artificial intelligence projects
- Tesla
Before we know it, autonomous and self-driving vehicles will be on our roads. Almost every company, from Google to automakers like Ford and GM, is working on self-driving technology.
The most prominent, at least now, is Tesla, thanks to its AutoPilot feature. One could even argue that Tesla's vehicles are some of the best ever made. One of the reasons for this sentiment is the AI and predictive capabilities of its self-driving system. While other vendors are painstakingly working to put this technology on the road, Tesla has already achieved the unthinkable: it's out there, in the hands of consumers, right now.
Every day, Tesla vehicles and the artificial intelligence system are getting smarter, thanks to a wealth of user and performance data and over-the-air updates.
- Alexa
You didn't think we were going to make a list like this without mentioning Amazon's Alexa at least once, did you? Sure, it's a voice assistant like any other when you break it down to the basics, but what Amazon is doing with the platform really makes it stand out.
Amazon calls the structure of Alexa's AI platform "conversational AI," which allows the assistant to react and respond to queries in a more natural way. Of course, it seems like almost every tech company is trying to deliver a more human-like assistant than ever before, so that's not unheard of.
Alexa is worth talking about because of how open the platform is, at least for savvy developers and other brands. Thanks to a robust API and incredible support for "Alexa skills" - a kind of add-on channel that allows new apps to be added to Alexa devices - the platform is growing daily, even beyond what Amazon's official engineering team is doing.
3.Netflix
Even a few years ago, it would have been unheard of to think of an entertainment company like Netflix getting into the AI game. However, the company's efforts have helped foster one of the most complex and advanced machine learning tools on the modern market.
Netflix uses alarmingly accurate predictive metrics to analyze and deliver more relevant content to viewers. It does this by analyzing past behavior and content viewed, as well as customer reactions to movies and shows. Every time you select that little "thumbs up" after watching something on Netflix, the AI records the interaction.
As more customers use the platform and user profiles and data sets grow, the system gets smarter and more accurate. That's the idea behind machine learning and cognitive AI systems: they are designed to get smarter and more adept over time as they ingest larger stores of data. The bottom line is that Netflix leverages technology in very inspiring ways.
- Microsoft's Cortana
As you may well know, Microsoft's Cortana was born out of the need to compete with the likes of Google Assistant, Siri and Alexa. It's a voice assistant that comes with almost every modern Microsoft product. But the name is also a moniker for the company's large-scale AI engine.
Since its inception, Microsoft developers have been striving to optimize and improve the platform in a variety of ways. One of the most promising stems from Microsoft's acquisition of Semantic Machines, a relatively new AI company. The idea is to help establish a more accurate and intelligent assistant-like Cortana-that can respond naturally to humans. Semantic Machines will drive this concept because its platforms rely on machine learning to help inform bots and drive customer interactions.
- Google Brain
Formed back in 2010, Google Brain is a deep learning and AI research team at the major tech firm. Like most of Google's teams, they have a lot of freedom, which means they can adhere to whatever agenda they like. This flexibility results in some incredibly unique artificial intelligence projects.
Of course, it is also the core engine that Google uses for most of its products, including the Google Assistant, Google's answer to Alexa and Siri.
One of the most recent Google Brain products or developments is Smart Reply, a quick messaging tool integrated into Gmail that helps automate common replies. It also works with text messaging apps through the Android mobile operating system.