Trends

Beneficial Intelligence

 -  4 min read

Isaac Asimov gave robots three laws. Like so many both before and after him, he expected the very worst from artificial intelligence. AI would be the downfall of humanity. Humans, hubristic to the very last, would create robots in their own image—only too much so. Designed to help, these creations would ultimately destroy their architects. There was a Faustian arrogance to it all, he argued.

Luckily for us, this hasn’t yet been the case. Artificial intelligence abounds, in a number of different forms, and it’s all working to make our lives better—and easier. This is beneficial intelligence.

As rapidly as consumers’ expectations are growing, their attention spans are shrinking. This puts brands in a tight spot. How do you give them more, essentially, while also giving them less? Beneficial intelligence offers the best answer here. With AI, brands have the ability to stay one step ahead of increasingly demanding consumers. By anticipating and preparing for swollen consumer expectations, you’re already setting yourself apart as a forward-thinking brand.

Brands face a paradox: How do you give consumers more while also giving them less?

It’s not about predicting the future, though. It’s about reacting as swiftly as possible to the present. And that’s how the best forms of AI are currently being used.

Airbnb’s Price Tips feature employs machine learning to help hosts make price recommendations. Taking into account such factors as time of year, size of rental property and location, the platform suggests a rental price, per night. When staying within 5% of this price, hosts become four times more likely to rent their property. And Prizm, a recent Kickstarter graduate, is, quite simply, a smart speaker. The device automatically syncs with all smartphones in a room, and then creates a playlist based on the musical preferences of everyone there. Over time, it accurately learns individuals’ tastes, and consistently updates with tailored playlists.

Artificial intelligence doesn’t have to take the form of a shiny humanoid robot. And with Big Data all around us, AI is more accessible than ever. Nearly 80,000 developers are already using the cognitive computing features of IBM’s Watson Developer Cloud, proving you no longer have to be a Facebook, Amazon or Google to get in the AI game. There are robots among us, and they’re not out to kill us. They’re here to make our lives a whole lot better.

Trends inspired by trendwatching.com/premium