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Caltech Science Exchange  /  Topics  /  Artificial Intelligence  /  AI in Everyday Life

How Is AI Applied in Everyday Life?

This article was reviewed by a member of Caltech's Faculty.

Experts in AI expect it to become ever more influential in our lives, a transformation that raises hopes and concerns.

Already, AI- and machine learning-enabled technologies are used in medicine, transportation, robotics, science, education, the military, surveillance, finance and its regulation, agriculture, entertainment, retail, customer service, and manufacturing. While scientists and engineers explore AI's potential to advance discovery and technology, smart technologies also directly influence our daily lives.

Angelica is making breakfast. Her box of cereal was sold to her grocery store by a company that uses AI to analyze and predict local demand for products.

She chose this lipstick with help from an augmented reality app that used facial recognition to identify and track her lips and preview the lip color and sheen.

She saves time and fuel on her commute because traffic signals are timed using data from sensors at several intersections.

Public health agencies use machine-learning models to forecast when flu season will start and where and how fast outbreaks will spread.

Her bank calls to alert her of a potentially fraudulent withdrawal, which it detected using machine-learning algorithms.

Algorithms that run her social media feeds prioritize posts in part based on their likelihood to elicit strong emotion from a person with her relationships, demographics, location, and online activity.
Credit: Vidhya Nagarajan/Levy Creative Management for Caltech Science Exchange

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