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Everyone who knows me knows that I love tech. Luckily, living with an IT geek means I get to indulge this. A while ago I was researching for the article on securing your smart home and I came across some interesting info about how artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming more popular in popular products.
When most people think of AI, it’s in a ‘Skynet became self-aware’ way. Every movie about evil AI springs to mind. Fortunately, real-world uses for AI are much less dramatic but are still making big changes to our lives.
There are many companies, working in different sectors, using AI to solve problems. Click here to find out more about them.
Here are three ways that AI is already making its way into our homes.
Smart Speakers & Assistants
Two of the best known smart assistant, Alexa and Siri, both use AI to become more effective. Millions of homes across the UK have at least one smart speaker in them. In my house, we have them in most rooms, as well as cameras and smart bulbs.
They both use machine learning and natural language generation in order to perform their tasks and get better at them over time. They are designed to learn your particular voice patterns and types of request, so they understand you better as time goes by.
Robo Vacuums
I’ve always wanted a robo vacuum. Anything to get out of doing the housework myself I fine by me. These little vacuums move around your house, vacuuming the floors without your having to lift a finger.
The latest generations of vacuums such as iRobot and Roomba use AI to determine things like the most efficient route for cleaning, identifying objects and determining the size of the room.
Netflix
The Netflix personalized recommendation engine runs on AI. Continuing to keep you entertained will keep your paying your subscription. Not only does it take into account your viewing history but it also creates mirror audiences to predict the types of movie/TV shows you will like.
It’s not just recommendations either. The Netflix AI engine uses the information it gathers to show different thumbnail artwork. Rather than just showing the original poster or DVD artwork, it can have several alternatives designed to attract different audiences based on gender, age and previous viewing history.
Amazon
When it comes to using AI to persuade you to buy things, Amazon has been leading the way for a number of years. The Amazon algorithms are so precise, that they can directly affect the sales of billions of dollars worth of products every year, they call it ‘item-based collaborative filtering’. Whatever it’s called, I bet everyone reading this has bought something from an Amazon recommendation.
The future
I can’t wait to see what’s next when it comes to AI, it is making a genuine change in some areas of life such as finance and healthcare. I live in hope that they’ll invent a fully functioning house cleaning robot. Though I always assess any technology I bring into the home from a security standpoint, I welcome anything that makes our lives that bit easier (or more interesting).
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