(Article By Rajeev Surana, Founder & CEO, SCPL)

AI is the new buzz word all around but a lot of us wonder what it really means and how can one use it in our lives. AI or Artificial Intelligence as it is called is making machines and computing systems more intelligent and cognitive. We all love using virtual assistants such as Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant to perform tasks such as playing your favorite music or switching on home lighting when the sun is about to set and is a good example of how AI is influencing our lives.

Google is working on a new project, Google Next to read our minds and predict what we need making our lives easier and we all need it in today’s connected and complex world. AI is automating a lot of manual processes right from cleaning our homes with robots to using it in insurance claims processing or detecting fraud.  Cognitive technologies is an example of AI and we are moving to an era of ‘We are already taken care of your needs’ versus ‘How can we help you’?

It also has a significant impact in life sciences research since a lot of data is generated and there is a need to make sense of the same by analyzing the patterns and trends and gathering insights which are meaningful and actionable. Another area where AI adds significant value is customer relationship management (CRM) as it improves customer engagement, helps in quickly finding solutions and serving. A level customers more efficiently. So we can imagine a world where we are served everything on a platter but I hope we don’t lose the human touch and interactions which are so central to our existence and our source of happiness.