As technology has advanced, we are now able to classify objects much quicker than we were ever able to do. An example of an app that works like this is Shazam. The app allows us to quickly identify which song is playing by using your phone as a recording device and matching the sound waves to their database.
Let's imagine a world where we have perfected this technology and we are able to use it on our phones or in our glasses 24/7. Something we could do with this, is using it to translate different languages on the fly. Let's say you are talking to someone from a different country and neither of you share the same language. With this technology, it would translate the other person’s language into english and you would be able to communicate with them without any issues. For this to work though, you would need to have the technology work via instantaneously. If there is too much lag with the tech, then there would be no point of using since it would disrupt the flow of the conversation and make the whole situation feel awkward.
Another use of this technology is to have it display real time directions via arrows in which you are traveling. This technology could predict which path is best for you to travel taking in consideration of traffic and other slow downs in traffic. For this the arrows would need to be seen but also not be overpowering. If the arrows took too much of the screen up, then they would feel overbearing and the consumer might not want to use them because of that. The program could also bring you to places that it believes is selling the things that you are looking for. For example you could say need milk, and the AI would display arrows to the closest store with milk. You would most likely want a keyword to activate this function such as “Hey Alexa” or “Okay Google”. This way you wouldn’t have constant arrows changing directions everytime you said something.
In the present, China is already using this type of technology to recognize people by their faces. This feature is a very dangerous feature if used by the wrong people. In China they use to keep their citizens in check and to make sure that the law is being followed. That may seem like a good idea, however they also use to get rid of those that oppose them. With this tech they can prevent you from using any type of public transport, not allow you in Hong Kong, or even send the police to arrest you at your own house. In the states, people are always concerned about their privacy. This technology would definitely invade your privacy and could even cause more harm than good to the citizens of that country. This idea seems like a good idea however there are many countries out there that would use this technology to oppress their citizens even more than they already are.
There are many upsides to using AI to help make our lives easier, but they’re also many ways this technology can be used to make the lives of others much more difficult. As time moves on we will need to look at AI and the use of AR with caution. There is a ton of good that can come from it but we need to make sure that those who would abuse it would need to follow guidelines.