AI is the new UI

User Interface (UI) involves human-computer interaction that may come in a form of software application or hardware device. Some examples of user interfaces are computer mouse and remote control, in which, these days are very much within our reach. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being regarded as the new UI. AI as a UI opens up vast untapped potential but for AI to be truly effective, it must be adopted by people. Its success is driven through reconciling human and technology responses to reach a middle ground that allows the UI design to be user-friendly. But what is AI, exactly?

In its simplest definition, AI are machines that can learn, reason and act on its own. According to John McCarthy, known as the “Father of AI”, AI is the science and engineering of making intelligent machines. AI has multiple approaches but development using machine learning and deep learning are creating a paradigm shift in different industries. The applications for AI are endless. This remarkable technology has been embraced by majority of business leaders as a powerful force in building value - not just in business returns but also in creating social impact.

AI is considerably an absolute game-changer. It will become more than an underlying technology capability. Soon, for most companies, it will be their brand. This will represent organizations in the market and those who utilizes AI will certainly have a competitive advantage. Think of people’s conversations with chat bots on the web, their queries to Siri or Google Now, their requests to Alexa or that automobile driving on its own. In all of these, people are interacting with machines and technologies in an intuitive way, getting what we need and want. Sophia, the first AI citizen robot, told in an interview that people will be close to AI to expand the knowledge of human. By having AI, it will help people to find solution to our problems depending on the knowledge or experience given to the machines.

Philippines should prepare for both the benefits and possible detriments of AI. Workforce should focus on reshaping their approach to education and skills development, primarily the cognitive and creative functions that are distinctively human and think of AI as a catalogue of change for AI will destroy but create jobs, invent new industries, accelerate innovation to a whole new level and change the way business is done across the board. The myriad of artificial intelligence technologies - computer vision, deep learning, intelligent automation, machine learning, natural language processing, robotic process automation and more - will surely alter our relationship with technology.