It has become obvious that in the past years, technology has been the element that helps (and forces) us to evolve and improve every aspect of our lives. Artificial Intelligence, more than anything, seems to be at the core of this transformation. From voice assistants to image recognition and self-driving cars, the revolution is here and we ought to keep up with it, especially business wise.

What is Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial Intelligence is the area of computer science dedicated to teaching machines replicate human behaviour and thus react like humans and perform actions that would normally require human intelligence. This way, the computer / machine can solve certain problems without the actual involvement of a person. There are several programmable functions that AI systems can replicate, among which the most common are planning, learning, reasoning, decision making, problem solving or moving. AI systems are powered by algorithms that, through machine learning, deep learning or rules, feed them computer data so that they can learn certain patterns. In time, without being specifically programmed to do it, Artificial Intelligence systems will get better and better at tasks, due to machine learning.

Most people, especially those who have mere knowledge about AI, associate the term with science fiction portrayals of the subject, such as robots with human-like capabilities. While this may be a hyperbolic image of Artificial Intelligence, it is true that researchers, scientists and IT people are striving to make the most out of this rather new area of technology. There are many concrete uses of AI that have transformed the capabilities of businesses on a global level, allowing people to automate repetitive tasks and get data in an easy way, through pattern recognition.

Types of AI and their purpose

There are several types of Artificial Intelligence technologies, which can be classified by their real-world applications, their capacity to replicate human capabilities, or the technology they use to do this. Taking into consideration these characteristics, we can distinguish three types of Artificial Intelligence systems:

Artificial narrow intelligence (ANI): this branch has a narrow range of abilities, focusing on performing a certain task really well. Examples of ANI are manufacturing robots, speech or language recognition on virtual assistants, or recommendation engines used by online stores.

Artificial general intelligence (AGI): is an AI type quite similar to human capabilities. AGI tools can do anything humans can, and a simple and common example of this type of AI is the robots in video games, who can perform just as good as an experienced gamer.

Artificial superintelligence (ASI): is the AI that can not only understand and replicate human behaviour, but can also surpass it. ASI is way into the future and will be able to deliver great performance on emotional relationships, arts or decision making.

How AI is changing software development

It is obvious that Artificial Intelligence is changing business and technology, presenting these with a lot of new opportunities, and software development is no exception. When it comes to software engineering, AI promises to fill the gap between what people can actually do during a workday, and the challenges posed by an increasingly growing volume of data. AI systems can reduce the time humans spend on certain repetitive tasks, can cope with the great number of changes in cyber-security threads and can also identify exploited weaknesses.

here are some major areas of software development that AI can influence, among which the most important are design, testing, decision making and automated code generation. The sphere where Artificial Intelligence has become particularly popular is testing, through automated apps and bug detection tools.

Apart from this, in the past few years, software development technologies are going through huge transformation and the impact of AI shows how businesses can be run through smart software, in a more efficient way.

Uses of AI in day to day business

Artificial intelligence has gained a lot of popularity in recent years, which is why companies all around the world, regardless of their dimensions or field of activity, are trying to integrate this new branch of technology in their ordinary activities. Machine learning algorithms have become better and better, since specialists are capable of implementing better models, while mobile technology and IoT (Internet of Things) make data more available than ever, thus fueling AI systems. And even if robots have not replaced humans yet, Artificial Intelligence is present in a number of business areas, from healthcare, to finance and data-heavy industries.

The upcoming period will be dominated by AI, which will bring a shift in essential processes and the reduction of the time spent on repetitive tasks by humans. However, companies already use AI-driven systems for various business areas:

Predicting project timelines

Using historic data from similar projects, AI can help predict the development timeline of an upcoming project. The information analysed can consist details about estimates, actual timings, employee profiles, feature definitions, resources involved and many more – data nearly impossible to encompass in an efficient way by humans. Taking into consideration all the above mentioned variables that usually influence the development of a project, AI tools can elaborate a complex analysis. Having a clear digital profile of decisions and consequences, the team can obtain an estimation of necessary costs and resources, to avoid bottlenecks and delays.

Decision making based on accurate data

By using Artificial Intelligence tools, companies are able to make more informed decisions. Organizations tend to spend a lot of time choosing relevant KPIs or prioritising the variables they need to introduce in complex analysis that help them make the best decisions for future developments and strategies. However, with AI and BI tools, the process can become structured, more data-driven and informed. Whether we are speaking about retail, software development, marketing or financial companies, business leaders will have access to accurate data in no time.

AI programming assistants

AI programming assistants are tools that can help advanced programmers with timely support and recommendations when they are dealing with documentation or debugging. Through these assistants, developers can receive suggestions about what documents to use and highlights regarding code examples or best practices, thus reducing their workload and enabling them to focus on creative tasks.

Transport and fleet management

Transportation is a sector highly responsive to new technology: from performing GPS devices, to software for automobile industry and applications that track drivers’ behaviours behind the wheel and progress. AI for automobile means more than autonomous cars. Machine learning can transform vast amount of data into useful insights: for example, tracking speeding or the use of mobile devices can point out risky behaviours or help predict outcomes and prevent accidents.

Predicting consumer behaviour

For brands that offer direct services to clients, predicting what they are expecting to receive is the key to success. So whether we are speaking about online stores, streaming services or manufacturing, the best thing to do is anticipate clients’ preferences and present them with an offer they will not refuse. Through deep learning, AI tools can predict outputs, based on a given set of inputs, thus enabling marketers to uncover new clients and to offer existing ones exactly what they need (even before they know they do).

Conclusions

The fast evolution of technology and increasing popularity of Artificial Intelligence make us wonder what might come next. It is true that AI already is an integral part of our lives and it will definitely play a decisive role in our future, both in business and at home. Taking into consideration the fact that AI systems have the capability of replacing the hard work of humans, more and more organizations and industries will strive to benefit from it. For human beings, this means a safer work environment and the possibility to focus on other important tasks.