The way people interact with technology in their daily lives is undergoing a revolution thanks to social robotics and virtual assistants. These tools, previously exclusive to companies, now facilitate tasks both at home and at work.
“Today it is already a reality that we use the calendar as a support tool for our daily life, without which our lives would be very complicated. We also already use assistants such as Siri or Alexa that support us in various tasks,” said Omar Sánchez, Senior Solution Advisor at Datasys Group.
Another advantage of these technologies is that their use is increasingly simple and no longer requires technical knowledge to configure them, so anyone can adjust them according to their needs.
Facilitating daily life through automation
The repetitive tasks that we frequently perform can be automated to save time and make life easier. “At home, automation is reflected in systems such as turning lights on and off, watering gardens and even managing payments on banking platforms. At the end of the day, that is a robot that interacts, that does the management and work for us,” added Sánchez.
On the other hand, the future of automation points towards a greater reach with the help of other advanced tools. “We can automate those lists where we know where to buy. Today there are applications that do this, but we can develop other ones to measure and through artificial intelligence know which items I have to buy next. So, you will have a better management of your pantry supported by technology,” said the expert.
Replacing human labor
Automation solutions that have had a notable impact on various companies. For example, it implemented an automated robot in an organization that managed more than 5 thousand readings of PDF documents per month, making the process go from being manual and requiring three people, to being completed in just 58 seconds per reading.
This optimization left a time saving of up to 70% and a return on investment (ROI) of 159%. However, the interviewee pointed out that it is important to recognize that not all processes can be completely automated.
Despite advances in artificial intelligence and automation, human intervention remains crucial in processes that require analysis and decision making outside of repetitive contexts.
Accessibility and humanization: opportunity and challenge
Automation also makes interaction with devices more accessible, which promotes greater technological inclusion of people. “A virtual assistant can read texts to people with visual disabilities or transform written information into signs for people with hearing problems,” said Sánchez.
However, one of the biggest challenges in the development of virtual assistants is to make them more natural in communication, reducing friction between the user and technology.
“We work on natural language models that allow assistants to respond in a more conversational way, adapting to the user’s context. There will always be the option of speaking to a human, but we try to make virtual assistants efficient enough to minimize the need for that interaction,” he said.
Finally, it is important to highlight that robotics and virtual assistants can be powerful tools, as long as they are used prudently and under a robust security framework.
“Experts believe that security must be a priority in all digital aspects. It is crucial that any implementation of new technologies, whether robotics or virtual assistants, is done in a secure environment. We should not rush to adopt the latest platform just because it is novel; we should conduct a thorough analysis and ensure that any new technology is safely integrated into our operating framework,” the specialist recommended. Omar emphasizes that human intervention will always be necessary for more complex analysis and decisions.
