By Nadia Zaifulizan
You might not realize it, but the smartphone you are using today is miles ahead of the phones that were used a decade ago. Many of the common apps on your phone pick up inputs and anticipate them. When you text, your phone keyboard usually predicts and auto-prompt the words that you are most likely about to use while texting. You then select them to be included in your messages. These keyboard “predictions” improve as you type more words on your phone. This is a simple example of Machine Learning.
Some apps, such as the “personal assistant” apps take in your voice inputs and answer your queries. However, they also predict your requests and decipher the meaning of your words as you use them. This enables them to provide a more personalized response to you, as your usage becomes regular. Some personal assistants like Siri can interact and respond in the most comfortable way for you, even if you are not giving specific commands. They are designed to use data and machine learning to understand, anticipate, and personalize response.
When you use the navigation apps on your phone, your search and destinations are recorded. These navigation apps such as Waze and Google Maps store your destinations and make predictions based on them. They also automatically calculate the distance to show you the shortest route whenever you key in your destination. The more you use these apps, the more efficient they become in predicting and providing guides for you. As you key in your next destination, they will auto-suggest the locations that you have previously been to. They will also utilize the compiled data from many users’ journey to recommend the best route for you (traffic and distance-wise). The improvement in navigation response is also contributed by machine learning.
Your Smartphone and Machine Learning
In current times, the smartphone is not only a tool for communication, it is also a huge part of our daily routines. Smartphones have been utilizing machine learning for years, and the newly designed ones are even more advanced and useful. Machine Learning is not a technological advancement that only involves those in the technology industry. It is a form of artificial intelligence (AI) that is utilized by millions in many different ways. Its potential for various real-life utilization is tremendous and should be exposed to users for better understanding as well as improve users’ response towards it. Afterall, the Machine Learning application on your phone works best when it is able to understand you better.