LINKEDIN co-founder Reid Hoffman and DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman have created Inflection AI, using a synthetic intelligence software programme to assist people in chatting with computer systems. Suleyman predicts this possibility in 5 years.

The corporate goals of Inflection AI are to remain comparatively small to protect the crew’s focus and pace. Inflection hasn’t pinpointed its target market or a timeline for its first merchandise.

But we do not have to wait five years for that kind of conversation between humans and machines. Here are some of the communications happening right now.

LIVEPERSON — for teaching bots to help human agents

LivePerson’s conversational AI lets organisations automate straightforward customer service tasks via online chat and text messaging so trained agents can focus on the queries that require a human touch. Dunkin’, for example, has added QR codes to food packaging at 9,000 stores, letting customers sign up for its loyalty programme.

GRAMMARLY — for providing ever-smarter writing advice

Grammarly has gone far beyond helping people avoid basic grammatical gaffes by analysing text for tone, fluency, and overall readability. It now proposes full-sentence rewrites that retain the intended meaning. Grammarly has embraced non-binary pronouns and neopronouns and has begun checking for culturally stigmatising terms such as “Chinese virus”.

ADOBE — for putting Photoshop’s wizardry within reach

Adobe’s new neural filters use AI to bring point-and-click simplicity to visual effects that would formerly have required hours of labour and years of image-editing expertise. You can quickly change a photo subject’s expression from deadpan to cheerful using them, or adjust the direction in which someone is looking, or colourise a black-and-white photo with surprising subtlety. As part of Adobe’s “Sensei” AI technologies portfolio the filters use an advanced form of machine learning, known as generative adversarial networks, that lets them perform feats such as rendering parts of a face that weren’t initially available as you edit a portrait.

LINKSQUARES — for taking the drudgery out of contracts

LinkSquares uses machine learning to automate the process of understanding contracts, eliminating the need to manually keep on top of everything from terms and conditions to legal obligations to renewal dates. Customers can streamline risk assessments, privacy audits, and other processes that require a thorough understanding of the contractual lay of the land — all without dependence on attorneys.

EIGHTFOLD AI — for helping everybody to advance their careers

Career growth is often stifled by a lack of access to networking opportunities that have historically led to advancement. Eightfold’s new AI-infused Career Hub aims to level the playing field. Based on analysis of a billion careers and a million skills, it recommends mentors, projects, and internal jobs to each employee within an organisation, helping steer them in the direction they hope to go — whether that’s a promotion or a pivot into a new role.

IMMUNAI — for giving new drugs a better shot at success

One primary reason new drugs are so expensive is that so many pharmaceutical research projects fail along the way. Tel Aviv-based Immunai aims to optimise the process using AI — and 10,000 times more data than traditional techniques — to understand the human immune system, thereby leading to more targeted therapies with higher odds of success. In 2021 the company raised US$275 million in Series A and Series B rounds and made two strategic acquisitions of computational biology start-ups.

Highlights of AI at work drawn from FastCompany.