You may already be familiar with some of the ways that artificial intelligence (AI) affects our lives, thanks to now-ubiquitous voice-controlled assistants, like Amazon’s Alexa, that can read you the news every morning. But did you know that our own brains operate in a strikingly similar way to AI? In December, the global technology company Huawei launched a study exploring the parallels between AI and the human brain and found that we are not aware of 99.74 percent of our daily decision-making. Conclusion: Just as human intelligence operates silently in the background to increase efficiency, so too does AI.



Regardless of how this similarity makes you feel—excited or anxious—about the future, it certainly suggests we’ve just scratched the surface of AI’s ability to streamline our lives. With much more AI landscape to explore, developers, engineers, and designers are fast at work creating the next wave of products and features that will further unlock its potential. Here’s how.

Huawei Mate 10 Pro phone, $730, amazon.com SHOP Courtesy

The Smartphone

Up until recently, phones and data systems weren’t designed for AI. But now tech companies are investing in new computing architecture that will revolutionize the way we interact with our devices. “Machine learning and AI make smartphones quick, intelligent, and adaptive, as well as able to understand and respond to real-world situations instantaneously,” explains Steve Lai, senior director of product marketing for Huawei Consumer Business Group. Their most recent series of phones come equipped with the first-ever Kirin AI processors, which will do things like translate text (even offline) and extend battery life by automatically closing applications that are not frequently used.

Echo Spot device for Alexa, $130, amazon.com Courtesy

The Smart Home

Amazon’s Alexa is about to get even more personal. “We realized many customers have a routine in the morning as they head off to work, or at night when they get home,” explains Heather Zorn, director of Alexa engagement at Amazon. Thus the recently launched “Routines” feature sets off a series of actions: For instance, your morning alarm triggers the blinds to open. Simply saying, “I’m awake,” prompts your coffee machine to start brewing.

AI can also allow home appliances to predict and alter settings automatically. Over time, sensors get better at tracking and interpreting wellness factors like sleep, nutrition, and stress, and in turn make adjustments to the environment to optimize health. What does this mean? Jo Aitken, founder of Atelier Aitken, a research studio dedicated to future designs, imagines a kitchen that concocts the perfect meal or smoothie based on a daily health or mood scan, and a bed that offers aromatherapy, hydrotherapy, or even a massage as needed.

The Fashion Front

We’ve seen AI significantly improve the shopping experience on platforms like Stitch Fix. But soon AI will play a role in the actual development of products. According to researchers at the University of California, San Diego, who’ve been working in partnership with Adobe Research, we’re entering a time when AI will not only help customers find what they’re looking for, but generate new designs in real time.

This article originally appears in the March 2018 issue of ELLE.

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