The magical time of year is finally here. Landscapes sit buried beneath snow, lights twinkle from rooftops, spruces have become Christmas trees once again.
Children are building snowmen in front gardens as parents make a last-minute dash to the store in search of that perfect gift — but while the seasonal cheer is out in full force, there’s still a sense of stress in the air.
After all, the thought of queuing for thirty minutes to top up your fridge supplies isn’t on anyone’s Christmas list. If only there were a magical elf to help? As it turns out, there is. Only… it isn’t an elf; it’s artificial intelligence.
And we’re here to show you how AI is helping people like you this Christmas.
AI takes care of gifts
Of course, Christmas is about more than presents. But let’s be honest, everyone loves to unwrap a parcel. The challenge is: few of us love picking gifts, which is by no means an easy task. But what if you could ask a website to recommend a list of potential presents? As it turns out, you can. All you need to do is answer a few questions about the recipient, and an algorithm will use the inputs to prepare a wonderful list of the most thoughtful ideas.
If it doesn’t meet your needs, you can ask AI solutions like ChatGPT to clarify exactly what you may give your loved ones. Just look at the example below. We’ve asked the software to recommend a perfect gift for a 5-year-old boy who loves Star Wars and football, and here’s the answer:
What do you think about its suggestions?
AI cooks the turkey
…or duck, goose, nut roast — whatever centerpiece sits on your table. Well, actually, the technology isn’t quite ready to cook (not yet, at least). But if you end up with an abundance of leftovers this Christmas (and let’s face it, who doesn’t?), you’ll want to avoid wasting them. Thankfully, researchers at Stanford University have developed AI that can find ways to use leftovers in new dishes. Need inspiration? What about turkey Croquettes, spicy seafood casserole, even a spiced apple crust.
AI writes a Christmas hit
You know it’s Christmas when Mariah Carey is on every radio station. Some love it because, hey, who doesn’t love a bit of seasonal atmosphere. Some, well, love it less; not least, the retail workers who have to listen to it on repeat. But maybe AI can help keep them sane by writing new songs? Take this hit written about a Christmas tree: a future number one, perchance? Or this song penned by neural networks — or how about “Sing That Reindeer Happy,” written by a machine learning algorithm trained on 253 Christmas songs!
Did AI create a Christmas classic?
Another inseparable element of Christmas is the classic movies. They’re undeniably atmospheric, and watching “Home alone” is somewhat of a tradition for many. Can artificial intelligence do better? Well, we actually don’t know. Keaton Patti claimed he forced a bot to watch 1,000 hours of Christmas movies, then tasked it with creating a screenplay. But the truth is: that claim was pretty far from the truth… internauts discovered Patti was lying, which means we’ll need to wait a little longer for AI to turn out the next Christmas classic.
AI lets you chat with ‘Santa’
Whether you believe in Santa or not, I’ll bet you wanted to talk with him as a child (or if you have kids, I bet they do!). Now, thanks to artificial intelligence, anyone can. The Xmas Chatbot means you (or your offspring) can sit down with ‘The Red One’ and have a good ol’ Christmas chinwag about who’s been naughty or nice.
And one more timely gift…
If Christmas has crept up on you, and you’re yet to send Christmas cards to the friends and family you won’t see this year, fear not. The XmasCardBot is here to create cards for you. The best part? If you don’t want to download and send them yourself, you can always be eco-friendly and fire them over by email.
While AI can’t take care of your entire Christmas, it can certainly help you with most seasonal tasks. But more than anything — we hope you find a way to make this Christmas memorable.