Technology is embedded into every facet of modern life and with the arrival of artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT) and the fourth industrial revolution, people sometimes worry about the implications of every device being connected, but we are already leading connected lives and technology has always played a role in the evolution, and progression of mankind.
By CY Kim, MD of LG Electronics South Africa
The digital revolution has given us smartphones, social media and the gig economy, and it has changed the way we work, live and play. It is also transforming various industries such as healthcare, recycling and aviation.
Smart technology can be used by medical professionals to improve healthcare. Singapore is currently exploring the possibility of using smart technology to create a zero waste economy. In addition, airlines are already using higher connectivity and data sharing to make flights safer.
The evolution of technology has also improved the way we communicate with advanced innovations making the world smaller and more accessible. Further than personal communication, technology has augmented business and education in various ways as access to education, and significant amounts of useful information has grown dramatically in recent years.
AI is all about practicality
Smart technology is also about making our lives easier and part of that is making appliances more intuitive while also increasing their functionalities.
Home entertainment has grown to provide a world of options at your fingertips and TVs will soon have AI features that will enable voice commands among other things. 69% of households in the United States own a smart TV, which are quickly becoming ubiquitous due to easy access to streaming portals, but the next crop of smart TVs will push the boundary of what can truly be called a TV.
Homes have also become more automated and safer with security cameras, infra-red beams and other technological solutions that have resulted in us sleeping a little more soundly. The inclusion of smart capabilities and digital assistants in modern devices increases convenience while allowing users to get the most out of their home appliances.
Consumer-based AI represents a turning point as modern appliances will adapt to their users to provide bespoke services that improve with time. These appliances will become more effective with each use, tailoring performance to their unique settings, but smart solutions will rely on AI to form the backbone of their usability.
Of course, the practicality of AI is perfectly illustrated in the evolution of smartphones, which have supplanted computers as the primary devices we use to access the internet. The proliferation of smartphone-centric applications that effortlessly combine functionality with smart technology has proven to be extremely successful as daily smartphone screen time has increased dramatically with some estimates pointing to people checking their smartphones 80 times per day.
The world around us is being shaped by artificial intelligence and smart learning algorithms, which will increase in coming years and while AI will enable practical machine learning, the ultimate payoff will be that people have more time to do the things they love.