"Artificial Intelligence is the Future!"
How many times have you heard this phrase before? Probably quite a lot, we know.
Well, they're wrong 🤯
The truth is, AI isn't just the future; it's already the present. It's already a part of our lives, and in the workplace, many people are already using it. In this article, we want to explore some of the most important trends and applications of this technology today.
1 Generative AI
We couldn't start anywhere else but with Generative AI, the most well-known and widespread application of artificial intelligence. It's the one that, with the right prompt, can assist you in completing many of your work tasks and beyond.
What It Is
How many times have you wished you could delegate the most tedious tasks of your job to someone else? Like the Monday 9 a.m. conference call that could have been an email? Well, for certain nuisances, artificial intelligence can't help you. However, there are some things that you can safely delegate to Generative AI.
This type of artificial intelligence allows for the generation of various content such as images, videos, texts, sounds, and codes through a series of precise requests.
Before this new type of technology became widespread, AI mainly focused on classification. This allowed recommendation engines used by Netflix or Amazon to distinguish between content to suggest to users. Generative AI, on the other hand, learns and is trained on information already present online. This enables you to create constantly new content based on your requests and to achieve precise results. In fact, the more it's trained, the more capable it becomes of delivering outputs that meet your needs.
How It Works
It would be quite impactful to tell you that behind this artificial intelligence lies a sort of oracle, a genie in a lamp, capable of answering every question and creating every type of content. But the truth is that the magic of all this is found in the data. Yes, them 🤓
Generative AI, indeed, operates based on machine learning algorithms: the more data provided to these algorithms, the better the results. By combining some of these algorithms so they can generate new data, we obtain a model, a specially crafted engine to generate a certain type of data.
An example of such models is the Large Language Model (LLM). This is the model underlying tools like ChatGPT; by ingesting large amounts of text, it learns the semantic relationships between words and uses this data to generate further language.
Another example of a model is the one used for generating images, the Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) model. It works by pitting two algorithms against each other: the first is tasked with generating data resembling the training data, while the second is responsible for discerning whether the output is real or generated.
The Most Popular AI Generators
There are several platforms that use generative AI to create content:
ChatGPT: This language model generates text similar to that produced by humans. It's primarily used for research, strategy, and content creation tasks.
DALL-E2: Used to create images from text prompts. Very useful for generating creative and marketing content.
GitHub Copilot: Allows for the creation of computer code even for those without specific technical knowledge
2 AI and Personal Assistants
Remember that time you forgot your partner's anniversary and had to sleep on the couch for a week? 💔 Or that dentist appointment you rescheduled three times before finally making it?
Well, you can finally say goodbye to those embarrassing moments because with AI-enhanced personal assistants, you'll be able to remember even your mother-in-law's birthday. 😍
What They Are
We like to think of them as ever-ready friends, always there to save you from yet another slip-up, but in reality, they're virtual software agents designed to assist users in various activities through artificial intelligence technologies. Specifically, they use natural language processing, machine learning, and other AI techniques to understand and respond to inputs in a way similar to humans. These assistants can learn people's preferences, habits, and communication styles, creating more natural and engaging experiences.
How They Work
To function, these assistants utilize natural language generation and deep learning techniques. Natural language understanding allows them to comprehend and interpret user requests. The generative capability, on the other hand, is what enables the creation of human-like responses capable of providing relevant and contextualized information. Through continuous learning derived from interactions with the user, they constantly improve their performance and evolve with the changing needs of those who use them.
The Most Popular Personal Assistants
As with every field where AI is utilized, there are various choices when it comes to voice assistants. The most commonly used ones are:
Apple Siri: Apple's voice assistant that provides support to iOS and macOS users.
Google Assistant: Available on all Android devices and other platforms, Google Assistant helps with tasks, answers questions, and controls smart devices.
Amazon Alexa: One of the most famous assistants, Alexa is known for its seamless integration with home devices.
Microsoft Cortana: Originally integrated into Windows devices, Cortana offers voice-activated assistance and productivity functions.
Applications of Voice Assistants
In addition to personal applications, voice assistants are also highly useful in various professional fields.
Healthcare: They can be useful in generating detailed summaries of patients' medical histories. This way, the care process can be more precise and immediate. Moreover, thanks to these assistants, personalized medical recommendations and reminders for care programs can be received.
Manufacturing: In the manufacturing sector, they can be helpful in optimizing production processes by creating predictive maintenance programs and thus improving operational efficiency. They can also support in the design and refinement of product prototypes.
Human Resources: In the HR field, virtual assistants can be excellent allies in recruitment processes through automatic CV screening. They can also assist employees by providing information on company policies and benefits.
Retail: They can be used to enhance the shopping experience by providing personalized recommendations based on customers' needs. Moreover, they can also assist employees by providing inventory support, optimizing restocking procedures.
Customer Service: They are capable of handling a wide range of requests, providing immediate and accurate responses. When the inquiry exceeds their capabilities, they can transfer the request to human assistance. This way, they improve overall user satisfaction.
3 AI and Cybersecurity
To avoid a hacker attack, all you need to do is change your password at least once a month. Yes, and to get fit, all you need to do is join a gym. It would be nice, but unfortunately, it's not that simple. 🥲
Cybersecurity is a highly complex field, which is why integrating AI into your cybersecurity processes is crucial. Artificial intelligence can enhance data protection against cyber threats, recognize harmful behavioral patterns, and automate processes.
How AI is Applied To Cybersecurity
If you work in Cybersecurity, you can breathe a sigh of relief: AI won't be able to replace human work; there will always be a need to solve more complex problems and challenges. However, it can assist you in many ways.
One of the main advantages of AI is that it can respond to threats in real-time. By analyzing vast amounts of data, this technology can detect threats or scan the entire network to identify potential weaknesses.
Moreover, with AI, it will be easier to detect unusual behaviors and limit access to systems, thereby uncovering any threats before they can become harmful.
Thanks to its ability to automate certain tasks, AI can reduce the occurrence of human errors by eliminating the manual component from some processes.
Why It Is So Important
If your company's cybersecurity is working, why change things?
The answer is very simple: cybercriminal organizations are already one step ahead.
Not only for those seeking protection but also for those attacking, AI is becoming a great opportunity. With AI in the wrong hands, in fact, the number of threats and the destructive potential of ransomware targeting networks continue to grow.
That's why it's so important for those involved in cybersecurity to take action by introducing artificial intelligence into their processes and defensive systems.
To protect against these new threats, more modern approaches are spreading, such as behavior analysis. All cyber threats must exhibit harmful behavior to succeed, and using AI to identify these behaviors allows for faster and more decisive monitoring and response.
Skills Needed To Implement AI in Cybersecurity
All good, but how do you do it?
To implement artificial intelligence technologies in cybersecurity systems, it's not enough to just want it; you need competent individuals.
We're talking about people who can understand both the principles of AI and those of cybersecurity. These roles require training and experience in machine learning data modeling, deep neural networks, language modeling, and behavioral analysis. Moreover, they must have a good understanding of cybersecurity principles to be able to effectively combine the two disciplines.
In short, there are many possibilities for AI in cybersecurity, many of which are still unexplored. However, to stay ahead and ensure adequate security, it's necessary to start introducing them into your security system right away.
Conclusion
As we mentioned at the beginning, AI is not only the future but also the present in many fields, and keeping up can be challenging.
That's why, in collaboration with Hyper Island and Nuclio, we've created the Artificial Intelligence Academy. It's the first AI academy in Europe, designed for those who want to delve into the endless possibilities of this technology. Take a look at our courses here.
