6 ways artificial intelligence could change lives for the better

While news surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) has often been negative, many of us do find it useful in our daily lives, whether it’s helping us to organise our tasks or turning on the oven remotely while on the way home from work.

Indeed, according to a survey by Smart Home Week, over 57% of UK homes contained a smart device in 2019 alone. It’s likely that at one point or another, you will have said either “Hey Siri” or “Alexa” to your phone or smart speaker.

Aside from helping you to organise your life, there are many other ways in which AI can have a positive effect on society, from ensuring safer transport to streamlining the educational process, and improving healthcare. So, read on to discover six ways AI could change our lives for the better.

1. Improved healthcare

AI is already playing a huge role in healthcare, with wearable technology combining with AI to help doctors and GPs detect illnesses or health concerns much quicker and start required treatment processes.

This is supported by the increased sources of clinical research and information that are now even easier to access. With all patient records digitised, AI now has the opportunity to completely revolutionise the entire healthcare sector and ensure it’s far more data-driven.

Additionally, there is the potential for AI to help scientists discover and invent newer and more effective drugs at much lower costs and find cures for rare diseases. Similarly, applied science that can tailor individualised treatments for a given patient, known as “precision medicine,” could become increasingly possible, thanks to developments in AI.

2. Safer transport

Various trials of autonomous vehicles have taken place in recent years, with one carried out in the borough of Greenwich in London in August 2021. The hopes are that, in the future, autonomous vehicles will be able to transport you to your destination with greater convenience, improved safety, and at a lower cost.

Utilising AI in transportation could enable an entirely interconnected transport system, with vehicles able to communicate with each other to reduce the potential for accidents. For example, two cars passing each other could communicate their movement paths to avoid collisions.

Similarly, AI can be utilised in public transport services too, helping to increase safety and security through identifying potential issues like aggressive behaviour. Additionally, they will also be able to look through comprehensive amounts of data to determine the most, and least, popular routes and recommend changes to services with utmost confidence.

3. Automated households that help us with our daily tasks

One of the most popular and frequently used forms of AI is in smart home automation. Whether it’s something as simple as turning a light on at a specific time or a more complex task such as programming the thermostat to adjust temperatures based on your schedule, smart home automation has become an increasingly popular innovation in recent years.

Indeed, the systems used in some TVs and streaming software are already sophisticated and smart enough to understand your preferences and recommend shows based on them.

Likewise, you will have no doubt noticed that the apps on your phone or tablet are increasingly promoting products or services you’ve looked for previously.

4. Safer and more secure online banking

There are a multitude of ways in which banks could utilise AI in the future. Indeed, AI could be able to analyse data to better understand the customers’ needs and preferences and utilise this to ensure more personalised customer service and support.

In addition to increasing ways of detecting fraud and better protecting customers, AI may well be able to automate somewhat routine tasks, such as password resets and account balance enquiries. This would allow customer service representatives to spend more time assisting customers with more complex issues and improving the relationship between bank and customer.

5. Faster research and working practices

You’re already likely seeing it a lot in your daily life, but AI will make the way you research and discover information even easier in the future. There will come a time when nearly all data will become digitised, making it easy for AI to do a lot of the optimisation and decision-making for you.

Indeed, AI is already assisting journalists, researchers and scientists among others, by scouring every piece of information and data and compiling it for them.

This allows professional workers more time to think about more complex and strategic issues and tasks. In the future, combining the human touch with AI optimisation will be a vital aspect of the way in which research is carried out.

6. Streamlining the educational process

While AI may play an important role in the lives of many adults, it is likely to do the same for children, too. With advancements in technology happening all the time, it’s highly likely that in the future, AI will be utilised by educational facilities in one form or another.

It could certainly be possible that AI could grade exam papers and homework and answer common questions with more patience and greater precision than human teachers. Similarly, an AI teacher could notice what makes a student’s eyelids droop or pupils dilate and identify ways in which each student will react to specific teaching methods.

The more data that the AI can access, the more that learning can be made more engaging and effective for each individual student.

That’s not to say that teachers will be replaced – far from it. Human teachers would still act as mentors for the children and the individuals that would stimulate each student’s creativity, teamwork, empathy, and critical thinking.