Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Search Engines

It was not long ago that Artificial Intelligence (AI) was only in the realm of science fiction. Today, it has become a reality and is only growing more prominent in many different industries every day. This includes the internet as AI in search engine technology has been around for a few years. The algorithms used to rank pages have been affected considerably by AI already and that trend will continue into the foreseeable future.

How Popular Search Engines Will Evolve in the AI Process

Currently, Google’s RankBrain, an AI process used help set search engine rankings, is having a major impact which is only expected to expand. Other search engines, including Bing, Baidu, and Yandex are starting to incorporate the process of AI into their search rankings as well. RankBrain considers the user’s history for each query which means that more information is used to determine the appropriate search ranking.

While Google is in the forefront, the other popular search engines are expected to expand into AI as well because of the benefits it provides.

Drawbacks

With every advancement in technology, there will always be drawbacks. Currently, the only drawback that that artificial intelligence has is that many marketers have not caught up with the new technology. They use old forms of SEO that are going out of date and having less of an impact.

However, one potential drawback in the future is that the AI in search engine query use will be so strong that users who are looking for something that they never have before might find it more difficult to find the information they need. This might lead to less than optimal searches because there is little to no direct information available for the AI to do its job.

Deep Learning 

It takes a lot of time, programming and deep ideas to build an AI. Conway’s law (Modular programming 1968) suggests that to get to such a point we will necessarily see the emergence of many interrelating disciplines, with a complex and surprising structure mirroring the structure in our deepest insights.

We don’t yet see this rich social structure in the use of neural networks and deep learning. And so, I believe that we are several decades from using deep learning to develop general AI. I appreciate many good ideas in this field but we are in technological infancy.

Human’s Learning Capability

Human has a great learning capability. Here is how I explored during my life and education. Since early in my university education I have been enthusiastic about learning and gaining knowledge in areas such as languages,media, literature and computer science. I learned Chinese Language in three months at Jilin Institute of technology in North East, China. I have also taught English, Russian and French to postgraduate students at Changchun University. I had 70 graduate students and 75% of them received scholarships from the Chinese government in order to pursue their PhD program in the U.S. and Canada. I was only 20 years old and the university’s rector advised me not to tell them my age. My teaching had impressed the Chinese authorities. As a result, I received an advanced assignment to teach 170 students, between the ages of 5-14 years in conversational English and grammar. Due to the success of my work and my language ability, I was offered Chinese nationality by the Chinese government and a member of communist party. This was very rare, China seldom offers nationality to foreigners not just because of overpopulation but security reasons.My parents did not allow me to accept another nationality and wanted me to come back home. It was difficult to leave my students and I could not tell them I would not see them again.

Upon my arrival back home to Norway, I received substitute teaching assignments at a primary school and high school. I have also taught Russian at Folk University in north-central Norway to government leaders and investors who wished to communicate with Russian authorities in the agricultural sector. Within 6 months my students, ages between 27-60 years, were able to speak, read and write in Russian. Since I was a college student at the same time, I received a part-time job as an assistant teaching Java and system development. In addition, I helped 30 Chinese exchange students to understand Norwegian culture and learn our language. This wonderful teaching experience is where I led the creation and delivery of engaging lessons to students, faculty members, and audiences of diverse educational and socioeconomic backgrounds. I discovered how to help people learn anything as quickly as possible. This is how I developed a new method in fast learning.

During the 1970s, Michael Kaplan discovered after years of research into the neuroscience of rats’ brains that the rats were actually growing new brain cells. He found out that it’s not the mature brain cells replicating. Instead, it’s the neural stem cells in your brain that turn into new brain cells. These special type of cells remain in your brain your entire life, meaning you are technically capable of forming new brain cells throughout your entire life.

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I always talk about thinking positive and the law of attraction in my social media channels. There is a reason for it. If you meditate for 15 minutes a day, your brain forms new cells. Through positive thinking and doing exercise, your brain
will create new neurons.

This is a capability which machine cannot have. We supervise machines. No matter how advanced technology can get in years to come, we are still the master of universe and  the machine. Unless we create a machine which can run unsupervised and generate its own algorithm. Then again it cannot have our natural neural network capabilities.

 

How AI will Change Search Engines in the Future

For users, the advancement of artificial intelligence means that finding what you need should be easier, especially if you have a history of looking for such information before. When combined with other technologies, search engines will become more efficient and create a better user interface so that what the user needs will be presented in a considerably shorter time.

For marketers, the algorithms are already changing as content marketing is taking a prominent role thanks in large part to AI. This means that they will need to shift their focus from keywords and key phrases to content that considers the user’s background and interests. Like most endeavors, this will take time as online businesses shift the emphasis of their sites so that it attracts and engages with potential customers that are truly interested what they have to offer.

Final Thoughts

Although the full impact will not be known, it is true that artificial intelligence is already playing a role in algorithms that determine search rankings for different sites. For marketers skilled in SEO, the current emphasis on keywords is diminishing which means that other tactics will have to be used to create an effective marketing strategy on the internet. I have explained more about these techniques which I am using for my clients websites  in my new book (The next big technological break)

I see many people who loudly assert very definite, very strongly held opinions about Artificial Intelligence (AI), often on the basis of flimsy evidence. If you ask a scientist how long does it take? They say “10 years” (or more), what they really mean is “I’ve got no idea”.

But one thing is for certain that with help of AI’s deep learning we can anticipate a creative and bright future in field of robotics and machine learning.

The Future of Artificial Intelligence in Digital Marketing

The next big technological break

 

ISBN: 978-1976001062

Digital Version: AI in Digital Marketing

Hard Copy: can be purchased here

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