Technology took part in all life’s aspects and has become a crucial component of organizations and different institutions. It contributed to performing more tasks with less human effort and better results.
Recently, the world has witnessed a technological revolution that resulted in two main technical outcomes: Artificial intelligence and the internet of things.
For many people, these two concepts are intertwined and have blurred lines that are hard to define. However, we can spot the major differences between them in terms of definition, purpose, and fields of deployment.
Major Differences Between the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Major clear-cut boundaries between IoT and AI can be seen in how we define these two technologies. According to Several.com, these are the major differences:
- Definition: IoT is highly dependent on cloud computing. All the devices are somehow connected over a network and can exchange, store, and sense data with minimal human interference. Examples of everyday life IoT devices include coffee machines, washing machines, and self-driven cars. These devices can do a certain purpose, but they can’t analyze to develop their performance. On the flip page, we have artificial intelligence, which does not only aim to create a machine that takes part and performs certain tasks. Instead, the AI uses computer science and computer engineering to create a machine that can simulate human behavior in terms of perception, manipulation, analysis, and reasoning. In other words, a smart machine that can work in complex environments and do things as we humans can do, maybe better. AI has been taking part in many fields, like marketing, manufacturing, and banking.
- Purpose: IoT creates machines that can do repetitive daily tasks that depend on exchanging and storing data; its purpose is to minimize human interventions and rely more on a machine to do certain tasks. On the other hand, AI creates machines mimicking human interaction and behavior, and the purpose of its creation is to collaborate with humans and reduce errors or totally eliminate them.
- Disadvantages: Both AI and IoT have played a part in causing unemployment and replacing humans with machines, which sometimes can do the same tasks with less time and more quality, avoiding possible errors. In terms of cost, AI is costly, and that’s simply because it requires a lot of data and more responsive algorithms. If IoT is about connected machines over a network, AI is more about the system itself and making it smart.
Another disadvantage regarding the internet of things (IoT) is that it exchanges data over a network, which makes it an inviting chance for intruders and hackers; that’s why people who have their devices connected to the internet will need security software or antivirus installed and always updated to prevent any cyberattacks.
Although the differences are blurry since both technologies are intertwined, differences are there in terms of purpose, definition, and imperfections. However, both have a promising future in making life easier and performing error-free and high-quality tasks. However, IoT can’t work without AI since the latter is part of designing and creating IoT devices. Even if devices connected to the internet are not expected to develop themselves and act like humans, they have some kind of smartness in them since they analyze, store, and perform certain tasks with little or no human intervention.