Our everyday lives have always been influenced by the leaps and peaks that technology has undergone. It is usually a paced influence, since there is a normal curve of adoption- a curve that is predictable, measurable and manageable. But the rhythm has been going up lately: innovations, uni & decacorns and a pandemic that seems to have shifted forever the world`s attention towards AI.
AI is the general name of the principle behind the technology that mimics human intelligence so as to execute tasks, from the most simple to those that are even more complex. As technology advances, previous benchmarks that defined artificial intelligence become outdated. For example, machines that calculate basic functions or recognize text through optimal character recognition are no longer considered to embody artificial intelligence, since this function is now taken for granted as an inherent computer function.
Artificial intelligence can be divided into two different categories: weak and strong. Weak artificial intelligence embodies a system designed to carry out one particular job. Weak AI systems include video games such as the chess example from above and personal assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri.
Strong artificial intelligence systems are systems that carry on the tasks considered to be human-like. These tend to be more complex and complicated systems. They are programmed to handle situations in which they may be required to problem solve without having a person intervene.
It`s this second category that we are carefully scrutinizing, since there are some pretty amazing applications and case studies:
Perfumes
Carto, an artificial Intelligence-powered tool is able, through machine learning (a way computers improve outcomes automatically by learning from past results) to suggest combinations of ingredients.
Using a touch screen, the perfumer can pull together different scents using data from the brand’s vast library of fragrance formulas – a much more efficient process than using spreadsheets. A small robot immediately processes the fragrances into perfumes, making it easier for perfumers to test their new scents.
German fragrance house Symrise has gone one step further. They teamed up with IBM Research to create an AI called Philyra (named after the Greek goddess of perfume) that actually studies the aromatic formulas and customer data to produce new fragrances.
Fintech
Less than 15% of SMEs in fast-growing economies had access to the credit they needed to grow. In recent years, a growing crop of fintech lenders for SMEs is offering a new model of lending that is faster, easier, more cost-effective and more transparent. For the first time, SMEs can share what data they have in exchange for access to credit to help them grow. By using advanced analytics platforms and artificial intelligence to assess transactional and alternative data (something as simple as a bank statement that shows an SME’s cash flow), fintech lenders are gaining a much deeper understanding of SMEs. They can establish businesses’ creditworthiness, evaluate risk more easily, and issue loans in as little as 24 hours.
Phydigital
The pandemic has accelerated most banks’ digitalization initiatives. There are many banks that have begun experimenting with new style branches – modelling them on coffee shops or technology retailers, for example. Of particular note is Barclays’ 25 Eagle Labs, which converted a series of closed branches in the UK into entrepreneurial shared-work, mentoring, networking and maker spaces. Of course, they also provide SME banking advice.
IFarm
iFarm is a team of professionals with expertise in IT, agriculture and science. Together they have built the technology which makes urban agriculture possible. With offices in Finland, the US and Russia, iFarm is growing berries, flowers, vegetables and microgreens in vertical farms.
The iFarm vertical farms are modular farm systems for indoor urban agriculture which allow growing pesticide-free healthy plants. The farms are fitted with automated climate-control systems, smart nutrition and Led-lighting designed by iFarm which provide plants with all of the macro- and micronutrients required to grow healthy crops.
Urban farming with iFarm allows city farmers to produce yield 2 times faster than that of traditional field farming.
Real estate
Ecocapsule creates off-grid capable, wind and solar-powered tiny homes that can be placed on a trailer base. Its unique egg-shaped design allows it to better retain heat and collect rainwater. The latter is especially important for off-grid customers because the water system has its own filtration system, allowing it to be refilled with rainwater or water from lakes and streams. The actual home itself is made of foam insulation, fiberglass, and steel.
Meanwhile, Estonia offers a special visa package called digital nomad visa, which addresses e-residents. This means skilled people traveling on a nomad visa would not take up employment at Estonian companies or establish a business in the country. They would work remotely for their employers all over the world, while staying in Estonia and contribute indirectly to the local economy via the consumption of local goods and services.
These new ways shape our everyday live continuously and we are convinced that, our lives will change completely, faster than before. When you`ll wake up in your new future, will you be ready to make the best of it?
Check out our part in innovation and new technologies.