What is AI and how does it work? – Android Police
Its presence can be found on many of our devices right now
A term that's casually thrown around these days is artificial intelligence (AI). AI continues to grow in popularity for multiple reasons. It can improve our lives by helping us in ways that go beyond hardware capabilities or increasing overall device efficiency. For example, you can grab one of the most affordable Android phones and benefit from many of the same AI features found on premium devices. In this guide, we mention certain aspects of AI and give examples of how it's used on our devices.
Before the advanced AI tech can be deployed to whatever task or industry it's used in, it must be trained with specific datasets. That's where neural networks come in, a popular machine learning method that trains computer AI systems. Designed to mimic the human brain, it teaches the computer by using repetition until it gets it right. The user feeds the computer an initial starting dataset to work with, and it goes over it until the task is perfected.
Once the computer understands the dataset, it can take what it learned and then apply it to the AI task it was trained to do in a real-world environment. Different complexities and scopes are involved, but this is generally how the AI training process works. These AI systems are continuously optimized, expanded upon, and retrained. One common form of datasets is for image identification AI systems, such as Google Photos. It can scan your photos and identify pets, scenes, and faces if you allow it to do so.
Google and Apple are some of the biggest names in the tech industry and make up the entirety of the smartphone market. Google and Apple use AI tech in their devices in ways we never thought possible. Each company has a different approach to how and where they tap into the power of AI for their respective mobile operating systems. We cover a few examples below to help you better understand what AI features your Android or iOS device uses.
One of the main things that kicked off AI on smartphones was Google's Pixel phones and how they've always used AI for photos. Known as computational photography, this uses specialized machine learning models to surpass the camera's hardware limitations. Google uses AI for their HDR+ algorithms, Night Sight for low light images, and for certain image stabilization features. The synchronicity of AI, machine learning, and camera hardware creates a force to be reckoned with. Likewise, Apple relies on similar techniques, which allow iPhones to take impressive photos and videos.
On the Google side, the Android operating system has gained many AI and machine learning features you may or may not know. For example, adaptive features scattered across the OS make your phone better and more efficient in the background. This might include adaptive battery, charging, brightness, connectivity, and sound. All of these features learn your device usage behavior to better fit your needs. You also get real-time text translations and an outstanding live captioning feature that works across the system, leveraging Google's advanced AI capabilities.
Apple also has many AI and machine learning features for iOS devices. Some are similar to what Google offers on Android. We touched on the camera for iPhones. Still, Apple provides such features as AI-powered predictive text and machine learning for Face ID to make it more efficient. Like Google Photos, Apple's Photos app uses machine learning to group or curate photos, helping you discover photos or memories easily. There are also smart suggestions across iOS, such as for the Calendar app to create events with a few taps.
The name ChatGPT has become popular in one way or another, and it only took less than a year to accomplish that. Launched in November 2022, ChatGPT created waves and dawned the era of generative text chatbots. This means you can type a question or request into the text field, press Enter, and it gives you an answer in real time rather than direct you to an external website. Google Bard is another example of a generative text chatbot on the rise as this technology takes over our world faster than expected.
The explosion in AI generative chatbot popularity was inevitable and has had its fair share of troubles. They were created to make our lives easier, but some bad actors have taken that literally. There's been a rise in people using this technology for personal gain with no effort. It's not surprising, as someone always finds a way to exploit something meant for good. For example, some have used AI image-generation chatbots to create and claim artwork as their own in seconds, creating a new problem we don't have an answer to yet.
Chatbots have taken over with unparalleled speed, and we need regulations to handle them properly. Plenty of good comes from these generative AI-based chatbots, but the bad is what many people focus on more than anything. This is understandable, so seeing how well the government and tech companies can adapt to the rise in AI generative chatbots will be interesting to watch.
Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa are some of the popular smartphone digital assistants we've all grown accustomed to over the years. They've proven helpful on their respective devices, ecosystems, and operating systems for millions of users worldwide. We use them to control our smart homes, ask how the weather will be tomorrow, and how old that random celebrity is. Its uses are limitless. However, in an unheard-of move, these long-time digital assistants are being challenged and look inferior to that of generative AI chatbots.
For example, if you ask Google Assistant a question, it pulls up results from a web search or points you to a website. However, a generative chatbot like ChatGPT or Google Bard creates a unique answer to your question in real time, not just send you to a website. Imagine asking a human a question and getting an intelligent response on the spot. It's a similar experience. And now, ChatGPT is so big that Microsoft has implemented it into their Bing smartphone app. It's no longer only on the web.
With that in mind, it's better to ask ChatGPT or Google Bard a specific question and get a response unique to your needs. And just like that, the general web results we get from our current digital assistants pales in comparison. ChatGPT now has an app for Android, giving you an on-device method to access it. We expect Google Assistant to gain new generative AI features shortly, with Siri and Alexa to follow at some point. For our favorite digital assistants to not be outpaced by chatbots, they must adapt and conquer soon.
We talked about different AI-based smartphone features, how neural networks help make AI a reality, and how it can affect our lives. And with chatbots like ChatGPT and Google Bard being thrust into the spotlight, things are moving faster than expected. We're only getting started, as there will be more AI and machine learning features or technologies to hit the market very soon. Google and Apple continually add new AI features to their devices. We don't expect them to slow down anytime soon. AI is the future, and we'll see how it unfolds over time.
Now that you know what AI can do, check out Google ML Kit and how on-device machine learning works on Android. We cover everything you need to know and offer real-world examples of companies using ML Kit.
Stephen is a freelance writer at Android Police who primarily covers how-to guides, features, and the occasional in-depth explainer across various topics. He came on board with the team in late 2021, bringing his strong technical background in computers, smartphones, and customer service with him. As a long-time power user who knows his devices from the inside out, he uses that knowledge to tweak and customize them to better fit his specific needs. Stephen previously worked as a freelance how-to guide writer for the Android rooting, modding, and custom ROM section at Gadget Hacks. He has actively followed the Android scene since 2008 with the HTC Dream, known by most as the T-Mobile G1. However, he didn’t get his first Android device until 2009 with the original Motorola Droid. After that, Stephen quickly learned about unlocking the bootloader and gaining full root access — both changed his smartphone life forever. He would frequently install custom ROMs, kernels, and recoveries to improve his Android experience beyond what stock could provide. Although not as popular as it once was, he still continues to root his primary devices today using the latest version of Magisk. Stephen has been passionate about writing his entire life and finally turned it into a professional career in 2016. He started out as a lesson plan writer in computer science and IT for Study.com, which allows students to earn real college credits online. That led him to Gadget Hacks, where Stephen got to write educational and informative pieces for Android smartphones. And now, he continues down that same path at Android Police, using his technical knowledge and skills to write how-to guides. His goal has always been to help as many people as possible learn something new about technology.
