But why is AI concentrated mainly in the big tech companies? Because many of these AI projects have been expensive to build. They may require dozens of highly skilled engineers and may cost millions or tens of millions of dollars to build an AI system.
And the large tech companies, particularly the ones with hundreds of millions or even billions of users, have been better than anyone else at making these investments pay off because, for them, a one-size-fits-all AI system, such as one that improves web search or that recommends better products for online shopping, can be applied to huge numbers of users to generate a massive amount of revenue.
Let me illustrate an example. Many weekends, I drive a few minutes from my house to a local Sandwich shop to buy a freshly made Sandwich from the gentleman who owns this sandwich shop.
His sandwiches are great, but he always has a lot of sandwiches in the fridge sitting around, and every weekend some different flavor of Sandwich is out of stock. But when I watch him operate his store, I get excited, because by selling Sandwiches, he is generating data. And this is data that he can use if he has access to AI.
AI systems are good at spotting patterns when given access to the right data, and perhaps an AI system could spot if Ham salad sells well on a Friday night, Maybe it could suggest to him to make more of it on a Friday afternoon.
Now, you might say, “Hey, Dan, this is a small sandwich shop store. What’s the big deal?” And I say, to the gentleman that owns this sandwich store, something that could help him improve his revenues by a few thousand dollars a year, that will be a huge deal to him.
And this turns out to be much easier for many people to do. Today, multiple companies are working on platforms like these. Take the example of an inspector wanting AI to help them check for defects in fabric.
The traditional way to build this AI system would be to write lots of code. But the new method is to take fabric pictures and label them as good or bad. And then, you can use this data to train an AI system to recognize good and bad fabric. And this is much easier for a lot of people to do.
Artificial Intelligent Management Enhancement Engineer
Experts make our reviews before being written and come from real-world experience. Read our editorial process.
Some of the links in this article may be affiliate links, which can compensate us at no cost if you decide to purchase a paid plan. These are products we’ve personally used and stand behind. This site is not intended to provide financial advice. You can read our affiliate disclosure in our privacy policy.
AI-Powered Job Hunting: In today’s fiercely competitive job market, finding the perfect opportunity can seem like finding a needle in a haystack. Yet, artificial intelligence (AI) ushers in a new
AI for Social Media Management: In today’s digital space, social media is crucial for individuals and businesses. It’s critical for enhancing online presence and engaging with the target audience. However, handling
AI for Smarter Money Management: In today’s digital era, managing personal finances is more challenging than ever. The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) is changing this, allowing us to improve our
