Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are the two hottest trends in the current business scenario and there is a clear intersection between the two. The IoT is all about creating a new connected world that connects everything on our bodies, in our homes, cities to the Internet. The idea is to connect machines and make use of the data generated from the machines. AI is all about making the machines smarter and intelligent by simulating human behavior and intelligence. It is the intelligence demonstrated by machines, as opposed to the natural intelligence. Therefore, it is sometimes called machine intelligence. But the convergence of technologies over the years has blurred the line between the two. However, the line is still there. We live in an era where technology emergence is reshaping the world around us. There is no single technology that can influence this transformation, but the confluence of many technologies such as IoT and AI. Let’s take a look at the two technologies.

What is Internet of Things (IoT)?

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of interrelated computing devices that are embedded with sensors, actuators and other necessary electronics that allow them to exchange data over a network. It refers to the wide range of devices connected to the Internet. These so-called devices can sense, accumulate and transfer data over a network without any human interaction. These devices can be anything from a person with a wearable device and an RFID-tagged animal to the everyday devices such as a refrigerator, washing machine, or a coffee machine. IoT impacts everything from the way we travel or communicate to the way we shop or stay fit. It is a concept based on the very idea of everyday physical objects with the ability to communicate directly over the Internet; they have the ability of sensing, actuation, data storage and processing.

What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a new evolutionary area of computer science that is based on the idea of creating smart, intelligent machines that can behave and react like humans. The idea of AI is to simulate human behavior and intelligence in machines to make them act in a more humane way. Intelligent behavior, in turn, involves communication, perception, reasoning, learning, manipulation, and acting in complex environments. The goal is to develop machines that can do all these things as humans do, or possibly even better. AI has both engineering and scientific goals. AI systems not only automate industrial processes, making them more efficient, but also enable people and machines to work collaboratively in novel ways. Not just manufacturing, AI systems are being integrated across all major departments, from sales and marketing to customer service to R&D.

Difference between IoT and AI

Definition

– The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of connected things that can sense, accumulate and transfer data over a network without any human interaction providing key physical data and further processing of that data in the cloud to deliver business insights. IoT is a concept based on the very idea of everyday physical objects with the ability to communicate directly over the Internet. Artificial Intelligence (AI), on the other hand, is an area of computer science to create machines to do intelligent things the way humans do, or possibly even better.

Purpose

– IoT is more like a platform that provides the ability to connect and communicate with things from anywhere in the world. It is the internetworking of physical devices such as sensors, actuators and other necessary electronics which are able to communicate with each other without any human interaction. The purpose is to allow objects to send and receive data over the Internet. The purpose of AI is to simulate human behavior and intelligence in machines to make them act in a more humane way. The goal is to create technology to make people and machines work in collaboration.

Dependability

– IoT allows flow of data between various interrelated physical devices and AI helps make sense of the data. IoT generates an enormous amount of data through a huge network of interconnected devices and most of the data is not even captured, out of which a few loses its value within milliseconds. This requires a way to intelligently analyze and gain insights from this data. AI systems and tools provide a means to do exactly this with minimum human intervention. IoT aims to gain insights and make predictions by performing analytics using AI techniques. So, IoT won’t work without AI.

IoT vs. AI: Comparison Chart

Summary of IoT vs. AI

The convergence of technologies over the years has blurred the line between Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence, but the line is still there. That being said, IoT is a vast network of interrelated computing devices connected to the Internet. These devices can sense, accumulate and transfer data over a network without any human interaction. AI, on the other hand, is all about creating smart, intelligent machines that can behave and react like humans, providing them with the ability of sensing, actuation, data storage and processing. AI has both engineering and scientific goals.

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