Emotion artificial intelligence (AI) systems are becoming so sophisticated that Gartner, Inc. predicts that by 2022, personal devices will know more about an individual’s emotional state than his or her own family. AI is generating multiple disruptive forces that are reshaping the way we interact with personal technologies, said the firm.
“Emotion AI systems and affective computing are allowing everyday objects to detect, analyse, process and respond to people’s emotional states and moods to provide better context and a more personalised experience,” said Roberta Cozza, research director, Gartner. “To remain relevant, technology vendors must integrate AI into every aspect of their devices, or face marginalisation.”
The current wave of emotion AI systems is being driven by the proliferation of virtual personal assistants (VPAs) and other AI-based technology for conversational systems. As a second wave emerges, AI technology will add value to more and more customer experience scenarios, including educational software, video games, diagnostic software, athletic and health performance, and the autonomous car.
“Prototypes and commercial products already exist and adding emotional context by analysing data points from facial expressions, voice intonation and behavioral patterns will significantly enhance the user experience,” said Cozza. “Beyond smartphones and connected home devices, wearables and connected vehicles will collect, analyse and process users’ emotional data via computer vision, audio or sensors capturing behavioural data to adapt or respond to a user’s wants and needs.”
Other personal device predictions from Gartner include:
By 2021, 10 percent of wearables users will have changed lifestyles, and thereby extend their life spans by an average of six months.
As AI emotion systems evolve there is huge potential for specialised devices, such as medical wristbands, which can anticipate life-threatening conditions and facilitate an early response system. At the same time special apps are also being developed for diagnostic and therapy services that will help to recognise conditions such as depression or help children with autism.
By 2020, 60 percent of personal technology device vendors will use third-party AI cloud services to enhance functionality and services.
Cloud-based AI technologies are driving compelling user experiences on a variety of connected devices. Cloud offerings from the big tech players, such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Tencent, Baidu and IBM, are starting to proliferate due to their attractive cost model, easy-to-use integration and potential to create complex services. A major catalyst for device vendors to use cloud AI services is the increased usage of VPAs and natural-language technologies, while the adoption of VPA-based, screenless devices such as Amazon Echo and Google Home is also on the rise, further increasing usage of cloud AI services.
Through 2022, security technology combining machine learning, biometrics and user behaviour will reduce passwords to account for less than 10 percent of all digital authentications.
Password-based simple authentication is becoming less and less effective for personal devices. Even today’s popular biometric technology — fingerprint authentication — is only around 75 percent successful due to contaminants such as dirt and sweat.
