Believe it or not, artificial intelligence (AI) is in its infancy. Right now, there is a lot of hoopla about the jobs it will reduce, but as it develops (and is developing), it will create new ways to buy things, entertain ourselves, meet and interact with each other, discover many other new methods and completely new uses and hopefully cures of many diseases and innovations we haven’t even dreamed about. But for now, here is a short list of how our everyday lives have changed because of AI:
- Many fast food restaurants have in-store kiosks and websites where orders can be placed that can be picked up in the store or delivered to your home or office, or even a hospital room.
- Retailers use robots to place items in inventory and to pick and pack orders that are placed online using various methods, and which keep track of every package and item in those packages. They also invoice and ship orders directly to customers, pick up areas or to third parties.
- Many retail stores have become showrooms with product samples with data terminals where you can order what you want and either receive it the next day, or a local address where it can be picked up. The successful ones have staff that can assist the customers, but I find these are dwindling. If you don’t need any hand-holding, then it is easier to order online with occasional assistance from a chatbot. To accommodate product returns, it is becoming easier and easier.
- Most IRS tax audits are already being handled by mail, with AI selecting the items to be audited.
- E-Z Pass and cameras make records of all vehicles passing through a toll booth that can either collect the cash, debit or charge an account or send a bill for the toll.
- There are cameras that now catch speeders, cars running through a red light or driving in a bus lane, and the license plate is read into a system that mails the ticket.
- Bank ATMs dispense cash and accept deposits devoid of the familiar tellers we are used to. Many banks no longer use deposit tickets.
- The DMV uses AI for much of the inspection of your auto.
- Supermarkets and other retail outlets have self-checkout counters, and some have self-checkout food or merchandise carts.
- Software has eliminated most bookkeeping processes and generates real-time financial reports and other data that can be accessed worldwide on smartphones or wrist watches.
- Many offices are functioning very well with reduced secretarial and typing pools, while dictation of messages is quickly becoming pretty much error-free.
- Blood pressure and heart activity are measured on a wristwatch that instantly sends info to the wearer and their physician’s office or data center.
- Customer service desks are maintained by AI to screen, categorize and respond to growing percentages of calls.
- AI is already discovering new uses of combinations of seemingly unrelated drugs.
- My student homework assignments and tests are graded and administered completely by AI.
- Many newspapers are switching from print to digital versions with real-time updates.
- Restaurants have replaced menus, and manufacturers of retail products have replaced voluminous instruction booklets with QR codes.
- Even Broadway shows are changing. They are eliminating the slip-in sheet announcing cast substitutions and replacing it with a QR code you can scan to get that show’s substitutions.
Final Thoughts
AI has become a generic term that includes data analytics, robotics, blockchain technology and machine learning.
The above listing is a short list of some of my experiences with the various uses of AI. There is much more beyond what I know about and much more to come. As they say, “the best is yet to come!”
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