Artificial Intelligence is one of the most, if not the only disruptive technology that made a massive impact in the modern world. It is a concept that continues to reach a wider audience with regular developments and researches done by scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs who are working to advance the field. 2021 looks like a promising year for AI experimentation and potential breakthroughs that will shape the way we work in the coming years.

Before the pandemic wreaked havoc in 2020, machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence was causing disruptions across industries. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, it became evident that self-teaching algorithms and smart machines will play a big role in the ongoing fight against the viral outbreak and serve our society in the future too. Artificial intelligence technology remains a key trend in our work world and personal world. So, here's an overview of the AI developments so far in 2021.

Automated Detection And Prevention

Drones are already being used by several jurisdictions, including the US, to test their possible application to monitor whether social distancing guidelines are being followed. With the same detection technology, more advanced applications are on the verge of happening like drones with the capability to detect COVID symptoms such as spotting individuals with high temperatures in a crowd. These detection systems use computer vision technology to analyze data captured by cameras on the drones. This data can then be informed to the authorities for curbing the spread of the virus.

Computer vision algorithms will also power the use of facial recognition technology to track the movements of individuals displaying viral symptoms in the crowd. While there was always some controversy around facial recognition systems, evidence suggests that in recent days, the public has become more tolerant of facial recognition surveillance tactics, considering the health risk posed by the virus. With more testing, AI-driven surveillance and enforcement can become a possibility.

AI Predicting Behavioral Transformation

The way we live, work, and socialize has changed drastically in 2020. While companies have gone digital and reaped the benefits, Amazon's sales during the second quarter of 2020 increased by 40%. AI tools and platforms are already happening, businesses understand the way their customer's demands are changing with the new normal. Enterprises that previously hesitated to take up digital channels have understood the urgency of the situations and the demand it is in. AI-tools providing organizations with self-service access to this disruptive technology will become more prevalent throughout 2021, as small and medium-sized businesses are gearing up to establish their competitive edge.

Eliminating The Threat Of Another Pandemic In The Foresight

Researchers and scientists are working towards creating predictive AI algorithms. The sole focus of these AI-powered epidemiology tools will be to build systems that can accurately predict the time and location of future outbreaks. In fact, the research has come so far ahead that the earliest alerts about the current coronavirus pandemic were generated by AI. Toronto-based BlueDot's tool scanned 100,000 governmental and media data sources regularly when it issued an alert about a potential outbreak in Wuhan, China, on 31st December 2019.

The year has just begun and in the coming 18 months, we can expect to see more innovations in the field of artificial intelligence. But for this to happen, it will require global cooperation between governments and private industries. The result will be impacted by global politics and the course of technological development. Because of this, issues like access to medical datasets for prediction and detection models and barriers to the international exchange of information might be hot topics in the near future.