With the AI industry growing exponentially, you probably wonder, what else is coming? Many creative professionals, especially, are concerned about how AI might affect them and their work.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)—the approximation of human intelligence by computer systems—used to be the stuff of science fiction, but now it permeates almost all aspects of our lives. For an overview of what AI is, study this tutorial:
In this article, we'll look at some AI trends and predictions, specifically how AI will affect business and the way we work.
7 AI Trends People Are Talking About Now
What are the latest AI industry trends? What do creative professionals need to be aware of in 2024? Here are a few trends you need to know:
1. AI Hiring Goes to the Next Level
AI is already being used for various aspects of recruitment and hiring, from candidate sourcing, and analyzing resumes to screening applications. AI can perform mundane tasks, like going through hundreds of applications and resumes, and determining the best fit for the job. These tasks traditionally occupied many hours of a human resource employee’s work. Now, AI can do it in much less time.
But beyond completing the monotonous tasks of recruitment, AI is also used because it can remove bias and reduce emotion from hiring decisions. Assuming the AI tools are properly trained to remove prejudice, it can be expected to select candidates objectively. AI-driven hiring could revolutionize recruitment by focusing purely on skills and potential. For HR professionals, this means adapting to and harnessing AI, blending technology with human insight.
It’s no wonder then that AI industry trends show it's being used more widely for other hiring activities. These include candidate interviews through video, skills assessments, and predicting the candidate’s success. AI is also going to be used to make employment offers and to onboard new employees.
2. Job Applicants Strike Back With AI
Job seekers can complain all they want about the use of applicant tracking systems (ATS) and other AI tools in hiring. But today, they’re also using AI to find their dream jobs faster. There are increasing numbers of AI-powered job search tools to help with everything from finding and filtering job opportunities, to giving better job interviews.
More job applicants are using generative AI (GenAI) to write more effective resumes and cover letters that can get past ATS and other screening systems. AI also automates the creation of job applications tailored to specific job descriptions. There are also AI tools to help applicants optimize their digital presence, such as their LinkedIn profiles.
Job hunters are also using GenAI to come up with mock interview questions specific to the role they’re applying for. Some AI applications can even simulate job interviews and give feedback on the candidate’s responses.
And if that’s still not enough, job seekers can try another AI app trend: AI-driven virtual career advisors. Available 24/7, these can answer career-related questions and give personalized career counseling. As with other AI apps, these can continuously learn and adapt to the individual needs of the job seeker.
Learn more about Applicant Tracking Systems in this tutorial:
AI is a game-changer in job search, but it means job applicants must stay up-to-date on AI developments and hiring uses, to keep up.
3. GenAI Advancements Power Up Marketing and Communications
There’s already a term for it: “AI marketing” or the use of AI in different marketing activities. GenAI is already being used to create content—text, images, video, and audio—in response to prompts. Marketers and communicators have been using GenAI to create:
- blog posts
- advertising copy
- promotional materials
- videos
And AI app trends indicate that it’s only getting better. The next generation of GenAI is “multi-modal.” These are AI systems that can accept different types of inputs and produce various forms of outputs as well. For example, a cellphone app can receive inputs in the form of speech and images, and respond through spoken word, images, and video.
AI predictions say AI apps are increasingly used in other aspects of marketing and communication. These include:
- content personalization
- media buying
- automating campaigns
- predictive analytics
- making targeting decisions
4. AI Enhances Employee Productivity, Engagement, and Happiness
AI predictions say it'll power more and more everyday devices that improve personal productivity. The Internet of Things (IoT) or physical objects connected to the internet gives way to “the Artificial Intelligence of Things” (AIoT). And AIoT can go a long way to helping us become more productive, engaged at work, and happier overall. Everything from wearable devices to home appliances and the vehicle you drive can have AIoT.
The smart watch that tracks your activity level, heart rate, and sleep and reminds you to stand up and drink water is just one example.
Another example is a time tracker, running in the background while you work, which monitors how much focused time you've got every day or week, and reminds you that it’s been three days since you received an email requiring a response.
From collaboration and goal reaching, to work-life balance and mental health, AI-driven applications continue to abound. If you can conceive of it, there’s probably an AI app for it!
5. Augmented Working Makes Humans Better at Their Jobs
Not all jobs can be done by AI. But most jobs can be done better in collaboration with AI, and trends in AI bear this out. This is what’s known as augmented working. It’s already becoming widely used in health and medicine, for example. Doctors are using AI to help them make more accurate diagnoses. In operating rooms, “surgery assistants” are helping surgeons with suturing and tissue manipulation.
“Some people call this artificial intelligence, but the reality is this technology will enhance us. So instead of artificial intelligence, I think we’ll augment our intelligence.” - Ginni Rometty, former CEO of IBM
AI systems are also helping develop better surgeons. Surgeons can practice in a low stakes, virtual environment with realistic surgical simulations of complex procedures. GenAI can give guidance and personalized feedback on a surgeon’s past surgeries to improve their techniques. And AI can generate 3D models of a patient’s anatomy so the surgeon can plan and practice the surgery.
