Front-end developer is a superhero, who is fluent in html5, css3, JavaScript and who knows everything about GitHub, RequireJS, UglifyJS and Closure Compiler.

Also he can masterly utilize the browser developer tools such as Dragonfly and testing tools such as Grunt. It seems that front-end developer is a genius, who deals with the multitasking everyday and who really needs to get some help.

Artificial Intelligence is a new solution, which can change the world of modern programming. Today, it’s possible to incorporate the AI algorithms in every single process of the front-end development and enhance the productivity. Let’s check the ways, in which AI brings the most benefits.

AI Tools

Artificial intelligence is a broad definition of such applicable data science tools as:

• Machine learning
• Visual pattern recognition
• Natural language processing

All these tools are extremely useful for front-end development. They allow programmers to optimize processes and deliver better results. In fact, in brings the front-end development to the next level of efficiency, while save a lot of time.

Machine Learning

Machine learning is a fast-growing field of the computer science, which provides computers with an ability to learn, just like humans. While ordinary programs make computer running the commands in a direction set, machine learning algorithms help a computer to perform its tasks without any outside help. In fact, a properly crafted computer neural network is in dozen times smarter than a human’s one.

Every front-end developer should continuously improve his JavaScript skills, if he wants to stay demanded specialist in a changing labor market conditions. Today, more and more companies are looking for the programmers, who have experience in the neural networks building. If you have a lack of knowledge in this field, you could miss a great career opportunity.

Deeplearn.js

So, if you have never work with the machine learning algorithm development before, you can start from using deeplearn.js.It’s an open source hardware-accelerated machine learning library designed by tech giant Google.

Using this tool, it’s possible to get a basic knowledge in machine learning and practically train the neural networks directly in a browser. There is no need to spend months on reading theoretical materials; you can see how AI works in real time mode.

There is no room for doubt that deeplearn.js will show your all benefits of the machine learning and its growing potential. As a result, you will come up with the fresh ideas and change your approach to the front-end development. Obtained skills will help to design websites, which will work smarter and faster.

Pix2code

It’s really important to understand that future of the front-web development goes hand in hand with AI. Probably, machine learning develops even faster.

For example, Uizard Technologies is a company, which designed unique software to transform the user interface images into code. It works for both: websites and mobile apps development.

Pix2code makes it possible to create a neural network, which considers a user interface as an input, and the code as an output. Developer can train this smart system to produce the code, which describes the optimal user interface design. In fact, it helps to reach and analyze the complex data in those ways, which are beyond the human abilities and understanding.

Uizard software is built around the Domain Specific Language, which helps to design a neural network around one target language. Thereafter, it makes an interface multilingual. This approach significantly enhances the machine learning process.

Some experts believe that there’s a great risk that programs like Uizard Technologies will be able to substitute the human front-end developers. However, this dramatic change is unlikely in the nearest 40 years. Today, programmers should unite their efforts with the intelligent software in order to achieve the common goals.

Sketch2code

High-tech companies apply AI algorithms in every area possible. Airbnb used machine learning for designing a tool, which helps to enhance teamwork, facilitate the product design and reduce the front-end developers’ workload.

Airbnb was struggling to find a solution, which will speed up the project implementation.Standard process included numerous stages: a design idea exploration, a mockup creation, a prototype designing and, finally, front-end development.

Sketch2code makes it possible to skip the few steps and start working on front-end development as soon as design idea has been presented. Team members can draw schematic image of the webpage on the whiteboard, and software will immediately transform it into the code. Obviously, this approach saves a lot of time and eases work of every team member.

Machine learning algorithms can identify and classify any symbols, including sophisticated handwritten Chinese and Thai letters. So, it’s not a surprise that it can also recognize the patterns of the sketches drawn by hands.

Airbnb developers created a training set of data using sketches drawn by the different team members. Company also used the open source machine learning algorithms and extracted the intermediary code. It allowed rendering the visual components from a design platform into a web browser.

Drawing to conclusion, Sketch2code works effectively in those companies, which are focused on step-by-step product development. It will help you to create a template of the final website or app design with the extreme speed.

Visual Pattern Recognition

Most of the front-end developers have to apply UI/UX design skills. For this reason, they should know how to mix the various shapes and colors. Programmers should understand which visual elements to choose in order to grab users’ attention.

