2018 Predictions for AI
It’s hard to believe, but 2017 is coming to a close and 2018 is right around the corner. Like most companies, Aiden.ai is in the middle of planning and prioritising for the new year. We have some big and exciting things in the works!
But we also wanted to share our predictions for 2018. As artificial intelligence continues to disrupt multiple industries in a big way — we think next year is going to be really transformative. Here are our top 5 predictions:
1. Not one AI to rule them all — but many.
Forbes reports that 80% of enterprises are investing in AI. An all-powerful, multi-functional AI that assists in every aspect of our life is still many years away. Instead, we will see many different AI’s and bots, each with a specific niche that they will get better and better at functioning within. It is still early days for AI technology and it will be many years yet before we see the significant industry consolidation that would be required to have one AI to rule them all. This is a good thing! Industries are never more innovative than when they are first born and experimenting, learning and changing constantly.
2. Talking to machines will become normal.
It is estimated that over 10 million Alexa devices have been sold with “millions” more having been bought on Cyber Monday, yet technologies such as Siri and Alexa still feel awkward to the everyday person. Aside from asking the occasional question about the weather or morning traffic, most of us haven’t quite gotten accustomed to the idea of talking to a machine as if it is a person, coworker or customer service personnel.
How will we overcome this? Two ways.
First, it feels awkward because newsflash — it is awkward. How many times did you have to repeat yourself or rephrase a question the last time you asked Siri something? She has a lot to learn. These conversational technologies will improve in 2018 and get better at picking up on human intent and possibly even emotion. As natural language processing improves, things like chatbots and messenger bots will help us as a society to get over this.
Second, we will have more opportunities to get used to interacting with machines. Many brands such as 7-Eleven and Lego have released chatbots and messenger bots to reach consumers in the channels they use daily. AI, chatbots and conversational technologies are set to disrupt virtually every industry in the world, so be prepared to see them in your home life, work life, and beyond! You’ll get used to it, we promise.
3. Humans will ask machines to help with data management.
For businesses, there are more data sources available than ever before. Unfortunately, most companies are not harnessing this information to the full potential. The opportunity has never been better for businesses to be smarter, more real-time and more data driven. The bad news? These data silos are too much for humans to take on for themselves. A bigger excel spreadsheet is not the answer! What is? Artificial Intelligence.
Humans will get used to the idea of working with machines as colleagues and once they do, their work will improve as they become more accurate and efficient. We will see significant moves towards this in 2018.
4. AI will create more jobs than it ever threatened.
With any new disruptive innovation, there is often skepticism and the industry has heard lot of talk about AI causing job losses. However, Gartner estimates that 2.3m jobs will be created by AI by the year 2020. Hopefully, 2018 will be the year that proves this wrong and shows that AI will create countless jobs and opportunities, not threaten them. All of these technologies need people to build them, sell them and perhaps most importantly — use them. It is safe to say that AI is going to improve the lives of working professionals, not put them out of work.
5. Buzzwords be gone.
It is no secret that words like “artificial intelligence” and “machine learning” are kind of on trend right now. Lots of companies are jumping on the bandwagon and claiming to have an artificially intelligent product. In 2018, we predict that the posers will be separated from the real tech.
At Aiden.ai, we’re building the first AI powered coworker for marketers, and in 2018, we’re hiring! Find out about our job vacancies here and join the adventure!
What are your thoughts and predictions for 2018? Join the conversation and let us know!
