The reality is that technology is changing the way business is being made, but it is undoubtedly changing also the way we work and live (Gibbons, 2019). One of the main technological disruptions of our era is artificial intelligence. There are numerous industries that have already introduced this kind of technology since its application results in better decision making and generates better business insights in order to improve efficiency. One industry that offers great potential for the utilization of AI technologies is education (Rouhiainen, 2019). There are several significant opportunities that AI can bring to higher education.

One of the greatest opportunities that AI can generate is the possibility of personalizing higher education that would eventually decrease problems such as disengagement of students and high rates of dropout (Rouhiainen, 2019). Through AI-based systems that would contain data regarding students learning styles, progress and abilities could give insights for professors to be able to customize their teaching methods and adapt them to students’ needs (Bonderud, 2019). This would, for instance, generate insights such as the need to have individualized tutorial sessions or the need for students to receive extra studying materials and assignments so that they could reach their full potential in case they are not feeling enough motivated (Schmelzer, 2019). Besides, the introduction of chatbots powered by AI algorithms can also be a great tool to enhance learning experiences. Having the possibility to have a machine that would clarify, for example, frequently asked questions posted by students would be beneficial, as it is believed that it would increase students’ educational experiences and their motivation (Rouhiainen, 2019).

Despite the potential of these technologies and their applicability, we are far from being able to witness this kind of experience in areas such as education (Schmelzer, 2019). In fact, huge datasets would be needed for these algorithms to be able to produce accurate results. However, the fact that personal data would have to be provided by students is preventing AI from effectively change educational systems in a foreseeable future, as there are many concerns regarding privacy and data scandals (Rouhiainen, 2019).

References:

Bonderud, D. (2019). Artificial Intelligence, Authentic Impact: How Educational AI is Making the Grade. [online] https://edtechmagazine.com. Available at: https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2019/08/artificial-intelligence-authentic-impact-how-educational-ai-making-grade-perfcon [Accessed on 16th Oct. 2019].

Gibbons, S. (2019). The Technology Of The Future Is Changing Business Today. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/serenitygibbons/2019/09/19/the-technology-of-the-future-is-changing-business-today/#2b5ed8704fe1 [Accessed on 16th Oct. 2019].

Rouhiainen, L. (2019). How AI and Data Could Personalize Higher Education. [online] Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2019/10/how-ai-and-data-could-personalize-higher-education [Accessed on 16th Oct. 2019].

Schmelzer, R. (2019). AI Applications In Education. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/2019/07/12/ai-applications-in-education/#36a24d7162a3 [Accessed on 15th Oct. 2019].

Agriculture is one of the oldest activities in the world. In fact, it is one of the professions that has evolved the most. Due to an exponential growth in the world’s population, several ways to increase productivity have arisen since there is a constant need to produce more with fewer resources because of its scarcity (Walch, 2019). Technology has been introduced in this 5 trillion-dollar industry some years ago. However, lately, there has been a shift towards the use of artificial intelligence in several industries and agriculture cannot be left behind. Artificial Intelligence can be defined as “a broad field of science encompassing not only computer science but also psychology, philosophy, linguistics and other areas” (van Duin and Bakhshi, 2019).

Through technologies such as computer vision and deep learning algorithms that are applications of AI, farmers are now able to analyze data collected in their farms and generate insights from it so that they are able to optimize production, control for quality and resource utilization (Walch, 2019). One good example of this is the partnership between Deloitte Portugal and Sogrape (the biggest wine producer in Portugal). This partnership resulted in the installation of sensors in Sogrape’s vineyards in order to generate data easily. This process allowed the company to control for temperature and to improve harvesting quality and accuracy (also known as precision agriculture (Walch, 2019)) without the need to do regular in-field inspections to samples of grapes.

Moreover, as the world is moving away from being an agrarian society, this industry is facing a shortage in the agricultural labor force, as more and more people are now living in urban areas. Therefore, artificial intelligence bots can be an optimal solution to tackle this problem. These bots are robots developed with the help of AI that are able to improve productivity in farms as they harvest in higher quantities and at a higher pace than humans do (Newman, 2018).

References

Walch, K. (2019). How AI Is Transforming Agriculture. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/2019/07/05/how-ai-is-transforming-agriculture/#7afb67a34ad1 [Accessed on 14 Oct. 2019].

Newman, D. (2019). Top Six Digital Transformation Trends In Agriculture. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2018/05/14/top-six-digital-transformation-trends-in-agriculture/#5035dcc1ed2e [Accessed on 15 Oct. 2019].

van Duin, S. and Bakhshi, N. (2019). Part 1: Artificial Intelligence Defined. [online] Deloitte Netherlands. Available at: https://www2.deloitte.com/nl/nl/pages/data-analytics/articles/part-1-artificial-intelligence-defined.html [Accessed on 15 Oct. 2019].