5 useful ways people are using AI in their day-to-day lives

In the late 1950s, artificial intelligence (AI) was established as a recognised academic field. It was built on centuries of work that hypothesised the idea of an artificial brain, leading all the way back to ancient Greece, and in recent decades has developed in leaps and bounds.

Today, AI has slowly filtered into almost every aspect of our everyday lives, changing the way we interact with the world on a daily basis.

It might sound insidious, but if you take a step back, you might notice how AI has improved your life. Read on to discover five useful ways AI is being utilised in your day-to-day life.

1. Healthcare apps

Long gone are the days when you had to physically drag yourself into a practice to undergo basic checks or complete important administrative tasks.

A rush of simple to use healthcare apps have hit the market that could make marginal improvements to your day-to-day life. Many opticians and dental practices are using smartphone-based apps to perform basic checks on your vision or teeth, so that you can make a more informed decision before opting to book an appointment.

Some opticians even utilise your smartphone’s camera to allow you to digitally visualise different pairs of glasses on your face, so you can order a pair remotely if you’re unable to make it in person.

One of the most life-changing developments in healthcare AI is fall or crash detection apps. These programs detect if you’ve taken a sudden fall — or in the case of drivers an abrupt stop — and request a confirmation you’re okay through the app within a set amount of time before your smartphone automatically calls emergency services.

This development has the potential to save many lives.

2. Finance management and security

Managing your day-to-day finances has never been simpler. Nowadays you can download a range of apps that use AI to help you:

• Track your investments
• Stay up-to-date on changes to your credit score
• Review your credit opportunities with instant credit checks
• Manage your bank accounts including direct debits and transfers.

AI also offers greater protection for your finances. Facial recognition has improved security measures when trying to access important accounts and has made it harder for scammers or hackers to illegally access your information.

AI also helps monitor activity on your account, so if unusual purchases are made or your GPS location suddenly jumps to the other side of the world, you will be notified. In some circumstances your account will automatically be put on hold until anti-fraud checks can be made.

3. Travel and transportation

For those old enough to remember, you might recall family holidays in which a road trip across country might involve a designated map reader to ensure you didn’t get lost. You might have found yourself stuck in the rain and desperately trying to flag down a passing taxi.

Now smartphones act as your guide. GPS-supported apps like Google Maps can help you check addresses and plan routes, while transportation apps like Uber or Trainline allow you to send a taxi to your current location or review live train times.

AI has made it almost impossible to get lost — provided you have a signal!

4. Shopping and entertainment

AI learns about you from the way you interact with people, pages, and apps over the web and through social media. Whether you like it or not, a comprehensive consumer profile for you exists, and allows various apps to tailor their content directly to your tastes.

Have you ever found yourself shopping for a lamp on Amazon and then suddenly found your Facebook feed filled with lamp-based page suggestions or sponsored adverts?

It can feel a little bit invasive, but begrudgingly it does also make things simpler.

You might find yourself shopping for something but can’t quite find what you’re looking for, only for Amazon or Etsy to make the perfect suggestion.

You might be struggling to decide on a TV show to watch on a streaming service or music to listen to on Spotify before the app takes it upon itself to make a recommendation based around your tastes.

It may feel like a nosey neighbour at times, but AI can help speed up the decision-making process.

5. Communication

Text-based communication has become increasingly abundant since the introduction of emails. Now, the majority of communication occurs either through web-based apps like social media or email, or smartphone-based texts or text-based apps like WhatsApp.

However, writing out a response can be considerably more time-consuming than simply talking to someone. So, AI technology has had to find ways to bridge the gap. This has led to the development of AI-based intuitive text programs such as smart compose, auto-correct, and voice-to-text transcription.

It has been a particularly useful development for blind individuals, as voice-to-text and text-to-voice communication has allowed them to stay up-to-date and involved in an increasingly visually-based online world.

In the last 20 years, AI has slowly but surely reshaped our world. It makes you wonder what life might be like after another 20 years of gradual improvements to our day-to-day lives.