

There are also imaging techniques capable of capturing any deviation from a standard on assembly lines or production lines , many of which are invaluable to the human eye, and which warn of the situation before it takes on catastrophic dimensions or high costs for the company (chained errors, factory defects, etc.).

6. Health

Healthcare is one of the areas of life where artificial intelligence is currently experiencing a boom. Thus, there are technologies designed for the detection of first or successive psychotic episodes from data extracted from functional magnetic resonances, with a success rate of up to 80%, and which represents an unparalleled milestone in the history of mental health (since it is a biological marker for the diagnosis of such serious psychopathology). However, in recent years, the usefulness of these neuroimaging techniques has been questioned, so this is a use that is subject to reflection.

On another front, social networks are also beginning to be used, and the enormous amount of information that can be dumped on them, as predictive indicators of many physical and mental pathologies. For the time being, the most common use is aimed at the detection of suicidal risk and mood disorders , although it is expected that with the improvement of Big Data management (technologies of a computer nature aimed at processing enormous volumes of data) it may be extended to other health circumstances.

Although there are still very few incursions of artificial intelligence in the field of mental health, this is not the case in other related areas, such as medicine. For some time now, pieces of software have been designed to estimate the collateral damage of radiotherapy using information gathered from the convergence of clinical histories and recording or verification systems. This improves prognostic factors and anticipates secondary effects of this treatment modality.

In recent years efforts are also being made to automate all clinical records in the field of health , in interaction with current indicators on the state of the body itself, through which the evolution of a patient can be predicted by means of predictive algorithms subject to the constant updating of the evidence that is accumulated in the scientific literature. In this way, professionals will be able to automatically know how their patient is doing and offer a treatment based on more objective criteria. Genetic mapping, which will gradually become more accessible, will also play a key role in the unstoppable process towards the digital transformation of health.

Bibliographic references:

  • Amisha, P.M. and Vyas, K.R. (2019). Overview of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 8(7), 2328 – 2331.
  • Buche, V.H. and Ahmed, I. (2018). Artificial intelligence in medicine: current trends and future possibilities. British Journal of General Practice, 68(668), 143 – 144.