EVERY January for the last 50 years, at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES), tens of thousands of tech enthusiasts gather in Las Vegas for the unveiling of new gadgets that are being introduced to the world’s markets.
This year’s edition was no different in terms of the buzz, curiosity and enthusiasm, with one major difference: The showstoppers were not gadgets, but the technology that are now feeding these gadgets and helping them run i.e. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics.
The pace of integration of AI and Robotics into consumer products and our daily lives is accelerating and was on display across the CES, as robots demonstrated an increasingly diverse and complex array of skills and capabilities.
The advancements in AI and Robotics are expected to transform lifestyles and industries around the world; and ultimately improve humankind’s experiences, from reducing repetitive tasks at work to eliminating age-old malignant practices such as manual scavenging.
Being part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution now, presents several unique opportunities for economies around the world. While the previous three industrial revolutions—which span more than two centuries—largely revolved around mechanization, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is something else entirely. It is blending the physical, digital and biological realms.
Gartner is forecasting that 50% of all analytical interactions will be delivered via AI in the next three to five years.
AI and machine learning will be embedded into everyday things like appliances, cars, sensors and drones. As you can see much of this new revolution is being driven AI, deep learning and machine learning and developments in these fields over the past few decades have led to an astounding array of capabilities.
With artificial intelligence becoming the new engine launching the fourth industrial revolution, companies across the globe are setting its sights on AI enabled products and technologies. As part of the recent announcement, LG Electronics has announced the distribution of its AI development tool to all business divisions in line with its efforts to speed up the release of new products equipped with the latest technology.
LG’s proprietary deep learning-based AI technology is in line with its efforts to speed up the release of new products with the latest technology. With innovative AI platforms such as LG ThinQ, the “live and learn” philosophy requires machines to educate themselves and become smarter over time.
As machine learning becomes more advanced, products will understand their external environments as well as absorb their customers’ behavioural patterns. For example, an air conditioner will learn its inhabitants’ living patterns over time and adjust the room’s temperature to its occupants’ desired range, or cabin monitoring technology in a car can familiarize itself with the driver’s facial expressions and gestures and be able to recognize the moment a driver starts to feel drowsy.
DeepThinQ has already transformed the way certain products targeting the commercial and consumer sectors are designed. In Korea’s Incheon International Airport, LG’s Airport Guide Robots employ sophisticated ambient noise to improve voice recognition, enabling passengers to be better understood.
The platform is an embodiment and extension of the company’s open philosophy – to provide the most powerful AI solutions to customers through a strategy of open platform, open partnership and open connectivity.
There is no doubt that technology and the companies that spearhead innovation have grown from mere enablers into giant corporations that are redefining humankind’s way of life at a tremendous pace. We feel their impact throughout our daily lives – in our kitchens, homes, automobiles, offices, schools, smartphones and computers; through industries; across governments; in the media and of course, on social media.
Technology is influencing our thoughts and shaping our opinions. It is well and truly, omnipresent.
Our world as we know it, is changing – in many ways for the better – as technology and innovation are freeing up humankind from monotony to pursue more innovation and subsequently, enhance their lives. Tech companies have an enormous responsibility to understand the socio-economic disruption caused by technology and must engage and work with governments, industries, policy-makers, activists, consumers and stakeholders to prepare societies for the change that is imminent. The positive vision that we should work towards is not of AI as a replacement for us, but as a technology that can enhance all aspects of our lives.
As new technologies are rolled out, innovators must lead the conversation in civil society to reassure, retrain and recalibrate their skill-force. After all, we cannot expect AI and Robots to do that for us. Or, can we?
Kevin Cha is President, LG Electronics MEA