At Futuri, we recently conducted a massive nationwide consumer study on the perceptions of AI in media. We did the study with the legendary Bill Thiel from CMG Custom Research, the research executive behind hundreds of highly rated and highly successful radio and TV stations and thousands of high performing ad campaigns. One of the biggest takeaways is that audiences have already adopted AI in their lives in many ways.
I have seen friends on socials proudly announcing: “I will never use AI!” Now, I hate to break it to you, but even if you aren’t directly using ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini, if you have a smartphone (or even just an old laptop with an internet connection), you are using AI every day if not several times a day. It is just below the surface, woven into the digital fabric.
Digital Photos
The first application of AI that people are using without direct knowledge is the automatic editing of smartphone images. Yes, even if you are #nofilter, your cell phone isn’t. In his article “No, You Don’t Really Look Like That” the author bemoans how different he looks in selfies captured by different smartphones. Even on the same day at the same angle in the same lighting, he looks different in each photo due to software differences. You yourself may have noticed this when looking in the mirror versus a photo — you often look slimmer with a more even, balanced skin tone in the digital world than the physical.
In terms of your other photos, AI (computer vision, specifically) is figuring out what exactly your photos contain and tagging them accordingly. This then allows for one of my favorite functions of the Photos app, which is searching by all sorts of items (people, places, things) in your photos.
Predictive Text
Think about the Google search function, which finishes your question for you, sometimes leading to hilarious results, but is for the most part, an accurate, powerful way to understand what information you seek or ideas for what else to seek. Predictive text is also a key tool for texting and correspondence, including on Linkedin and Gmail, where your emails/chats are scanned and several response options appear as bubbles for you to select.
Customer Service
Many businesses have adopted AI-powered chatbots to provide 24/7 customer support, offering real-time responses to basic queries and resolving simple issues. But oftentimes, we are not told that we’re speaking with AI, even if we are told we are being connected with a “human” helper. And by the way, this goes for voice-based customer support now too. People have been sharing how to know if someone on the phone is indeed human. In the famous words of the robots in Westworld, “If you can’t tell, does it really matter?” I personally think it matters, and there should be some kind of disclosure! But you’ll see in our consumer research that most people don’t care, as long as it makes life more efficient.
Streaming Services
Netflix suggesting movies… Spotify recommending music… AI analyzes your past viewing/listening habits, trying to get you to stay longer by delighting you with suggestions. As we consume content, it’s easy to forget that your suggested Spotify playlists or your “FYP” on TikTok is completely you.
Financial Services
AI is used in fraud detection; analyzing financial transactions to identify suspicious activity and preventing fraudulent charges. If you’ve ever made a large purchase online (airline tickets, maybe?) and immediately gotten an all-caps text message from your bank asking you to verify the transaction, then you’ve benefited from AI security protection.
All Things Driving
Google Maps and Waze use real-time AI analysis of traffic data to suggest the fastest routes and avoid congestion, saving you time on your commute. But even more, it helps optimize traffic flow in cities.
Healthcare
AI algorithms are assisting doctors in analyzing medical images for early disease detection. Two areas where this is especially helpful are radiology and dermatology. In fact, AI is actually more accurate when it comes to analyzing visual test results than human medical professionals. Additionally, AI-powered chatbots can provide patients with preliminary symptom assessments and offer basic medical advice; improving accessibility to healthcare services.
Online Shopping
AI algorithms on platforms like Amazon and Shopify analyze your browsing history and purchase patterns to recommend products tailored to your preferences. This personalized approach enhances your shopping experience and leads to increased sales for businesses. In addition, AI is used to build your social profile to advertisers, so they can target specific ads directly to you. This is wonderfully showcased in the Netflix documentary, “The Social Dilemma,” which portrays the advertising algorithm as a literal “War Room,” fighting for a social media user’s attention and engagement.
Social Media
From "suggested friends" on Facebook to "for you" feeds on TikTok, AI algorithms curate content based on your online interactions and interests, creating a personalized experience that keeps you engaged. AI also plays a crucial role in combating the spread of misinformation by filtering out harmful, offensive or inaccurate content. In the past, human moderators would face emotional distress when pitted against tough moderation tasks, and AI provides a welcome buffer.
Closing thoughts
Whether we like it or not (and by the way, humans do tend to really like it), AI is silently shaping our world on a day-to-day basis. AI has now passed the Turing test and has the intelligence of a high-school graduate. This exponential growth will only continue on and in more invisible ways. The genie cannot be put back into the bottle. However, who doesn’t want a genie?
At this year’s NAB opening keynote session, I am partnering with Ameca, the world-famous humanoid robot, to co-present the results of Futuri’s consumer study on the perceptions of AI. It’s the world’s first keynote co-presented by a human and AI-powered robot, and I hope to see you there!
This article originally ran as a column on Inside Radio.
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