AI (artificial intelligence) has become more common in recent years.
Even if you somehow understand that “computers learn”, there are still many people who do not know the essential meaning and mechanism of it.
In this article, we will introduce the characteristics of AI and its use cases, especially in the business scene.
In addition, we will also explain words such as “machine learning” and “neural network” that are often heard together.
What is AI (artificial intelligence)? Review the overview!
Basic knowledge of AI
AI is an abbreviation for Artificial Intelligence. Artificial means “artificial” and Intelligence means “intelligence”. The definition of the word AI varies from researcher to researcher. In layman’s terms, it is “reproduction of intelligence on a computer”, but remember that there is no clear definition.
AI is good at “analyzing data and deriving optimal solutions”. Therefore, it is active in many intellectual activities such as translation, autonomous driving, and medical imaging.
How does AI work?
In the previous chapter, we reviewed the basic knowledge of AI. In this chapter, we will explain the working mechanism of AI using terms such as “machine learning” and “neural network”.
Machine learning
Machine learning refers to making a machine ready to deal with various problems by learning data from a machine. In the first place, AI can process huge amounts of information such as big data, find features and rules in the data, and make predictions and decisions based on them. For example, by learning a large amount of diagnostic images of a patient with a certain disease, this machine learning enables medical image diagnosis, in which a machine discovers a new patient’s disease from the images.
Neural network
A neural network is a computer that mimics the workings of the human brain. The human brain has nerve cells called neurons, and information in the brain is processed by these neurons playing the role of transmitting electrical signals.
The neural network mechanism is a simplified version of this information transmission mechanism into three processes. The three processes are the “input layer” that inputs data, the “hidden layer” that processes the input data, and the “output layer” that outputs results.
Deep learning
Deep learning is one of the neural networks, and AI automatically extracts features from data by securing a sufficient amount of data and letting it learn.
Deep learning is characterized by the ability to extract detailed patterns and overall contours from given data by extracting various shapes from the second of the three steps, the “hidden layer.”
Therefore, it is good at recognizing complex data, such as recognizing faces and characters in images, and inputting voice data into machines.
How AI is used in business
・Automatically respond to customer questions: chatbot (conversation AI)
Recently, when you visit a company’s website, have you ever seen a chat-style Q&A like “Ask XX” at the bottom of the screen? This is a tool that recognizes the input language of the visitor by AI and automatically performs the optimal answer learned from past questions.
Since frequently asked questions can be answered automatically, companies do not have to devote resources to answering inquiries, and visitors can solve their questions without waiting for a response on the phone or worrying about time.
・ AI analyzes the effect of public relations…PR effect measurement tool
By using AI, you will be able to see at a glance which advertisements reached how many people, and what types of media received favorable reviews. That information is useful when a company develops its public relations strategy.
For example, in a service called “PR Analyzer” developed and provided by Billcom, Inc., AI collects and analyzes information on the exposure status of the company’s products across TV, newspapers, magazines, the web, Twitter, and Facebook. increase.
・Recruiting human resources with AI! Document screening tool
When it comes to hiring, there is an image that the key point is an interview, in which the recruiter and the job seeker talk directly, but AI is being used here as well.
“PRaiO” jointly developed by Mynavi and Mitsubishi Research Institute is a service that visualizes the degree of matching with the company and the degree of aspirations by analyzing the contents of resumes and entry sheets, the characteristics of sentences, etc. with AI. .
In addition to screening documents, services are also being introduced that automatically calculate the matching rate between companies and job seekers by using AI to conduct interviews instead of humans.
From the “seeing” side of AI to the “using” side
As we have introduced so far, AI is already being put to practical use. Many companies have also introduced it, and it is also spreading to services used by individuals.
