It is for sure that almost everyone in our society has seen, heard, or read about the term Artificial Intelligence at some point in the last decades. Hollywood is especially in love with it. All The Terminator movies, I, Robot (2004),  A.I Artificial Intelligence (2001), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) are only a few examples of how the filmmaking industry depicts Artificial Intelligence. But, are we really that far away from that dystopian future? Boringly, yes. I’m afraid that human-like robots with a mind of their own are still tagged as science fiction. But then, what is actually A.I? A.I’s concept goes far beyond from what Hollywood portrays in all these futuristic movies. The truth is that all the human-like robots that are being tested out in the world right now are not even able to open a door yet. So, for the time being, we don’t have to worry about human-like killer robots.

But, What Is Exactly Artificial Intelligence?

Now, in a nutshell, A.I is any software with the capability of writing itself, renewing itself, and updating itself. A.I can learn from example and from the process of elimination. For example,  A.I is capable of differentiating successfully between a cat and a dog because in its data dogs have no whiskers, A.I recognize these little details to classified animals, places, products, and even human faces.

But, as any technology nowadays, its definition is always changing and evolving. Right now, A.I is mostly used in the digital, healthcare, and financial world to look for patterns. For example, all credit card companies use A.I to detect when fraud is being done. Your shopping patterns are analyzed by A.I, and when an unusual charge is made with your credit card, it sends a warning that prevents any more unauthorized charges. Also, online stores use A.I to suggest products that you will likely be more interested in. Furthermore, A.I is now a key asset to voice recognition interfaces such as Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant.

What Are the Latest Advances in A.I?

What it is already happening in the field of A.I, and probably the closest thing to any Hollywood depiction of A.I is, for example, self-driving cars. Some major companies, such as Google and Baidu already developed successful self-driving cars that are actually able to keep on the route for over a hundred miles. Even though this technology is still in its testing phase, Baidu estimates that for 2021 they are going to start producing them in mass.

But, in reality, A.I is advancing faster in the digital and healthcare world and for things far less extravagant that human-like robots or self-driving cars. Things like voice recognition, video recognition, and reading recognition are gaining more and more field in several industries everyday. For example, in medicine, A.I is being used to help doctors, nurses, and technicians to identify smaller anomalies in patients’ results that, in some cases, can be overlooked by the human eye. In 2011, IBM created a question-answering machine, Watson, that competed against two legendary champions in Jeopardy! and won. Now, Watson’s technology is being used for utilization management decisions in lung cancer treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering.

Cancer Center in New York City. This isn’t probably as exciting as flying cars, but it represents a huge difference for those whose lives can be saved thanks to A.I.

Can Anyone Have Access to Artificial Intelligence Right Now?

Yes, anyone can access A.I technology in our present time. Big companies like Google has developed open-source technologies, such as TensorFlow, that allow anyone to make use of Machine Learning technology. Big or small, any company can now use A.I to improve its processes.

Companies, such as Near BPO, offer the best Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning solutions to companies or entrepreneurs. It’s true that we aren’t in the future depicted in the Back to the Future movies yet, but we are definitely getting closer and closer by the day. You can now implement new technologies in your enterprise that will make your business more cost-efficient than ever, and definitely ten times more fun to run it.

You don’t have to worry, for now, Artificial Intelligence is not going to kill us all, it’s only going to make your business more efficient and productive for you and your customers.