Usage of AI is limited in this field, because it’s impossible to substitute the human’s creativity and talent.However, there are some basic processes, which AI can optimize.

For example, web programmers have to spend a lot of time on images’ cropping, color correcting and resizing.These processes require automation, while such ordinary software as Photoshop isn’t able to handle this task without help of a human eye and mind.AI can cope with this challenge fast and easily.

Adobe Sensei

This is brand new software, which changes the world of UI/UX design. It helps to transform pictures and photos using the visual patter recognition. Adobe Sensei demonstrates an innovative approach in three basic aspects:

• Creative intelligence. This software has an ability to understand the language of images, photos, and animation even better than human’s eye does. This program takes upon itself to carry out the repetitive tasks, which let a web-developer focus his attention on creative ideas, not a boring routine.
• Content intelligence. This aspect is all about the image content quality and position. Adobe Sensei has ability to automatically measure such parameters as a depth of field, color harmony as well as apply a rule of thirds. It’s very helpful for the front-end developers, who don’t have deep knowledge in art and design.
• Experience intelligence. Adobe is still developing this AI tool, but promises that it will help to improve UI/UX design in few clicks. It will make it possible to create the most relevant, engaging and accurately personalized web content in real time. AI will help you to learn the users’ preferences and craft the most appealing design.

Watson

There are a lot of the tech companies in the market, which invest in AI and in visual pattern recognition. However, IBM’s technology is considered as one of the most powerful and effective. Watson is a service, which allows tagging, classifying and training visual content recognition in a simple way.

This innovative computer software is available for a wide range of specialist, including front-end developers. It helps to bring programmer job to the next level.

• Data and technology. Web developers are usually overloaded with the unnecessary information and overwhelmed with the great variety of the available technologies. Watson helps to identify the data and tech solutions, which are useful for a concrete IT project.
• Media. Front-end developer is responsible for creation of the web-site or app, which will have a great media engagement. Watson allows analyzing the media market in details and providing a programmer with the precise guides.
• AI Video solutions. Using this specific tool, you can build a web-site with a stronger viewer engagement. This AI solution applies a recognition technology in order to enhance the content search and discovery processes using automatic metadata.

Natural Language Processing

There is one more branch of AI, which front-end developers should learn and implement in practice. Natural language processing or NLP is a tool, which you can use to transform human language into computer language, whether words are spoken or written. Computers are becoming more and more “intelligent” year by year, so it’s extremely important to establish effective interaction between people and machines.

NLP is very important for front-end developers, because it helps to incorporate the speech recognition and chat-bots to the websites. The demand for these tools is growing among the users forcing programmers to learn AI.

Web Speech API

This is a modern service, which helps the JavaScript developers to incorporate specific voice data into the web pages. Currently, it works only with two browsers: Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. Web Speech API consists of two major parts:

• SpeechSynthesis. This tool transforms the speech into the written text and vice versa.It enables a computer program to read out and analyze the textual content.
• Speech Recognition. This tool turns on the asynchronous speech recognition function. Computer and human can communicate with each other using device’s microphone and speakers. You can access this tool trough the Speech Recognition interface to improve a website.

Despite the rapid development of the natural language processing, some aspects of the problem remain unsolved. While this tool successfully works in English, it isn’t applicable for the rarely used languages.

NLP Architect By Intel AI Lab

Front-end developers, which prefer Python programming language, can start using NLP Architect. Intel’s experts designed this open-source library to process and transform the humans’ languages in order to make it understandable for machines. This is another option, which can help you to create a tool of communication between the users and computers.

This NLP module allows programmers to apply conversational AI algorithms to design the smart Chat-bots. It also helps to create AI algorithms for the effective intent extraction and proper name entity recognition.

The benefits of NLP architect are following: you can train the existing models and utilize any specific data sets; design new models from the scratch; integrate few different modules. Intel continues to expand the functionality of these AI services, so new advanced updates are coming in the nearest future.

Final Thoughts

As a front-end developer, you should consider AI development not like a threat, but like an opportunity, which can help you to build a great career in the IT industry. You should use AI as a magic wand to transform the time consuming tasks into an automate process.

Today, AI is a dominant tendency, which will continue in the next few decades. If you want to be successful, you should acquire new skills in the fields of machine learning, patterns recognition and natural language processing.