malvernmugadzikwa
4IR Simplified
John Tseriwa
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) is rapidly transforming our world.
It can mimic human intelligence and perform creative tasks, such as writing comprehensive articles or generating images from simple prompts.
It seems AI is the most significant advancement in smartphones since foldable displays.
Its impact is already substantial and is poised to become even more transformative in the future.
Today, we will be delving into the exciting world of AI-powered smartphones.
We cannot imagine life in the 21st century without the smartphone. However, our mobile phones have not always been smart.
My generation vividly remembers the “snake game”, which we had for entertainment on mobile phones at one point. Today, the phone can do almost anything that a computer can do, thanks to ever-evolving technology.
The term “smartphone” possibly dates back to 1997, when Swedish networking and telecommunications company Ericsson coined it for their GS88 model.
Without looking too much into the history of cellphones, let us point out what makes a phone “smart”. The operating system (OS) of a smartphone allows for complex software applications and multitasking.
Two popular operating systems stand today — the iPhone’s iOS and Android for phones from Samsung, Google and many others.
The ability to connect to the internet through Wi-Fi, 4G and 5G networks, enabling web browsing, email use, social media access and streaming, makes the phone not only smart, but also very convenient.
Applications
What is a smartphone without applications that come with a variety of functions, including productivity, entertainment, health and many more?
Last year, at a dinner event, a cameraman was robbed while coming from a function and lost all his photos. But, thanks to the smartphone, which comes with multimedia capabilities, some individuals were taking photos. The smartphone saved the day.
If you are a tourist in a distant country, your smartphone is equipped with sensors and hardware that enhances its functionality for navigation.
I could go on, speaking about the processing power, memory and storage that make a phone “smart”.
Hold your breath, there is more. Samsung has integrated AI features into the user interface of their latest flagship — the Galaxy S24.
These features are accessible in various apps, such as Notes, Gallery and Recorder.
You can activate these AI capabilities just like any other feature on your smartphone.
They not only expedite tasks, but also reduce the likelihood of inaccuracies or mistakes.
Samsung’s Galaxy AI — a suite of AI-enhanced software — debuted on the Galaxy S24 Ultra, showcasing several standout features.
Among them is a transcription summariser built into the voice recorder, which transcribes conversations in real-time across multiple languages and generates concise synopses with just a few taps.
The chat assist feature, integrated into the onscreen keyboard, offers real-time text suggestions. It can help create professional-sounding phrases for work chats, craft emoji-filled messages for casual conversations, sprinkle hashtags for social media success and even emulate Shakespearean language.
Real-time voice translation for both phone calls and in-person conversations uses AI for speedy and accurate interpretation, supporting 13 languages at launch, with more to be added later (hopefully, Shona and isiNdebele very soon).
Another feature, Circle to Search, works seamlessly with the S24 Ultra’s S Pen.
By pressing and holding the home button (or gesture bar) and drawing a circle around anything on screen, machine learning identifies objects and locations, providing relevant Google searches, including where to purchase items.
Samsung has also enhanced its image editor and photo gallery with AI capabilities. Users can remove reflections from glass and shadows from faces, delete or reposition objects and expand tightly cropped images with a single tap.
While most AI camera functions are applied post-capture, object detection relies on machine learning.
Then there is Instant Slow-mo, which can generate additional frames and insert them into your video footage, creating a smooth slow-motion effect even if the original clips were shot at 30fps.
Simply preview your video in the Samsung Gallery app, press and hold the moment you want to slow down and enjoy the seamless playback. Apart from Samsung, other manufacturers like Apple and Google have also joined the race.
Security and privacy concerns
AI tasks require computing power and cannot be processed on the device itself. The data uploads to the cloud and gets processed, and then you get the result on your smartphone.
While Apple assured us that most of the AI tasks can be done on the device when needed, the data will be shared to the cloud servers.
Apple further assured that the data uploading to the servers will be end-to-end encrypted and nothing will be shared to third-party AI companies like Open AI without users’ permission. However, AI models need to be trained with data to become more efficient and provide accurate results; it is not easy to say that our data is safe. It is, therefore, crucial to read all the terms and conditions of any AI tool that you are using or will use in future.
If you are wondering whether you should go and buy an AI smartphone, Microsoft advises that if you are worried about privacy and data security, you might want to skip it.
John Tseriwa is the managing director of Sagehill Business Solutions, a tech company delivering cybersecurity solutions. He can be contacted on: [email protected] or +263773289802.
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