This Week in Imaging: A Look at Artificial Intelligence for Business

by Kathleen Wirth · Published October 20, 2023 · Updated October 20, 2023

“Angry Printer” image generated by aritificial intelligence.

One thing I’ve found particularly useful over the last several years is Amazon’s Alexa a voice-driven virtual assistant with artificial intelligence. On the mundane side of things, Alexa provides weather and temperature, while on the business side of things, I can get quick responses to recent history questions, spelling, and – my favorite – currency conversions. On the fun side of things, Alexa plays music, finds local attractions such as restaurants, and more.

When connected to smart devices, via easy voice commands, Alexa can also do things like turn lights on-and-off, adjust the temperature, and lock doors – all of which is useful not just for the home, but for offices, hospitals, hotels, etc. And of course, with Alexa, users can tell their printers to print (available with HP printers) and Sharp MFPs to copy. And let’s not forget that Alexa can also be used to set alarms and notifications – whether for a doctor’s appointment or business meeting – all just using voice commands.

New Alexa AI Capabilities

Last month, Amazon announced Alexa will soon have generative artificial intelligence capabilities, enabling it to advance further with the ability to create new content such as text and images.

This will also enable Alexa to have deeper conversations using the phrase “Alexa, let’s chat.” This could be used by consumers, but also for business in fields such as marketing and advertising for generating ideas.

It looks like Alexa will also be able to draft documents. That could be things like invitations, as well as perhaps more complex things such as press releases and news summaries. Alexa then sends these drafts to users’ smartphones.

This conversational ability will also enable users to set up interactional educational sessions, whether in schools or businesses.

Other Business AI Applications

Of course, many other business AI applications are already available, including Lexis+ AI, which researches and drafts legal briefs. AI is also being used to gather market-research data – for instance, scouring hundreds of thousands of social media posts to see how a certain brand is perceived by customers.

Meanwhile in accounting, AI is being used to help accountants navigate complex accounting laws. In customer service, AI-driven chat bots are being used to respond to customers’ queries, eliminating the need for human interaction and reducing costs. For writers using the WordPress platform, there’s also software for generating website content.

That of course brings us to one important consequence of AI – how it could substantially reduce the need for human labor and skill – but that’s a topic for another day.

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