Artificial intelligence (AI) has changed our world in a number of ways that we often don’t realize. The impacts range from personal assistants, like Alexa or Siri, or personalized ads that come our way based on our shopping and browsing habits to changes in the way businesses are run, including the obsolescence of certain job functions.
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And AI continues to improve and develop. As explained by Andrew Medal in an article for Entrepreneur, “Impressive as these applications may be, AI is entering its so-called third wave, which is set to create more interesting applications for the technology itself, as reported by Top500.org. Third-wave AI is supposed to be truly intelligent and most similar to human thinking, meaning it will make sense of the independent world and its varying contexts.”
Medal discusses three ways third-wave AI could have big impacts on the business world.
Better Insights
“Third-wave AI is capable of searching for patterns in large volumes of data and even across data sets,” writes Medal. “This could yield connections that have not been linked previously, resulting in new insights that could guide businesses in their decision-making.”
Medal notes that such tools are already available in certain formats to individuals, not just to large companies.
More Effective Automation
One of the best uses for technology in place of human labor is automation. While automation can threaten to eliminate human jobs, it can also free us up from routine and mundane tasks that, while important, don’t necessarily need human input. This can free humans up for more meaningful work. Third-wave AI could bring the gains from automation even further, says Medal.
Smarter Assistants
While many of us have had fun playing with the Siri and Alexa apps, Medal believes third-wave AI is already working to make these assistants even more effective and dynamic.
“Unlike Siri and Alexa, which only respond to one instruction at a time, new AI assistants such as Aigo are adaptive,” he writes. “They can remember and learn from your preferences so that they will be able to sustain meaningful conversations with users as if you are chatting with an actual person that knows you.”
AI has already had some important impacts on our everyday lives as well as in the business world. Third-wave AI could truly revolutionize the workplace and the workforce.
While many of the potential impacts may be somewhat far out in time, those concerned about the potentially disruptive nature of AI should take notice.