Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

How AI came to rule our lives over the last decade

In 2010, artificial intelligence was more likely to pop up in dystopian science-fiction movies than in everyday life. And it certainly wasn't something people worried might take over their jobs in the near future.

A lot has changed since then. AI is now used for everything from helping you take better smartphone photos and analyzing your personality in job interviews to letting you buy a sandwich without paying a cashier. It's also becoming increasingly common - and controversial - when used for surveillance, such as facial-recognition software, and for spreading misinformation, as with deepfake videos that purport to show a person doing or saying something they didn't.

How did AI come to invade so many different parts of our lives over the last decade? The answer lies in technological advancements in the field, combined with cheaper, easier access to more powerful computers.

Much of the AI you encounter on a regular basis uses a technique known as machine learning, which is when a computer teaches itself by poring over data. More specifically, major developments over the last decade focused on a type of machine learning, called deep learning, that's modeled after the way neurons work in the brain. With deep learning, a computer might be tasked with looking at thousands of videos of cats, for instance, to learn to identify what a cat looks like (and, in fact, it was a big deal when Google figured out how to do this reliably in 2012).

"Ten years ago, deep learning was not on anybody's radar, and now it's in everything," said Pedro Domingos, a computer science professor at the University of Washington.

AI is still quite simplistic. A machine-learning algorithm, for instance, typically does just one thing and often requires mountains of data to learn how to do it well. A lot of work in the field of AI focuses on making machine learning systems better at generalizing and learning from fewer examples, Domingos said.

"We've come a thousand miles, but there's a million miles still to go," he said.

With a nod to those thousand miles already in the technological rear-view mirror, CNN Business took a look back at the last 10 years of AI's journey, highlighting six of the many ways it has impacted our lives.


Smartphones

These days, artificial intelligence is all over smartphones, from facial-recognition software for unlocking the handset to popular apps like Google Maps. Increasingly, companies like Apple and Google are trying to run AI directly on handsets (with chips specifically meant to help with AI-driven capabilities), so activities like speech recognition can be performed on the phone rather than on a remote computer - the kind of thing that can make it even faster to do things like translate words from one language to another and preserve data privacy.

One deceptively simple-sounding example of this popped up in October, when Google introduced a transcription app called Recorder. It can record and transcribe, in real time. It knows what you're saying and identifies various sounds like music and applause; the recordings can later be searched by individual words. The app can run entirely on Google Pixel smartphones.

Google said this was difficult to accomplish because it requires several pieces of AI that must work without killing the phone's battery life or taking up too much of its main processor. If consumers take a shine to the app, it could lead to yet more AI being squeezed onto our smartphones.


Social networks

When Facebook began in 2004, it focused on connecting people. These days, it's fixated on doing so with artificial intelligence. It's become so core to the company's products that a year ago, Facebook's chief AI scientist, Yann LeCun, told CNN Business that without deep learning the social network would be "dust."

And Facebook isn't the only one; it's simply the biggest. Instagram, Twitter, and other social networks rely heavily on AI, too.
Virtual assistants

Any time you talk to Amazon's Alexa, Apple's Siri, or Google's Assistant, you're having an up-close-and-personal interaction with AI. This is most notable in the ways these helpers understand what you're saying and (hopefully) respond with what you want.

The rise of these virtual assistants began in 2011, when Apple released Siri on the iPhone. Google followed with Google Now in 2012 (a newer version, Google Assistant, came out in 2016).

But while many consumers took a shine to Apple's and Google's early computerized helpers, they were mostly confined to smartphones. In many ways, it was Amazon's Alexa, introduced in 2014 and embodied by an Internet-connected speaker called the Amazon Echo, that helped the virtual assistant market explode - and brought AI to many more homes in the process.

Consider this: During just the third quarter of 2019, Amazon shipped 10.4 million Alexa-using smart speakers, making up the biggest single chunk (nearly 37%) of the global market for these gadgets, according to data from Canalys.


Surveillance

As AI has improved, so have its capabilities as a surveillance tool. One of the most controversial of these is facial recognition technology, which identifies people from live or recorded video or still photos, typically by comparing their facial features with those in a database of faces. It's been used in many different settings: at concerts, by police, and at airports, to name a few.

Facial recognition systems have come under growing scrutiny, however, due to concerns about privacy and accuracy. In December, for instance, a US government study found extensive racial bias in almost 200 facial recognition algorithms, with racial minorities much more likely to be misidentified than whites.

In the US, there are few rules governing how AI in general, and facial recognition in particular, can be deployed. So in 2019, several cities, including San Francisco and Oakland in California and Somerville in Massachusetts, banned city departments (including police) from using the technology.


Healthcare

AI is increasingly being used to diagnose and manage all kinds of health issues, from spotting lung cancer to keeping an eye on mental health problems and gastrointestinal issues. Though much of this work is still in the research or early-development stages, there are startups - such as Mindstrong Health, which uses an app to measure moods in patients who are dealing with mental health issues -nalready trying out AI systems with people.

Two startups in the midst of this are Auggi, a gut-health startup building an app to help track gastrointestinal issues, and Seed Health, which sells probiotics and works on applying microbes to human health. In November, they started collecting photos of poop from the general public that they intend to use to make a data set of human fecal images. Auggi wants to use these pictures to make an app that can use computer vision to automatically classify different types of waste that people with chronic gut-related problems - such as irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS - usually have to track manually with pen and paper.


Art

Can AI create art? More and more often the answer is yes. Over the last 10 years, AI has been used to make musical compositions, paintings and more that seem very similar to the kinds of things humans come up with (though the jury is still out on whether a machine can actually possess creativity). And sometimes, that art can even be a big money maker.

Perhaps the clearest indication that AI-generated art is gaining popularity came in late 2018, when a blurry, Old Masters-esque piece called "Edmond de Belamy" became the first work produced by a machine to be sold at auction.

The print was created using a cutting-edge technique known as GANS, which involves two neural networks competing with each other to come up with something new based on a data set. In this case, the data set was a slew of existing paintings, while the new thing was the computerized artwork. GANS is also gaining popularity because it can be used to make.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
More Than 150,000 Followers for a Fictional Character: The New Influencers Are AI Creations
EU Prepares for War
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
×