Elena Selgas Carvajal

Today is International friendship day, a day where we can celebrate all those individuals around us that bring us joy daily. Whilst we might imagine the youth population to be celebrating the most, publishing on social media and sharing photos in their group chat, they may actually feel lonelier than we think. It is reported that 40% of the 16-24-year olds surveyed last year reported that they often, or very often, feel lonely despite being in frequent contact with their friends. This is compared to the over 75’s whom only 27% declared themselves as feeling lonely. So why are friends so important and how can AI help? The importance of friendship Friendship is the ultimate antidote to loneliness. Friendship helps protect the brain and body from stress, anxiety, and depression. Plus, the ability to choose who these friends are, means that we can surround ourselves by positive people. Anyone who has been through a significant milestone in their life will now how good it feels to be able to share with those closest to you. Research shows that you only need to have 4 or 5 really close friends to see the health and social benefits. But many people find it hard to push themselves out there to meet new people. So, we ask ourselves, how can technology and more specifically, Artificial Intelligence provide a solution to loneliness amongst the youth population or give them the confidence to go out and make human friends. Can technology help? Whilst many may believe that technology and more screen time is not the answer to youth loneliness, technology is already integrated into most areas of their lives. Therefore: AI companions will be integrated into young people’s existing social lives and social platforms As digital natives, young people are the most open to AI companions They are digital natives and therefore technology must be part of the solution. Denying the influence technology could have for good is ignorant and we must put ourselves in the shoes of young people, where technology runs through their veins. Screens have the ability to both isolate and connect depending on how you utilize them. Two of the most popular forms of content are gaming and social media, both of which rely heavily on users to directly interact and participate in the content. Particularly in gaming, participants are in constant interaction to work together and learn new skills. The reality is that young people’s lives operate online and therefore the solution must be built within the existing structures to have a real effect. The AI chatbot to the rescue AI chatbots, like those we often see on our favourite retail site can quickly become very in tune to our emotions and thoughts to provide support. “The primary goal of social chatbots is to be AI companions to serve users’ needs for communication and emotional support.” Artem Rodichev, Replica Emotion AI, also known as Affective Computing dates back to 1995 and refers to the branch of Artificial intelligence which aims to process, understand, and even replicate human emotions. The technology aims to improve natural communication between man and machine to create an AI that communicates in a more authentic way. Using Natural language processing these chat bots can process, understand, and respond to language in an authentic way to offer and personalized support. Overtime, the AI will learn patterns in your speech and remember key facts, much like a friendship. AI and neuroscience researchers agree that current forms of AI cannot have their own emotions, but they can mimic emotion, such as empathy. Synthetic speech also helps reduce the robotic like tone many of these services operate with sound more realistic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZOEsBZD9RE Replica is one of the leading companies in the field. Their app, with over 2 million signups which currently has an 85% satisfaction rate. Users are able to send photos, chat about their day and work through their problems and receive meaningful responses in return. Each chat bot has an individual personality to provide consistency in conversations and offer “real” opinions about given subjects based on the personality type it has been assigned. These types of applications have the ability to have a great effect on mental health and loneliness. It would be amazing to see these types of platforms integrated within existing social media apps to provide integrated solutions. Does this mean that AI can replace human beings in this sense? Gershenson, who holds a doctorate in the design and control of self-organizing systems from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, says that although AI has defeated man in some respects, such as chess, we are a long way from a machine replacing a human. In spite of the fact that technology is capable of learning what empathy is, they are not people and they don't care about anything. They can learn, but they cannot develop real feelings as we humans do. It may be similar to what a person can show, but it is not the same. Human company will always be required too! Read the post in spanish here To keep up to date with Telefónica’s Internet of Things area, visit our web site or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn y YouTube.

