No matter where you look these days, there's a pretty good chance that you'll encounter artificial intelligence technology. It powers the smart speakers that we have in our homes, it points out movies on Netflix that we might like, and it even helps determine which ads we see on Facebook. Still, AI technology is mostly considered something to be feared by the general public, who has been conditioned to feel that way by countless scary headlines and half-baked movie plots.
In reality, though, advancements in AI technology are enabling new conveniences and efficiencies in ways that would change that perception - if more people knew they existed. A prime example is the rise of AI-powered chatbots that now make 24/7, helpful customer service a reality for any business with a website and a compatible content management system.
That's just the beginning, though. AI is also changing the way we live in countless other ways that most people don't know about. To change that, here are three big examples of how AI is becoming the key technology of the 21st century and improving our lives each and every day.
Revolutionizing Auto Insurance
Auto insurance is one of those things that we all have to have, but that nobody particularly cares for. It's also something that can be quite expensive, especially now that insurers have to contend with modern conveniences like ridesharing services and the liability that comes with them. Still, the biggest cost driver for the auto insurance industry hasn't changed - it's claims fraud, and it costs us all between $400 and $700 per year in increased premiums.
There's at least one insurer, however, that's using AI to try and change that. Metromile uses an AI system they call AVA, which is a smart claims system that can use vehicle sensor data to analyze crash events. The AI can tell how bad an auto accident is, who is at fault and if there's a high likelihood that fraud is being committed. That means big savings for drivers, and they have AI to thank for it.
Helping Luxury Buyers
For as long as money has existed, there have been luxury industries dedicated to serving the people that have it. Of all of them, though, none have such a long and storied history as the jewelry industry, which is as old as recorded history (and possibly older). In that time, though, buyers have always been at a disadvantage, because they lack the specialized knowledge it takes to make savvy purchases. On area, in particular, where this is always a problem is in the diamond retail sector. Buyers have traditionally had to rely on expert advice or a trusted dealer to know which gems to purchase, and many have less-than-stellar track records.
That's where RockHer.com's AI gemologist ROSI comes in. It's a system that takes all of the guesswork out of a diamond jewelry purchase, taking your budget and preferences into account to provide a list of suitable diamonds on demand. ROSI takes more than 30 characteristics into account, just like a human expert would - so you can be sure that you're getting exactly what you pay for.
Making Financial Markets More Stable
As anyone who lived through the global financial crisis of 2008 can tell you, investment markets can turn on a dime. For the average investor, this increases the risk of unacceptable losses, particularly when they rely on their investments for income. Of all of the financial markets, though, there is none more volatile and potentially risky as the global foreign currency exchange, or Forex. It's a market where fortunes can be made and lost within a single trading session, owing mostly to the inherent instability of the human-led trading system itself. AI, however, is beginning to change all that.
Already, AI-powered forecasting systems are proving more adept than humans at divining market movement, and robo-trading systems are smoothing out the traditional peaks and valleys that have been a hallmark of Forex trading since its earliest days by eliminating the emotion-driven decisions human traders tend to make. In those ways, AI is making it possible for even risk-averse small-time investors to realize excellent returns in a market they never would have tried their hand at in the past.
AI is Everywhere, and That's a Good Thing
As you can see, AI is having a very real and very positive impact on the world around us, even when we don't know it's happening. That's a positive development that we should all be happy about, and it should go a long way toward putting our fears of the technology to rest once and for all. The bottom line is this: AI is going to become a part of just about everything we do in the future, and is already making steady progress toward that goal. As these early examples prove, it's something we should embrace, because it's going to make our lives better in ways we can't even imagine today. Before we know it, AI will become another trusted technology, and we'd do well to welcome that outcome.
