Artificial Intelligence & How it Shapes the World Around Us

Author: Tyler Spellman

A current trend that is transforming the business world as we know it is the use of AI, otherwise known as artificial intelligence. The term artificial intelligence is being used constantly by large firms who are looking to recruit college students for jobs and internships. Companies are looking for students who can keep up with the evolving technologies and become a valuable aspect of their team. We all grew up using technologies, specifically laptops and smartphones. Older generations in the business field are looking towards us to use these technologies in the workplace as well. In order to do so, it is important to understand what exactly artificial intelligence is.

Artificial intelligence is the use of computers performing human tasks, usually to increase efficiency within a business. If businesses can delegate tedious tasks such as calculating or scanning to a piece of AI, more time can be spent focusing on innovation and high-quality work performed by humans. There is a stereotypical image of artificial intelligence as a human robot taking over human tasks in an almost frightening way. There are in fact robots out there, however, AI comes in many different forms. AI may even be in your own home. Home robots include vacuums and pool cleaners that can sense when a wall is approaching. Applications such as Alexa or Google Home respond to our questions and commands in a split second. Also think of the Siri application on our smartphones. Siri thinks like a human when responding to questions about playing a song, navigating the GPS, making a phone call, surfing the web, or stating the weather. Although Siri doesn’t have the look of a robot, she is definitely AI.

Social media has also been dramatically transformed. Have you ever noticed a sponsored ad looking eerily familiar? This is due to AI. AI is constantly scanning our social media usage to personalize our customer experience. This concept is significantly used by sites such as Amazon and Netflix. AI is looking at our data usage and coming up with shows or items we could be interested in. This increases profitability for these companies as a whole. Although these examples represent a smaller scale, AI is also transforming industries on a much more massive scale as well.

In regard to the business world, AI is altering the workplace tremendously. For example, AI has impacted finance industries by scanning markets and finding stocks that would be smart to invest in. This saves both time and energy for us. AI is also revolutionizing the accounting industry. AI allows audits and estimates to be completed much quicker and more efficiently. This allows the firms to focus their energy on greater things.

The impact artificial intelligence has had on our lives and in the business field is significant, however, it is still growing. The transformation that comes from AI has only just begun and will continue to develop and create a life-changing impact in the future.