The latest version of Google’s Android software is all about simplifying the user experience to the point that your phone becomes as specific to you as possible.
Just like an AI in its most basic usage, devices backed with Android Pie 9 are meant to learn from you as you use them. In other words, the more data you give them, the more your device learns and improves in response to that data. Google puts this into further context by mentioning specific features that can be optimized because of this AI, which include: allotting battery power to your most used apps, as well as changing your phone’s brightness based on your usage habits.
Overshadowing these other features, however, is one called, “app actions.”
In essence, this might be said to be the most striking mentioned ability of the Android Pie 9 system, due to the fact that it works on predicting what you will do in the future. To better understand this, imagine that your phone tracks your patterns in terms of what apps you pick, what activities do on them, and what time you do these activities.
Powering all of this is a neural engine that learns from your past behavior. If you remember our past pieces on neural networks, then it will be clear to you that this is nothing more than a miniature neural network, in a basic sense.
Given all of this, it would be easy to react out of fear. Before you do so, keep in mind that as of now, any neural network has its limitations. Perhaps even more importantly, with any technical product, you still have the active ability to opt to use it or to opt not to use it. Whatever you decide, Google’s work with AI in smartphones seems to have been nothing short of impressive up to this point.
What will be most interesting is to see if its’ “app actions” feature works as well as it says it will, in practice. Related to this, we could pose the question: will people see a visible benefit in such a prediction engine that keeps them coming back for the latest Android operating systems?
Expect us to provide more of our analysis on the subject as this version of the Android operating system has more time on the open market.
References:
Primary Source: https://www.blog.google/products/android/introducing-android-9-pie/
