In a recent LinkedIn survey, I asked product and software developers if and how they were making their software smarter. A surprising 57% cited A/B testing, while another 50% reported they were still swinging from decision trees. Why are developers still solving everyday pain points with these manual, archaic processes, as opposed to employing "Little AI"? There are millions of everyday use cases for AI, where technology is empowered to learn and decide on a course of action that offers the best outcome for consumers and companies alike. The problem is that the Big AI we're used to has a lot of challenges that make it inaccessible for developers to employ for tasks that'd benefit from everyday AI. Take this article you're reading right now.

Artificial intelligence is not some futuristic dystopian concept years away from hitting society. AI is here already and it might not be what you think it is. When people think about AI, they think about Hollywood science fiction. Is that something on the horizon? I'm not sure in the future AI will become like a Hollywood movie because it's everyday life.

When DJI revealed the Mavic Pro in late 2016, it ended up being a turning point for the company. DJI was already the dominant name in consumer drones thanks to the Phantom series, but the Mavic Pro was cheaper, smaller and downright meaner looking. The combination of price, features and cool-factor made it an instant success. Then there was the Spark, which was smaller, but less powerful and lacked some of the basic features that a budding aerial photographer wants. Enter the Mavic Air, a quadcopter that slots between the Mavic Pro and Spark on DJI's roster.

Their policy push happened just as the larger public's perceptions about nanotechnology--was it Drexlerian nanobots or a more incremental blend of physics and chemistry?--were Smalley and some policymakers had fears that negative perceptions might impede their plans for a national research initiative. This concern was heightened when, in April 2000, Wired magazine published Bill Joy's article "Why the Future Doesn't Need Us." Joy, one of the co-founders of Sun Microsystems, warned about future technological dystopias. He singled out nanotechnology--especially the Drexlerian visions of autonomous and self-replicating nano-assemblers--as a potential threat to humanity. Two years later, novelist Michael Crichton published his best-selling techno-thriller Prey.