The race to improve their search products, which is of great significance to both Google and Microsoft and the wider economy, has been highly publicized recently due to the growing importance of artificial intelligence.
This month, two of the biggest tech firms globally declared their intentions to improve search through artificial intelligence, intensifying the struggle for dominance in the AI sector.
The unveiling of Google’s new chatbot, Bard, was hindered by a malfunction that resulted in a decrease of $163bn in Alphabet’s stock value. The drastic fall in the share price demonstrated how important investors view AI to be for Google’s future.
AI is quickly becoming a major part of the modern economy, and its presence is being felt in nearly all industries. From retail to transportation, AI has the potential to transform the way services are provided significantly, and it looks likely that there will be a wave of changes ahead.
Farming
AI is gaining a foothold in agriculture. Many farmers rely on it for tasks like weather pattern monitoring, pest & disease management, determining the need for additional irrigation, and deciding which crops should be grown in what locations.
Numerous food manufacturers leverage AI to harvest and interpret information to enhance efficiency and increase revenue.
The ability of Artificial Intelligence to synthesize and analyze extensive databases already provides farmers with up-to-date information on how to improve their crop growth and increase production.
Drones and in-ground sensors can be used to examine the development of crops and soil conditions over hundreds of acres, such as determining whether additional water, fertilizer, or herbicide is needed or if any disease or destruction by animals has occurred.
Based farm along the Herefordshire-Worcestershire border, Ali Capper hAli Capper has invested-edgy, such as automated orchard sprayers, to go with the digital soil mapping she’s been using since 2017. She grows apples and hops there.
Capper says:
“Many agri-tech innovations will help us to be kinder to the farmed environment as well as more efficient and profitable.”
Farmers’ long-held desire (for robots) to step in and contribute where workers have been scarce could hopefully soon address the £60m worth of flooding waste resulting from staffing uncertainties following Brexit, according to National Farmers Union. Such robots emerging could no doubt help harvest crops efficiently and on time.
Robots with the accuracy and swiftness of a human hand can delicately pick soft fruits, like raspberries, without damaging them; however, this reality may still be ten years off. The development of four-armed robots could make picking these softer produce items more efficient.
Drilling seeds, spraying, and watering crops – all these laborious jobs have been changed due to automation. Joanna Partridge says that even though other aspects of farming remain unchanged for the time being, with time, the overall mechanization of farming processes is likely to increase.
News Media
Media companies have adopted machine learning to increase subscriptions, create engaging advertising experiences, and assist in judgment calls regarding which stories should be foregrounded. These efforts are merging as part of a larger goal- improving overall profitability.
Organizations in the media and news industry have been intriguingly offering six-figure salaries to data scientists to capitalize on customer data to accurately recommend products while building innovative tools that reduce manual efforts when searching for stories and writing them.
Gibbs noted that AI could help the Associated Press to maintain its “breadth and advantage,” helping it “find news faster and break the news faster.” The comments came as part of a study conducted at the London School of Economics, by which Gibbs serves as Director of News Partnerships.
Organizations involved in media are employing data analysts to craft customized material; this is done to increase both subscription numbers and commercial revenues.
Jane Barrett, the global news editor in Reuters’ media strategy unit, told the LSE:
Jane Barrett says:
“AI will help us get exactly the right content to the right person.”
Energy
Prediction, identification of faults, and even utilization of weather forecasts for project plans come into play for potential AI applications in the energy industry. From power plants to offshore wind farm projects, these AI applications can provide great assistance to optimize the whole energy industry.
With tight margins in a sector where almost 30 companies have gone bust during the energy crisis, retail energy suppliers are expected to increase the use of AI to cut down call times. Chatbots ask basic questions before customers speak to a human adviser.
Ultimately, suppliers envisage AI will play a central role in future “smart grids,” allowing supply and demand to be more closely aligned, with a new generation of devices from smart meters and electric vehicles to solar panels and heat pumps able to improve efficiency. Jobs for engineers, meter readers, and supply analysts are most under threat.
AI is also valuable for tracking carbon emissions. Boston Consulting Group has estimated that applying AI to multinational companies’ sustainability plans could be worth $1.3tn to $2.6tn through additional revenues and cost savings by 2030. Late last year, the government launched a £1.5m program to study the use of AI to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions.
The applications of artificial intelligence within the economy are vast and ever-growing. AI has transformed retail, transport, finance, and more in just a few short years. As businesses across all sectors understand this technology’s potential, AI will likely further revolutionize the economy. With so much change on the horizon, thinking about what the future holds for us all is exciting.
Source: the guardian
