Artificial intelligence, shortly AI, is the ability of a computer or a robot to do human-like tasks that usually require human intelligence and perception. Nowadays, AI is used more and more in various fields such as online shopping, Siri, smart homes, cybersecurity, cars and many others. AI is increasingly being promoted in the talent and recruitment process.
What is the Internet of Things?
The first person to ever use this term was Kevin Ashton, a British entrepreneur and a creator of multiple start-ups, and he explained it as ‘a net of objects connected to each other.
This data center, created by various processors sending extremely high frequency signals to databases, enables these objects to work together and become unified in serving their purpose. If for example we had a coffee machine connected with your wristband, it could detect when you wake up and make coffee for you the moment you get out of bed – sounds convenient doesn’t it? That’s not so far-fetched and still feels like a real possibility, but the concept introduces many more chances to shine.
Every life usage?
You’ve had to at least once in your life visit a public bathroom, even one in an office would work: imagine being a janitor in a place like that, having to refill soap every time it almost runs out but still before that happens so no one ends up without it, same scenario with toilet paper and you’ve got a fixed schedule for when to disinfect and clean the toilets, for both you and other janitors.
At this point you already should have noticed that this creates a lot of logistic issues – not fully used up products are being thrown out, cleaning schedule that doesn’t full ensure people’s safety especially during the times we live in now and forces at least one person to always monitor the area. So the question now is, how would the Internet of Things solve these issues?
An artificial intelligence - a sensor that scans the area for signs of bacteria, another one that would check the level of usage of both soap and toilet paper and the last one for monitoring the general state of cleanliness – all connected will be connected within one database and use the same information to give the needed feedback. It would reduce both the costs of products used and on the workforce needed.
And so, the dispensers would be connected to the sensors, your calendar to the sensors, and the sensors to the database. All working in unison to give you as little to think about and as much to gain of it as possible.
Possible benefits and issues
There is one issue that comes out of the scenario presented in the previous paragraph, it reduces the needed amount of workforce and so could create a higher percentage of unemployment. This problem has been talked about for years now, about how ‘robots will take over our jobs’, and it’s still as much of a dilemma as before. But let’s think about it from the other side of the problem – yes, it does reduce the workforce needed to do the actual job, although it also creates new opportunities for people that would need to maintain and monitor the sensors’ conditions.
As the society constantly moves forward towards full digitalization and more and more people start using complex technology on a daily basis, a chance of learning how to operate other similar machines increases and therefore enables more people to work in the IoT industry in some time. There are already countless job positions open in this field and IoT market value over 380 billion U.S dollars, predicted to double in the next 10 years.
We strive to reach simplicity and ease of access in our lives, that has always been the reason for all the revolutions and changes. Cars were developed to make transport faster and easier, supermarkets exist so that we don’t have to go hunt for our own food (in a very simplified example), so why wouldn’t we use technology to even further decrease the amount of time and effort spent on daily activities and work?
Biggest IoT markets
So, what were the biggest market for Internet of Things usage? In the past year the most prominent one was security: it remained one of the top focuses for both the developers and clients, having an interconnected security system in houses or offices brings an additional boost to safety and feeling comfortable in one’s place.
There are also markets such as data analysis or SaaS (Software as a Service), but the next one that’s in common use in everyday life is in the healthcare – IoT has been accelerating progress in the healthcare industry exponentially with bringing smart solutions, such as patient monitoring, supercomputers or diagnostic devices, to the table.
And you can find job positions in these fields too, there’s a big wave of offers coming within the next years in the industry and all of them are waiting for the right person to try and work with them. The only thing that’s left is to wait until we are surrounded by a net of products all ready to serve their purpose, all together and in all our homes.