Consumers want AI-enabled smart homes but not smart workplaces, O'Reilly reveals

Consumers are the most positive and excited for AI technologies that benefit their lives outside of work, research from O'Reilly shows. The survey, which delves into the opinions of consumers and compares them to that of AI-creators – those working to develop AI driven solutions including CTOs, data scientists, software engineers, solutions architects and IT Directors – reveals a wider indifference to the potential of AI in a work setting. The results suggest that while AI may be inserting itself into our lives in more ways than we recognise, to encourage adoption, developers should focus their efforts on leveraging AI to make consumers lives easier, augmenting existing experiences to make them more seamless. Adoption and acceptance outside the office, will ultimately lead to the same in a work setting, alleviating fears of job loss and instead focusing on job enhancement. Rachel Roumeliotis, Vice President of Data and AI at O'Reilly said: "Consumer conceptions of AI are still very much influenced by popular culture, science fiction and the virtual assistants they use every day. However, there are strong areas of overlap between AI developers and AI users. Both groups appreciate the success of smart home technology and are watching the development of autonomous vehicles very closely. It's up to these sectors to capitalise on the hype, but the results are also a call for the creators of work-focused AI to make solutions that capture the imagination and generate excitement."