Nowadays the presence of online radios and podcasts has transformed the sector of the radio as it has adapted to new consumer habits. In this post we will explore what Artificial Intelligence can bring to the future of the radio and if new technologies will overshadow the traditional platform. The radio emerged at the end of the 19th century, revolutionizing the world of communications, as a wireless alternative to the telegraph. The original idea was to use the device for military purposes that would allow information to be transmitted even from out at sea. A few years later its role would evolve into a channel that could deliver information, entertainment and music to the masses. In 1906 the first radio broadcast was made in Massachusetts, where listeners enjoyed the broadcast of “Oh Holy Night” and passages from the Bible. From then on, the radio has experienced a remarkable evolution. Consumer habits In the last 10 years every mode of communication has had to redefine its content and advertising strategies due to the presence of the internet in its fields. In particular, this has meant a big change for the radio. It has also been an opportunity, not only for the audience but for amateurs and professionals alike to create their own radio stations in an easy and economical way. With the arrival of the online radios, platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music and Prime Music, and podcasts, the consumption of the conventional radio has decreased, especially amongst the youth populations. Despite this, the radio continues to be a mass media, which, while maintaining its traditional channel, has managed to take advantage of new opportunities to expand its reach, without losing its identity. The choice to listen to online platforms over the radio is often because of how easy it is to select content at any moment but requires internet connection. On the radio, content is available at the press of a button, but it is decided by the broadcaster of the radio station and therefore lacks customization. Therefore, both have their advantages and disadvantages. The choice between the radio and these platforms is very much dependant on the individual listeners tastes at that specific moment. One isn’t completely substitutable for the other due to their different characteristics and requirements. AI chooses the content of the radio Some professionals in the industry think that AI can do a very good job in choosing the content that listeners want to hear. However, others argue that the role of the human producer is essential in this selection of content and of course as a DJ. Brian Kamisky, president of Revenue Operations and Insights for iHeartMedia, argues that creating content for the radio comes down to creating an experience that builds a connection with listeners and keeps them entertained, informed and eager to come back for more. AI should be used in a responsible way whilst maintaining and enhancing the human elements. “We shouldn’t be looking for ways to replace humans.” Brian Kamisky iHeartMedia uses algorithms to choose which music is played and which combinations of content are scheduled, but leaves the final decision on what is broadcasted to the humans. There are many AI and Machine Learning solutions that assist in the creation of musical compositions, but the quality of these products is subjective and the selection of what the audience wants to hear will still require human approval. “The technology will be there to help us classify the large amounts of content being produced and make us more efficient in that process.” Brian Kamisky A smart radio thanks to AI Several companies have tried to innovate by creating radios that rely on Artificial Intelligence. Here we have two examples that use this technology in different aspects. Firstly, Worldcast systems, a company that designs and develops innovative radio and television broadcasting equipment worldwide, presents the first Artificial Intelligence for FM radio, SmartFM. Through AI, an algorithm is implemented that can adapt the broadcasting power in real time according to different variables of the signal entering the transmitter. With this new technology they intend to: Improve the listening experience for listeners Reduce energy costs by 10-40% Reduce CO2 emissions Likewise, the communication company Uniform Communications, presents Solo, an intelligent digital radio that interacts with people. By scanning faces it is able to determine their mood and find a song that reflects exactly how each person feels. Solo works through Spotify, taking advantage of a platform that already categorizes its songs by mood, and incorporating its own analysis of facial characteristics of the person in front of the device. The designers of Uniform predict that the technology, which is already capable of recognising the characteristics for many moods, will improve as the algorithms progress. The future of traditional radio Will all these technological innovations be able to replace the traditional radio? Despite all the innovations, traditional radio seems irreplaceable. Issac Moreno, president of the Hybrid Radio Forum, explained at BITAM 2018: “It is analogical, I know, but it is the queen of broadcasting, not only in Spain but in Europe. Some reasons are its ubiquity, simplicity of use, privacy, security, control of the whole distribution chain and its free of charge.” Many experts agree that, although Artificial Intelligence and new technologies can bring many improvements and innovations to radio, human presence is, and will always be, fundamental in this media when it comes to connecting and achieving empathy with the listener.