Artificial Intelligence: What Is It & How Does It Affect App Development?

What is Artificial Intelligence (AI) and what does artificial intelligence mean for mobile app development?

Whether you’re doing app development in-house or outsourcing to an external company, in this article you’ll find the most essential things about Artificial Intelligence and the link between AI technologies and application development.

When we talk about Artificial Intelligence (AI), we refer to computer systems that are built to perform tasks that are normally associated with human intelligence, including natural language processing (NLP), image and speech recognition, and even decision-making.

In other words, AI systems can replicate some cognitive abilities of the human brain. However, there are some clear differences between the two: while human intelligence is based on biological neural networks, AI algorithms rely on artificial neural networks and are still unable to perform a range of tasks that humans naturally can.

Regardless, Artificial Intelligence is already being used in many successful apps, and its popularity is only going to increase from now on.

Here are some of the ways AI can be used in app development:

Rest assured, while AI technologies have made significant progress in recent years, they still require human intelligence to develop, train, and refine.

The development of AI and machine learning algorithms requires extensive knowledge of computer science, mathematics, and statistics, as well as an understanding of the human language and how the human brain works.

AI research is an active and rapidly evolving field, with breakthroughs and developments being announced regularly. As of now, it is being used in a variety of industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, and finance. Some examples of AI applications include self-driving cars, virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa, fraud detection in financial transactions, or chatbots like ChatGPT.

“AI is everywhere these days, and it’s being utilised in practically every application we use. Whether it’s to understand user behaviour, send personalised push notifications, or suggest content, AI can be used at every level in mobile apps. You’ve probably already noticed this when you receive recommendations on YouTube or Instagram based on your activity” says the Director of EB Pearls, Akash Shakya.

He points out that “the scope of AI goes far beyond that. For example, in a recent construction project we worked on, we used AI to generate an accurate quotation for the project by factoring in all the necessary materials and resources required for the job.”

In the end, the possibilities are endless with Artificial Intelligence, and it’s fascinating to see how these AI-powered technologies can revolutionise various, if not all, industries worldwide.

Increased efficiency is one major benefit of using AI in app development. AI can automate repetitive tasks, such as code testing and debugging, freeing up development time for more challenging projects. This allows your development team to focus on coming up with new features and more effective solutions.

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) can lead to long-term cost savings for businesses. One way is through task automation which reduces the need for manual labour and minimizes human error and costly reworks. One sure-fire method is to implement AI-powered chatbots within your application to cut down customer support costs while improving user experience. This way, your users will find answers to their questions without requiring a human representative.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can also enhance the user experience by personalizing app content to fit each individual’s preferences, behaviour, and demographics. Essentially, AI can track user behaviour and provide tailored information and recommendations based on their interests.

Undoubtedly, personalisation is a significant way AI can enhance user experience in apps. As mentioned above, this process implies offering users content tailored to their interests, needs, and pain points. For instance, a news app can use AI to analyse previous reading activity and suggest articles that match their preferences. This guarantees that they’re always have engaging and relevant content to enjoy.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can improve the search function in various apps. If your users are searching for specific information within an app, AI can help by presenting the most relevant results. It  can also assist in correcting spelling errors and typos, which can often cause frustration when searching for something within an app.

Another way AI can enhance user experience with apps is by helping to improve load times, which is the time it takes for an app and certain processes within the app to load on a user’s device. If it takes too long to load, users may become frustrated and even delete the app. Fortunately, AI can optimize the code within an app to make it run more efficiently, which can significantly improve load times.

What Are Some Branches Of Artificial Intelligence?

Machine learning is a branch of AI that is primarily focused on creating algorithms that allow computers to learn from available data. These algorithms automatically enhance the performance of a task without the need for explicit programming. A prime real-world illustration of this concept can be found in smart thermostats. If you have one installed in your home, you may have observed that it learns your routine and adjusts its heating or cooling schedules accordingly.

AI is driven by several key technologies, but one of the most crucial is deep learning. This technique involves training neural networks on vast amounts of data, enabling them to learn and develop over time. Deep learning algorithms can learn complex tasks and make predictions or decisions. For instance, they can automatically identify cancerous tumours in medical images.

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is a hypothetical type of AI that could potentially perform any intellectual task that is specific to the human brain. While current AI technologies can perform tasks such as speech and image recognition and classification, they are not yet capable of becoming AGI. To answer one of the most burning questions right now, AI won’t be able to work on its own anytime soon — AI systems need us, humans!

So far, Artificial Intelligence seems too good to be true. Naturally, we’re all asking ourselves “What are some challenges posed by AI systems?”.

Akash Shakya, Director of EB Pearls says that “while AI can learn and improve, it is not always completely accurate. Therefore, the focus of AI is not solely on accuracy but also on the process of learning as software and utilizing it from that perspective.”

He continues “It’s important to recognize that we cannot rely entirely on AI, and there is a threshold that needs to be considered to minimize potential risks. Human intelligence is and will be required, and we cannot completely replace it with AI. However, AI can serve as a helpful assistant to humans, saving precious time and energy.”

Outlined below are three main challenges of using AI for app development:

Developers face challenges in incorporating AI into digital products due to the lack of data necessary to train their models. This can make it challenging to create an AI model that works correctly and is accurate, as you need a considerable amount of information. This means app developers have access to sufficient, accurate, and comprehensive training data.

One of the main obstacles that developers face when integrating AI technology into their app development is the complexity of building AI models. This process can be time-consuming and requires a significant amount of expertise. On the bright side, proper implementation of AI technology can lead to increased efficiency, customer satisfaction, and potential profit margins.

When developing AI-driven apps, it is important to consider the potential for unethical use. Developers have an ethical responsibility to evaluate their practices to ensure AI is used responsibly. This requires a devoted commitment to creating an ethical and responsible use of AI throughout all app development and maintenance efforts.

No doubt, by using Artificial Intelligence for your application, you can ensure that your app is safe, and reliable, and provides relevant and personalised content to each of your users. You’ll also be able to enhance the overall user experience and improve your business decisions by relying on AI’s powerful analytical abilities.

If you’re looking for an app development team to help you make the most of Artificial Intelligence both during the development and maintenance processes and for in-app features, you’ve come to the right place!

EB Pearls is here to take your mobile app project to the next level with cutting-edge technologies and results-driven methods. Contact us today!