There is no doubt that 2023 has been a massive year for the development and release of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. What was once considered by many to be nothing more than a wishful dream used to entertain us in science fiction films, AI has now become a reality, and it’s fair to say that it could become a prevalent part of our daily lives soon.

With 2024 quickly approaching, there is an expectation that the landscape of AI will continue to evolve and that we will see it making its way into the mainstream throughout the calendar year.

Of course, not everyone is convinced that AI is anything more than a current hype train that will run out of steam sooner, rather than later. However, there is evidence that points to the opposite being true, with AI use cases seemingly multiplying by the day.

In this post, we’ll look at what AI is, how it has made an impact so far, what new AI technologies we should expect to see in 2024, which industries will benefit most from its continued evolution, what regulations could be implemented to control its use, and whether the hype will continue.

What Is AI?

At its core, artificial intelligence is a machine’s ability to mimic human intelligence processes. For example, AI can include the ability of the machine to learn, reason, solve problems, perceive what is being asked of it, understand several languages, and so on.

An example of this in action can be seen with conversational agents, such as ChatGPT, which use natural language processing alongside machine learning to allow them to engage with users in a meaningful way.

Although there are a lot of complex things going on in the background, the front-end of conversational agents is simple, and so is the process:

1. The user inputs some commands.
2. The conversational agent evaluates the context of the commands.
3. The conversational agent generates a response that emulates human conversation, along with the completed tasks.

How Has AI Made an Impact So Far?

If you haven’t taken an active interest in AI over the last few years, you’d be forgiven for thinking that its only use is to help students write essays. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth, with AI making a big contribution to several industries already, including the following:

• Healthcare: AI can be used to analyse medical data quickly, leading to faster and more accurate diagnoses for patients regarding the likes of cancer, heart disease, and neurological disorders.
• Retail: AI can be used to streamline inventory management while providing valuable data regarding product demand, delivery logistics, and supply chain efficiency, which can lead to increased productivity for vendors, as well as improved satisfaction rates for consumers.
• Cybersecurity: AI can be used to help identify and nullify cybersecurity threats by analysing data to look for unusual activity and vulnerabilities.
• Finance: AI can be used to help financial institutions evaluate credit applications through the automatic analysis of financial behaviours and subsequent risks.
• Entertainment: AI can be used to automatically analyse viewing habits to suggest content that matches user preferences.

It should be noted that this is only a short list and that there are many other ways that AI is already making an impact on the world.

What New AI Technologies Are We Expecting to See in 2024?

With 2023 being such a success for AI technologies, it is expected that 2024 will also witness significant strides towards its mainstream use. Some of the uses we can expect to see include the following:

Enhanced Accessibility

AI technologies are likely to be increasingly found in everyday devices and will become more user-friendly. For example, we should expect to see consumer devices and household appliances make use of the technology – such as smartphones with AI-powered assistants or washing machines with AI that can predict potential malfunctions before they occur.

AI-Driven Services

Content delivery is likely to see a continued shift towards AI assistance. For example, streaming services may rely on AI data collection and analysis to push tailored recommendations to consumers.

Healthcare Expansion

Wearable technologies and monitoring tools are likely to contain elements of AI over the coming year. For example, data can be collected and analysed by AI, which can then help to personalise fitness plans for the user, as well as diet recommendations and even mental health support.

Education

Education could see AI technologies help to provide tailored tuition to students. For example, AI could be used to analyse how a student best learns and could then help to personalise how future education is presented, so every student’s learning needs can be catered for.

Which Industries Will Benefit the Most from AI?

AI is expected to provide benefits to almost every industry imaginable. However, some benefits are more obvious than others, such as the healthcare sector, which will be able to analyse data with increasing speed and accuracy, as well as the casino industry, for example, which will be able to provide improved security when people use banking options at casino sites.

Will AI Become Increasingly Regulated as It Grows?

Calls for the regulation of AI are becoming increasingly vocal, as the industry continues to evolve. There is an expectation that its use will need to be monitored and strictly regulated to ensure that it aligns with ethical norms, as well as the law.

Will the Hype Surrounding AI Fade Away?

This is a tricky question to answer because it depends on your perspective of AI. If you are someone who considers AI to consist of chatbots that help people create content, then the hype is likely to fade away, as users begin to understand that some things require a personal, human touch.

However, the hype surrounding AI’s implementation in other important sectors, such as healthcare and security, is unlikely to fade because it can provide truly staggering results that will undoubtedly help to improve our daily lives. Therefore, it is going to be interesting to see how the world adapts to its increasing use throughout lots of different aspects of our routines.