What is Augmented Intelligence and How Does it Work?

If you’re old enough to remember the movie The Matrix from 1999, it portrays a bleak future where artificial intelligence takes over the whole of humanity. Ever since ChatGPT entered our lives, we’re closer to AI than ever before and you might be wondering: is it going after us?

The answer is: no, we’re looking at a future where AI works with us, not against us. In the world of business intelligence, this is called augmented intelligence. Today, we’ll show you what it is and why we can’t imagine a future without it.

What is augmented intelligence?

Augmented intelligence is a division of artificial intelligence. Instead of replacing human beings, it enhances human intelligence and decision-making capabilities. Unlike artificial intelligence, augmented intelligence is all about creating systems where human beings and systems work together.

Augmented intelligence vs. artificial intelligence

With the recent breakthroughs in AI technologies, it’s not uncommon to see artificial and augmented intelligence mixed in the same bag. There are some similarities, but there are notable differences too.

The differences

The purpose: AI systems automate tasks and processes, aiming to replace human input. Ideally, machine learning algorithms and AI perform tasks on their own, sometimes on a level better than human intelligence.

On the other hand, augmented intelligence has an assistive role: it improves human abilities and decision-making. It does not replace humans. It gives them tools for improving their skill sets.

The approach: AI algorithms and AI tools can function indepently, without human oversight. 

Augmented intelligence combines automation, data analytics and deep learning with human capabilities and creativity.

Examples: Typical examples of AI include chatbots, autonomous driving systems, and predictive analytics tools that function without the involvement of any stakeholders. Augmented intelligence, on the other hands, includes more moderate tools like recommendation engines, decision support systems, tools that help professionals (e.g. healthcare providers) make more informed decisions.

The outcome: for artificial intelligence, it’s to automate processes fully, such as self-driving cars. For augmented intelligence, the goal is to improve human decision-making and performance. For example, a satnav system that determines the best and fastest route but leaves the final decision to the human being.

The similarities

Technology basis: augmented and artificial intelligence have the same underlying technology: natural language processing, machine learning, and data analytics.

Data dependency: both intelligence technologies require large amounts of data for learning, optimization and providing accurate outputs.

Potential for automation: both systems can be used to automate tasks, with the key difference in the initiatives being how much of the work is automated and what is left to the human brain.

Use cases across industries: both approaches work for all types of data-driven industries, such as healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, customer service and many others.

Benefits of augmented intelligence

Wondering if augmented intelligence is a good fit for your business? This is what you can expect.

Real-time, actionable insights

While augmented intelligence cannot make decisions on your behalf, it can give you the right information to make better decisions in the blink of an eye. It can give you data-driven recommendations based on analyzing historical data and spotting trends and patterns. It’s intelligence amplification at work.

Increased efficiency

These tools can process big data sets in a pinch, faster than any human being could. This can streamline your analytics operations because many stakeholders don’t have the time to crunch numbers and instead, require the top-level data for a quick, data-driven decision. In critical situations, e.g. a medical association looking for the best way to improve patient care, timing is of the essence.

Reduced errors

The human mind is highly efficient but also prone to errors. When handling large data sets in critical business applications, augmented intelligence can do a great initial job of catching inconsistencies or mistakes that a human could miss.

Improved productivity

As augmented intelligence systems work on data analysis, visualization, and providing data-driven recommendations, you can focus on tasks that provide more business value, such as working with clients or customers.

Personalized experiences

As part of a larger digital transformation, augmented systems can create personalized experiences for each customer based on the provided data. For example, personalized health care for each patient based on their historical records.

Better collaboration

Since augmented intelligence aims to help humans rather than replace them, it fosters better collaboration between tools and humans. You don’t get the feeling that AI is out to take your job. Instead, it’s there to help you get better at it.

Fewer ethical considerations

Putting important data and decisions into the hands of AI is an ethical conundrum discussed at length in recent years. Augmented intelligence bridges the gap because even though it does much of the hard lifting, the final decision-making is up to a human being.

Empowerment of your workforce

Not only will your employees stop fearing that AI will replace their jobs. They can also use augmented intelligence tools to get more efficient at their daily tasks, which leaves more time for higher-level, creative operations. This leads to more workplace engagement and higher job satisfaction.

Augmented intelligence is the future

The way augmented intelligence works ensures a collaboration between humans and tech. Instead of putting the reins into the hands of machine learning and advanced algorithms, augmented intelligence ensures that humans have the final call in important diagnoses, predictions and business decisions.

If you need augmented intelligence features in your data analytics tool, Luzmo is here to help. With our embedded analytics features, you can add dashboards to your software, complete with augmented intelligence features such as chart recommendations, Instachart for quick mockups and a natural language interface to work with your data. 

Your end-users can access, explore and visualize their app data and get augmented intelligence insights for better decision making.

Ready to learn more? Get a free demo with our team to see how we can take your software to the 21st century with augmented intelligence!