Artificial Intelligence software
Subtitle: Artificial Intelligence (AI) today is no longer about the great promise of data science, with robots taking over work from humans. We are already using a whole range of AI-driven functions in actions we perform from day to day.
AI applied in software
AI should not be regarded as software as such but as a component in current software. It consists of small functionalities broken up into small pieces that are available within existing applications. Think, for instance, of face recognition on mobile phones. But AI is also being applied in specific applications. Take Outlook, for example. When you start answering emails late at night, Outlook indicates that it would be better for you to do so in the morning. AI functionalities have also been incorporated in PowerPoint. You drop two images in a slide and the app immediately shows a dozen design options. That too is artificial intelligence.
Microsoft AI
A player with a highly visible dot on the AI horizon is Microsoft. Think for example of Azure, the cloud computing program which is constantly being enhanced with all kinds of “Cognitive Services”. Voice recognition, translation and calculation can in this way be easily implemented without any need for you to program things yourself. If, for instance, you create an app to which you want to add a chatbot, you can switch on this function with a simple click through Cognitive Services. These are modular functions that are easy to work with. They are of great value as their modular design means there is no need for you to invest in programming a chatbot, for instance, saving money and time.
Virtual assistants
Another AI application is the “virtual agent”, which are virtual assistants helping you in organizing your work. The best-known virtual assistant is Apple’s Siri. Are you looking for the nearest post point? Just ask Siri, no need to surf the internet looking for one. Amazon’s Alexa is another example. Among other things, the smart speaker can add milk to your shopping list while you are having a shower. Artificial intelligence can make your life a lot easier, not only at home but also on the work floor. Microsoft is constantly working on closer integration of various digital assistants in all Microsoft 365 components.
Artificial intelligence in Power BI
Power BI is an interactive tool of Microsoft that visualizes data. It enables you to make graphs or histograms in no time, on the basis of bulks of data. You can implement data from Excel or Google Analytics and even your social media channels. It is quick and efficient as you don’t need to manually input data yourself. But what is the link between this tool and AI? Power BI makes it possible to gain a quick insight from structured and unstructured data such as customer evaluations on Facebook. The tool includes a handy question and answer function. It means that time-consuming manual searching is now a thing of the past.
Anomaly detection
The last functions with AI we will have a look at are MLops and anomaly detection. MLops will automate and speed up processes. Time-consuming manual tasks are becoming child’s play. Once all data have been brought together in one place using MLops, anomaly detection can be activated. This function will go through huge heaps of information in search of anomalies. It is often applied for fraud detection and quality management. Error detection proceeds on the basis of checking data against the normal pattern, after which you can simply remove the anomaly.
AI solutions
Clearly, AI is much nearer than you think. It is not about distant technological prospects but about intelligent and efficient solutions that you can use today to make your daily work easier.
