AI is becoming more and more pervasive in our daily lives. It’s the technology behind our smartphones’ voice assistants (Siri, Alexa), self-driving cars, medical diagnostic tools and even online photo editing software. And it’s not just the tech industry that is embracing AI—governments and organizations are relying more on it to meet the needs of their customers, employees and citizens.

While real world ai science fiction may have us fearing super-intelligent robots overrunning humanity, it’s likely that we’re still many years away from such an apocalypse. In the meantime, there are numerous real world ai applications that have elevated the work we do in business and everyday life.

Real World AI: Bridging the Gap Between AI Research and Everyday Applications

For example, AI is at work in back-office processes like automating invoices and processing payroll. It’s also being used in travel, where it can evaluate traffic and construction to plan routes and optimize decision-making. It’s the technology behind the flight autopilots in commercial airlines and even the way Google Maps evaluates your location to categorize emails into your primary, social and promotional inboxes.

It’s even being used in wildlife conservation by tracking animal habitats, predicting extinction and detecting illegal animal trade on social media. Moreover, it can help reduce carbon emissions by analyzing large datasets and accelerating data-driven decision-making frameworks. Cybersecurity is another area where AI has become a vital tool for protecting data. It can identify and correct code faults that hackers use to steal sensitive information. It also enables businesses to install additional firewalls and ensure the security of existing ones.