6. AI Continues to Improve Customer Experience
Another business area where AI continues to be applied is in customer service and experience. For customer inquiries, AI-powered Chatbots can give faster and more accurate responses, at a lower cost to the business. AI systems can draw from a knowledge base and learn from interactions to become even more accurate and reliable over time.
AI can also give customers a more personalized experience. GenAI shopping advisors are a good example of trends in AI in this area. Walmart has already unveiled various AI-powered experiences for its customers. These include AI-enhanced search to deliver more relevant results when customers search their website. There’s also a GenAI assistant to help with more complex purchases, augmented reality (AR) tools to help customers buy the right furniture for their space, and AI-powered, virtual try on tools so shoppers can see how specific makeup products look on their skin tone and face shape.
Envato Elements recently released a Beta of AI-search. This tool seeks to speed up content creators’ workflow by helping them find the most relevant assets across the entire library of Envato Elements, with just one search query. It works by first submitting a description of your project into the AI-assisted search, including:
- project type
- subject matter
- themes
- desired style
The AI search assistant then delivers tailored assets from its vast library of human-made assets across multiple asset types.
7. AI Grows in Robustness, Application, and Adoption
AI systems are growing by leaps and bounds. Small wonder that the AI market is expected to grow twentyfold by 2030. Increased investments, research, and development of AI technology means it continues to improve. For example, AI “hallucinations”—false or incorrect responses from GenAI—may soon become a thing of the past. We can also look forward to increased integration of AI, such as through multi-modal and multi-sensory applications: the things you use from head to foot, from your eyeglasses to your shoes, may soon have AI.
Other exciting AI industry trends include the move from GenAI to “Agentic AI.” AI agents are more advanced in that they've got more autonomy and proactivity. Whereas GenAI responds to human inputs or prompts, Agentic AI can “understand their environment, set goals and act to achieve those objectives without direct human intervention.”
Better features and increased use of AI-powered tools fuel fears of AI taking over human jobs. But the other way to look at it's that these new applications will create more AI-related jobs. These run the gamut from software engineers and data scientists, to AI engineers and computer vision engineers. Other AI-related jobs include business intelligence (BI) developer, AI research scientist, deep learning engineer, and the like. And let’s not forget that AI apps will always need a sales force and marketing team, as well as AI prompt writers or engineers.
“Nobody phrases it this way, but I think that artificial intelligence is almost a humanities discipline. It’s really an attempt to understand human intelligence and human cognition.” — Sebastian Thrun, computer scientist, CEO of Kitty Hawk Corporation, and chairman and co-founder of Udacity
Acceptance and adoption of AI is also improving. Contrary to popular belief, the public is increasingly accepting AI interactions.
According to a Pew Research survey on US adults’ perceptions on AI, 45% of respondents are equally concerned and excited about AI applications, and 18% are more excited than concerned. The latter are excited about time savings and efficiencies AI can bring, as well as how AI can make work safer and easier. On the other hand, 37% are more concerned than excited. The biggest concerns with AI revolve around the potential loss of jobs, privacy encroachment, and loss of human connection.
In the United Kingdom, the British public’s attitudes towards AI are similarly nuanced. For the most part, they had broadly positive views for 11 of the 17 AI uses researchers asked about, saying they're "somewhat or very beneficial.” But more than 50% expressed concern for six of the 17 uses. Most concerning were relying on AI over professional judgements (and subsequent lack of accountability over repercussions) and collection of personal data.
Attitudes towards AI tend to vary by age. Compared to Generation X and Baby Boomers, Generation Z and Millenials, for example, are more likely to trust and engage with social content generated by AI. They’re also more confident about their ability to distinguish real from fake or AI-created content.
Power Your Business With Envato Elements
Whatever the advancements in technology, the basic principles of communication and marketing remain the same. This means starting with professional communications assets, such as those from Envato Elements.
Envato Elements has a vast library of content assets for diverse business, education, and personal use. With one monthly subscription, you get unlimited downloads of everything you need for your marketing and communications materials. These include everything from photos and videos, to templates and sound.
And now, Envato Elements is now AI-powered, too, with AI-search. One query is all you need to discover the assets you need to complete your project, across the variety of content types available at Envato Elements.
AI Is Here to Stay: How Will You Leverage It?
AI is an exciting field that’s growing exponentially in features, applications, and acceptance. It’s already pervasive in our daily lives. And it'll only continue to impact various aspects of business and work.
Envato Elements is just one example of how AI is being used to improve productivity and effectiveness at work, with its AI-powered search. You can also use Envato Elements with other AI apps to streamline your communications and marketing creation workflows.
“Success in creating effective AI, could be the biggest event in the history of our civilization. Or the worst. We just don’t know.” — Stephen Hawking, theoretical physicist and author, A Brief History of Time and The Theory of Everything
As with any tool, AI has both benefits and drawbacks. On one hand, it makes many tasks easier, safer, and faster.
On the other hand, it raises concerns over job losses, privacy, and accuracy. You're now aware of artificial intelligence trends and how they'll affect your personal and work lives. The question is, how will you use it to achieve your goals?
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