ED’S NOTE

SNEAKY SMARTS

Portrait of Tammy Strobel

SMARTWATCH, smartphone, smart assistants, AI is everywhere today and thinking back, I suddenly can’t remember when was the point in time where AI became something in the background of our daily lives that we no longer gave a conscious thought about having. And yet, AI is a topic that we constantly talk about in fear that it would one day overtake our lives.

Here’s a sobering thought, we’re already past that day.

Cars today are more electronic than mechanical. It has sensors for everything and is able to park for you, drive for you, keep a safe distance from objects for you, emergency brake for you. The email software you use can learn your writing patterns, suggest automated replies for you, track your conversations for you, send you reminders for emails that may require your response. YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, or any social network learns your preferences, knows what you like to watch, follow, listen. When they offer suggestions, more likely than not, you’d give it a shot.

If I seem to be jumping around, it’s because I’m purposely trying to avoid giving smartphones as an example, because that’s the obvious choice. But the point I’m trying to make is that AI is already deeply integrated in just about every smart tool, device, app we use today. Sometimes, we directly access an AI-powered function, such as choosing a particular filter option in Photoshop. Sometimes, we indirectly benefit from AI processing, such as a smart TV dynamically optimising and upscaling content in real time.

I’m not sure about you, but I’m all for it.

Zachary Chan

Editor 

PHOTOGRAPHER: FRENCHESCAR LIM STYLIST: SHEH GROOMING: FIONNA LAU SHOES: H&M MOCK TURTLENECK & CHINOS: SCOTCH & SODA 

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