Until recently, before the advent of cognitive computing, computers were not very good at interacting with humans. It was necessary for us to make an effort to learn their languages in order to explore the potential of technology. Even basic tasks, like using an algorithm to identify whether an image was of a banana or an orange, were too complicated to be taught to a machine.
The idea was that computers managed data, moved it, and captured it, however, they were incapable of actually processing it, at least in the same sense as the human brain. This idea, however, is in the past. Cognitive computing is the assignment of interpersonal-like capabilities to the way machines handle information.
The term was coined by IBM, which created Watson, a cognitive computing system that paved the way for innovations such as Siri and Alexa. In the era of digital transformation, advances that allow computers to learn, develop reasoning, and make decisions are all framed under the term “cognitive computing”.
What is cognitive computing for?
Programming languages were developed due to the need to program, that is, to guide a machine to perform an action. Cognitive computing, on the other hand, was driven by the fact that natural interactions, which take into account speech, touch, and vision, for example, would be a more intuitive way of interacting with the machines that serve us. surround. The advancement serves a lot of things besides making our devices more accessible.
Cognitive computing gives systems the ability to reason very closely to that of a human being. This is essential for them to be able to perform complex tasks, such as medical diagnosis. This is one of the great ambitions of Watson, developed by IBM.
The system was designed to assist humans in some tasks, such as analyzing large volumes of data and generating feasible alternatives within a set of possibilities. Therefore, it is already being tested in large hospitals and in the banking system, generating responses and learning every day to better meet human needs.
What are the benefits of cognitive computing?
We have three major benefits of cognitive computing. The first is to give all your employees the ability to deal with elaborate systems and get the answers they need from them. There is no longer a demand for high technical knowledge to interact with computing.
Have you ever used a virtual assistant, like Siri? Although still limited, these technologies provide answers and do not require much from us. Just formulate a question appropriately and all the work is done by Artificial Intelligence.
Another important point of cognitive computing is that it is proactive. The type of analysis it performs allows us to quickly identify bottlenecks and problems and, at the same time, helps us determine how to act. This reduces the cost of maintaining the technologies used in a business and makes them more responsive.
Finally, cognitive solutions tend to improve our performance. They automatically analyze structured and unstructured data and provide answers that would take us years to reach, even if we read all the books in the world.
What cognitive technologies should we pay attention to?
In this market, the leadership still belongs to IBM and the aforementioned Watson. However, other cognitive technologies are already catching our attention. Alexa, the Artificial Intelligence contained in Amazon Echo, puts it in our homes, and Siri, in our pockets.
When machines gain the ability to interact with humans and communicate with them in natural language, we have cognitive computing. It is what opens up space for technologies, such as the one that drives the Internet of Things, to have an impact on the daily lives of people and companies, improving the way they interact.
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